Zelda: Skyward Sword Bundle Costs $115 in Japan

I wouldn't pay $115 for any game bundle.

That crazy Yen

I'm officially gonna stop complaining about the "high" price of video games in the U.S. ... Except for DSiWare/eShop Downloads that cost more in the U.S. No excuses for that.

theyll still buy it

Must get preorder in ASAP!!!
But that $115 is going to sting. No doubt it will be more than that in Australia

Man that's a lot. Still, I would honestly pay for it since it is probably going to be the one game I pick up for the holidays, so I would save up if it was 115 :3

Why is it so expensive? Are the Japanese rich or just unlucky? The price in the title contradicts the price stated in the article. It's $1 off. I feel sorry for anybody forced to shell out this much.

Meh its just money, the game is looking to be worth it.

glad i only have to pay 70 bux for mine. although that's still a lot for a video game. oh well it's worth it since it comes with a wiimote, which is 40 bux by itself.

In Norway, the bundle costs 899 NOK, which right now is the same as 156 USD. And that's why I'm importing from Britain. Even with the Norwegian importing rules, I'm still gonna save like 200-300 NOK.

Whaaaaaaaaaaat?

Of all places, you'd think that Japan would be the last to have such a high price, seeing as it's Nintindo's native country and all.

Whew!

Nintendo, U Crazy.

I'd probably still end up buyin it lol

Ow.

All electronics in Japan are crazy expensive. Look at something like the Star Wars blu-rays that were just released.. it'll cost you around $80 in the US, where as in Japan it'll set you back a good $180

And that's a website that tends to be cheap, there's nothing even remotely unusual about Zelda costing that much over in Japan..

Why is it now you guys in the US are saying you won't complain about prices? You've always had much better game and video prices than anywhere else in the world (sorry for the rant, but it is frustrating to hear people complain about $60 videogames, when most of Europe and Australia pay almost double in some cases).

That's nothing compared to Norway; Here the bundle is priced equalent to $150 USD. The regular non-bundle is more the same as the Japanese version, at the equalent of $87 USD

They're charging what they know the collectors there will pay. Knowing how much more "rabid" japanese video game fans can be, a move like this not only makes sense, but seems completely natural. In comparison, however, many Apple fans here in the USA pay outrageous premiums for their iPhones, and consider it "money well spent".

It's good to be an American

@Iz20XX Amen to that, my good sir.

Stuff's already expensive in Japan, and moreover the Yen is ridiculously high relative to most other currencies at the moment, particularly the USD. So this is unsurprising, if you're doing a direct conversion. Sucks hard for importers though.

Yeowch.
I would probably pay that much for a Metroid bundle, and maybe not even then. That's a lotta dough...

Any of my fellow Americans who complain about video games being so expensive here have no idea how lucky we really are.

Owch nintendo.

HOLY LAZZURRZZZ!!!!!

EB Games Australia is taking preorders for $118 so I'm not overly surprised about that. Except that price is US$ and even though the US$ is equal to the AU$ right now stuff gets ridiculously overpriced here. So it could end up being $130-$160 here

Damn...

Relax guys, the article is misleading...in the title it says $115, but it's really only $114 .

At least our entertainment prices stay consistent D:

I though the controller cost 115 and the game was free!

I'm not super sure I'd pay $70 for a bundle. Even if you get a new remote for $20.

Can't tell if inflation...or greed...

I am happy that I don't live in Japan for once!

HOLY **** thats alot

It's $119 here in Australia too..

Wow that is super expensive!

@Oddy - Thank you so much for that >$1 difference you clarified for us all! [/sarcasm]

That makes the game $60 and the Zelda Wiimote about $50. It's not that bad, but it is pretty expensive. But just look at that gold box. You knew it wasn't going to be cheap.

@Highwinter

The most common reason us Americans complain is because lack of jobs and how prices are going up here (besides electronic). Me, I never really complain about game prices. If I can afford it, I'll get it. If I can't I'll suck it up and eventually, with patience, I get it at a budget price. Then again, I pay $50 since I only have a Wii and a computer to game on (as well as my handhelds) which are mostly $10 less than PS3 and 360 games. I never understood why PC games that are also on consoles cost less though...

I'd still buy it if was 150$ Zelda is the only really big title this whole year for me. So it's definitely worth spending some money on since it only comes out in a 4-6 year period IMO.

Um, remember that if you're in Japan, you're paying in Yen - not American Dollars. I don't know all that much about the state of the Japanese economy, but if their cost of living has remained about the same then this isn't any more expensive, in terms of disposable income, than Twilight Princess for someone living in Japan.

@KomicZ: I believe PC games are cheaper because, unless the game wants the "Games for WIndows" label, developers don't have to pay a licensing fee to release a PC game - it's necessary to do so for the consoles.

Also, why select this particular game as an example of pricing anomaly, like it's the only one ever? The comments in this thread alone should be enough to show you that there are huge pricing disparities all around the world, and while some are perhaps justified and some aren't, it's not exactly a new thing.

Yeah, this price isn't bad at all - it's comparative and/or cheaper than what it will cost almost everywhere else. Stop thinking you're the center of the world, Americans. This isn't expensive, it's your price that's ridiculously cheap. Be happy.

My bad for not buying yen 5 years ago. Le sigh...

its the same price ... l2econ and move along.

$116 for Australia at JB Hi-Fi.

That article is misleading.

In terms of value (not exchange rate, but how much money is worth "on the ground" in Japan), 100 yen = $1, so in terms of value, the bundle is worth $88 in the Japanese market.

Also, I wish people would stop acting like experts when they're not. Particually @17 if you had ever actually been to Japan you'd realise that no, electronics in Japan are not that bad.

@Chocobo: Still pretty expensive

This is just ridiculous! I thought it would be more like €70, because I've read that somewhere here or in a gaming magazine... Still: I'm not going to be for that.

People got to realise the US exchange rate currently is very low. Your prices will seem low in comparison to almost every other country.

@Waltz Thank you for that. I didn't know that currencies had two different values. I obviously picked the wrong one!

Ridiculously misleading article!
As mentioned before by some users this is only due to high exchange rates. So if you live in Japan, nothing has changed for you. The article even says, it costs the same as TP used to back in 2006.
Just because the Yen is expensive for people outside Japan, why would that make a difference for the Japanese? Do prices in the US go up and down depending on what worth the dollar has? No.
You always have to put prices in relation to local markets, not compare internationally.

Hey, while you're at it with pointless comparisons, how about you add this to the article:

"Zelda: Skyward Sword Bundle costs $95 in Europe."

At least that's what you get, if you take google's currency calculator and the 70€ which amazon.de will charge as a basis. And it's still more or less the same to us as if we'd be paying 70 USD and lived in the US.

I wouldn't complain about having to pay 70 USD here with the current exchange rate, but effectively USD prices (before tax?) have been translated 1:1 into Euro prices including tax for ages.

@James: Huh?

Or am I missing the sarcasm vibe?

Also, we need some sort of indicator that's roughly equivalent in all economies (I'm pretty sure it exists, but I don't know much about economics and don't know what it's called).

e.g. "Zelda costs 50 cartons of milk", assuming that the cost of milk has the same relative value to people's income in every country (which it doesn't, I'm sure). Find something that's roughly equivalent everywhere and discuss prices in terms of that. That way, it's easier to see the 'effective' cost of things, which is what YellowChocobo was getting at (are you WaltzElf?)

couldnt really get into the game when i played it last week. The whole swing mechanic made it feel a bit weird - might be sitting this one out

Bleh, economics sucks anyway

@58: I heard somewhere a long time ago that a popular item to compare economics is... a Big Mac.

Anybody believe that Skyward Sword will make it to the WiiU just as Twilight princess made it to Wii?

@Mange
It could I guess. But I doubt it. Would be kind of pointless to port it over when it's already been out for a whole year on the Wii and the WiiU is fully bacwardscompatible with Wii games.

I mean, the main reason TP got ported was cause it was so close to the Wii's release and it was a really hyped game. Not really the same case here.

Well... In Sweden it is right now at 108€/147$/94£. Now THAT is kinda ouchy

I am getting it for about 50 pounds from Amazon UK though

It is about the same price in Norway as in Sweden, a tiny bit less here maybe.

For once, I'm glad that I don't live in Japan when it comes to video games.

Why would I care what the Japanese pay for their version?

@justinr: #19: I 100% agree w/ you on that. Nintendo knows the collectors over there will pay ridiculous amounts. When I seen this news, this thought was the very first in my mind. This is just an example of a business taking advantage of knowledge that they're pretty sure collectors, & even non-collectors will pay these kinds of price points for the game.

Do other games cost less than ¥6,800 in Japan ?

"Like the version on sale in North America and Europe, the Japanese release comes with a Zelda symphony CD and gold packaging until the end of the year when it will lose the CD and change to standard white packaging"

So it already will lose the CD by the end of the year? That's quick! And next year the box will be white?! Same artwork, but with a white background? Not very nice, I guess!

Anyway, no trouble for me! I'll get it on launch, and I'll go for the complete bundle. I have yet to order it, but as long as I do it before 18 November I am fine!