The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (PS2)
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PSA has graded 30 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King PlayStation 2 copies on record — 30 sealed. PSA tracks 2 distinct production variants separately because they’re priced differently by collectors. This page is the per-game pop + price + grading reference for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on PlayStation 2 — updated weekly from PSA’s official population data and PriceCharting’s market catalog.
Quick Facts
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Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
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Console: PlayStation 2
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Variants tracked by PSA: 2
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Total PSA-graded copies: 30 (Loose: 0 · CIB: 0 · Sealed: 30)
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PriceCharting market data: not yet matched
Variant Comparison
PSA recognizes 2 distinct production variants of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, each tracked on its own population row because collectors value them differently. The variants this game discriminates on: Canadian-market edition.
| Variant | Loose Pop | CIB Pop | Sealed Pop | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Made in USA | — | — | 29 | 29 |
| Made in USA, Canadian Version | — | — | 1 | 1 |
PSA Pop by Condition
PSA tracks The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King populations independently for loose carts, complete-in-box (CIB), and factory-sealed copies — collectors price each condition separately because rarity and demand diverge sharply. Tables below show the grade-tier breakdown per condition, aggregated across 2 variants PSA recognizes for this title.
Loose Cartridge
PSA hasn’t graded any loose copies of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King for PlayStation 2 yet.
Complete in Box (CIB)
PSA hasn’t graded any cib copies of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King for PlayStation 2 yet.
Factory Sealed
Total graded: 30
Sealed summary by variant:
| Variant | Total Pop | Top Numeric Grade | Best Seal Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made in USA | 29 | 9.8 | A+ |
| Made in USA, Canadian Version | 1 | 9.4 | A+ |
Factory Sealed Grade × Seal Matrix
Rows show PSA numeric grades. Columns show seal grades. Cell values are PSA population counts. Aggregated across all variants. Top observed grade: 9.8 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | A | B+ | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 8 | 1 | — | 9 |
| 9.6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| 9.4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| 9.0 | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 8.5 | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 8.0 | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Total | 13 | 12 | 5 | 30 |
Per-variant grade × seal matrices
Click any variant to expand its full grade × seal breakdown.
Made in USA (29 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.8 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | A | B+ | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 8 | 1 | — | 9 |
| 9.6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| 9.4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 9.0 | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 8.5 | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 8.0 | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Total | 12 | 12 | 5 | 29 |
Made in USA, Canadian Version (1 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.4 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 9.4 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 |
Current Market Prices
PriceCharting hasn’t matched a catalog entry for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on PlayStation 2 yet — typically a sign of very-low-circulation regional editions or a variant PSA tracks but the wider market hasn’t indexed. Use the eBay sold-comps links below to check recent transactions directly.
Heritage Graded Sales
Heritage Auctions sold results below are real auction transactions for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on PlayStation 2. They complement the PriceCharting loose / CIB / sealed benchmarks above; they are not estimates and they are not blended into PriceCharting’s ungraded market prices.
Summary rows are title-level Heritage sale signals, sorted by format, recency, and realized-price signal. PSA production variants can price differently, so the sale records keep Heritage’s own variant notes visible instead of pretending every auction lot maps cleanly to a PSA variant row.
High-grade games can trade years apart, so older auction records stay visible; treat the latest-sale date as part of the comp, not just the dollar amount.
| Format | Grade | Sale signal | Latest sale | Comps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factory sealed (Sony Security Label) | WATA 9.8 A+ | Last sale $900 | May 19, 2022 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Sony Security Label) | WATA 9.4 A | 2 comps, wide spread $89-$234 | Mar 28, 2023 | 2 |
| Factory sealed (Sony Security Label) | WATA 9.4 A+ | Last sale $228 | May 17, 2022 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Sony Security Label) | WATA 9.6 A | 2 comps, wide spread $69-$180 | Oct 31, 2023 | 2 |
| Factory sealed (Sony Security Label Hologram Sticker) | WATA 9.6 A | Last sale $109 | Dec 20, 2022 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Sony Security Label) | WATA 8.5 B+ | Last sale $104 | Apr 26, 2022 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Sony Security Label) | WATA 9.0 B+ | Last sale $60 | Aug 1, 2023 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (Sony Security Label) | WATA 9.4 B+ | Last sale $47 | Jun 27, 2023 | 1 |
Sale records:
View all 10 Heritage sale records
| Date | Sold For | Grader / Grade | Format | Variant Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 31, 2023 | $69 | WATA 9.6 A | Factory sealed | Sony Security Label | Lot 312344-70072 |
| Aug 1, 2023 | $60 | WATA 9.0 B+ | Factory sealed | Sony Security Label | Lot 312331-66088 |
| Jun 27, 2023 | $47 | WATA 9.4 B+ | Factory sealed | Sony Security Label | Lot 312326-69111 |
| Mar 28, 2023 | $89 | WATA 9.4 A | Factory sealed | Sony Security Label | Lot 312313-69167 |
| Dec 20, 2022 | $109 | WATA 9.6 A | Factory sealed | Sony Security Label Hologram Sticker | Lot 312251-68197 |
| Aug 16, 2022 | $180 | WATA 9.6 A | Factory sealed | Sony Security Label | Lot 312233-68165 |
| May 19, 2022 | $900 | WATA 9.8 A+ | Factory sealed | Sony Security Label | Lot 41164-80156 |
| May 17, 2022 | $228 | WATA 9.4 A+ | Factory sealed | Sony Security Label | Lot 312220-68097 |
| Apr 26, 2022 | $104 | WATA 8.5 B+ | Factory sealed | Sony Security Label | Lot 312217-69119 |
| Oct 12, 2021 | $234 | WATA 9.4 A | Factory sealed | Sony Security Label | Lot 312141-67112 |
Listings
Each link below opens an eBay search filtered to that condition, scoped to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on PlayStation 2. “Sold” pulls completed/sold listings (use this for price research). “Listings” pulls current active listings (use this to find a copy to buy).
Why The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Matters for Grading
With 30 PSA-graded copies on record, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King sits in the mid-rarity tier for PlayStation 2 — graded copies surface periodically on eBay but command meaningful premiums over raw. Notable: every graded copy is in the sealed condition — collectors clearly favor that condition tier for this title, and the other conditions are either ungraded territory or grade-and-flip opportunities. Because PSA tracks 2 variants separately, production-code identification matters before submission. The pop-by-variant breakdown above tells you which variant is the rarer find.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King PlayStation 2 worth grading?
Mostly for sealed copies. The sealed-state population (30) outweighs CIB and loose for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, indicating sealed is where collector capital concentrates. CIB and loose grading is viable but margins are thinner after fees.
How rare is a graded sealed copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King?
PSA tracks 30 graded sealed copies of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King for PlayStation 2. The grade-tier breakdown above shows how those split across PSA’s numeric grades — top-grade copies (9.4+) are the scarcest and typically command the strongest premiums.
Should I buy a graded or raw copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King?
Depends on your goal. Graded copies cost more upfront but come with PSA’s authenticity + condition guarantee — the right move for buy-and-hold collectors. Raw copies are cheaper but require condition assessment yourself, and the grading lottery means a $50 raw cart can come back as a $25 PSA 7 OR a $200 PSA 9.4. Use the per-condition pop and price data above to calculate expected value before you commit.
Why does PSA track multiple variants of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King?
PSA recognizes 2 distinct production variants of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on PlayStation 2. Variants reflect real production differences — different factories (Made in Japan vs Made in Mexico), packaging die changes, ESRB-rating retrofits added partway through the console’s life, or Players Choice reissues from later runs. Collectors price them differently because rarity diverges, and PSA tracks each on its own population row so the data reflects the real market structure.
Sources
Pop counts pulled weekly from PSA Video Games population data. Prices from PriceCharting. PSA acquired WATA in July 2021 and completed the rebrand to PSA Video Games on October 20, 2025. PSA Video Games population data is the continuation of WATA’s population history. Heritage graded-sale comps come from Heritage Auctions sold archive lot pages linked in the sale-record table.
Related Resources
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PlayStation 2 Game Library — every variant PSA tracks for this console, with pop + price per condition tier (loose, CIB, sealed).
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Retro Video Game Collecting — pillar with broader strategy, market dynamics, and grading economics.
More PlayStation 2 pop reports & prices: