my guess is that after the ps3 came out they lowered their standards for the ps2 in order to keep it alive longer (since it probably would have been stupid for them to only rely on ps3 for console sales). So stuff like KOF98UM and SNK's stuff that has been out in Japan for a long time like KOF XI and NGBC were finally able to come out here, although all their newer US releases are still budget priced and I'm guessing the US release of Ultimate Match will be too.
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