Topic: Holy smokes, the 3DS eShop is insanely overpriced

I've been browsing for something to hold me over till MM3D, but almost every game I find on the eShop is about double what I'm willing to pay for it. This isn't just me being on a budget like the retail games (if I had 40 dollars to burn, I'd but FE:A in a heartbeat), I'm just not going to pay 5-7 dollars for Nano Assault EX, a game that feels like a free flash game if the demo is any indication. Or 10 dollars for Coaster Creator 3D, a barebones coaster maker. I'm gonna get hate for this, but I'd even say Shovel Knight and Azure Striker Gunvolt are overpriced. I spent 20 dollars on Okami and 15 on the Hat in Time Kickstarter. I don't expect to be charged nearly the same for simple 2D platformer, regardless of age.

I've got to give Image&Form serious props for pricing Steamworld Dig appropriately. It costs 9$ and it feels like a 9$ game.

I wouldn't call it insane, but it's never competitive, even with sales, so I end up playing most indie or budget titles through steam or some other pc download service. I just can't justify spending $10 for something I can easily get for $1 or $2.

If you want cheap games, buy physical or get a Vita. Nintendo's digital venue just doesn't do many sales on either platform. If they're there, they're pretty inconsequential (except for that one time they released certain VC games for 30 cents early on in the Wii U lifespan).

Fire Emblem Awakening is totally worth burning $40 on, though. Get that game. Insane value for even that price.

Eh, I'm ok with the prices.

The only titles I consider severely overpriced are the several "my horse/vet/pet something", bad licensed games and mini game collections that are sold for like 20 or more dollars.

Nano Assault EX was originally $15, I bought it at original price after buying the original cart for $3, and I still think it was totally worth it. Not a free flash game in the least. I believe EscapeVektor is $5 now and that's another well-priced game (burned hundreds of hours on that one). I could give many more examples but don't feel the need.

At the very least, you can make the best of what you're given on the 3DS eShop I think. More than I could've said for the Wii Shop (Only games I remember being totally worth admission price would be World of Goo and Space Invaders Get Even. MAYBE Alien Crush Returns.) and the DSi Shop (I know for a fact that I did better on there than 99% of people, but the only game I IMPLORE you to purchase is X-Scape).

I will admit that Nintendo definitely needs to get a hold of their retail pricing. Who the hell is going to pay $40 for Pilotwings Resort when it's easy to find for as low as $5 physical? Same goes for pretty much every older game on the eShop.

They have sales nearly every week on many games.

Also, I spy another "I'm not going to pay for something I never played before and have no idea what its actual value is" argument.

Let's be honest about the sales though. They're typically pretty inconsequential. Retail games need no mention about how useless sales are there, but even the eShop games often subtract maybe a dollar from $5 or two from $8 and the game still looks overpriced to all hell. Yes, you can't really judge without playing but that's what demos are for.

I find the 3DS eShop prices are fine. It doesn't have as big of dales as PC but that is mainly because PC is almost 100% digital only now

okami on the wii was 50$ when it came out new. the ds version was thirty. also you obviously haven't played shovel knight

Games like Shantae are seriously overpriced! I can understand that devs need money but if the content really isn't so everlasting, its not giving much of justice. Same goes for virtual console with each game ranging from 3-4$. It should be like 2-3$ seeing that its emulated and all!

You just love talking about prices of games huh?

Yeah, it's pretty expensive IMO.

I think the problem is less the prices (at least for some games) and more that they don't do enough sales to really get people to buy a game after its launch. It seems like most games get like at most a decent discount once a year for a little bit, and that's it. It's odd since the Wii U eShop shows that nearly every game immediately becomes relevant again (to some degree) as soon as its on sale. Darksiders 2, in the past month was one of the top downloaded games on the Wii U eShop just because of this. If they keep doing that it could potentially sell as well as the other versions of the game (barring maybe Steam).

But the people saying that "this 2d platformer shouldn't cost 15 bucks, even at launch!" have never actually tried to make a legit, high quality 2d platformer. Demanding games to be at a lower price at launch just because of such a nothing first "impression" would be a terrible idea since making a video game, spoiler alert....pretty expensive. Not to mention time consuming, from people who sometimes had to work a job while making their game. I mean, I certainly agree not every game is of the same quality as a Shovel Knight or Dust obviously, but there does reach a point where you are using the ludicrous 1 off sales and questionable ideas in iOS gaming to justify not paying people for their work.

Really, it's your thing if you think the eShop games aren't worth their money. I'm fine with the prices in general, though there are a few personal exceptions. Nonetheless, "overpriced" is something I'll simply disregard as stingy whining for a download platform, since that's all there's to it.

To be honest I think this is a big problem for Nintendo, if only here in the UK. When I first got my 3DS I was completely shocked by the pricing.

For example, I could get Resident Evil Revelations on 3DS (special offer) for about £8/9 - or I could download it for about £6 in HD on Xbox 360 (also special offer)

£40 for Pilotwings on the eShop (a 2011 launch title) - I got the game boxed for less than £10

I've got about 50 downloaded games on my 3DS, most of them were on special offer and I'd still consider them pricey.

I don't see people bothering with the eShop because digital content is STILL tied to the system, 'If I buy Resident Evil on my 360, I can at least download this on any future 360 I buy, oh and it's cheaper, but if I lose my 3DS, it breaks or I decide to sell it, that's money wasted'

Must address the fact that Virtual Console games are like £3/4 each, and to be honest, most people would rather just download an emulator and play them for free. These games are too expensive. 99p for a VC game is a bit more like it.

Nano Assault EX is more worth its price than Steamworld Dig. It was originally a retail game and it has the content to justify it. Same with Yumi's Odd Odyssey or Kokuga. (Both retail titles in Japan).

I can't hear those sales over Steam.

Just wait until they ask you to pay $20 for Gone Home.

That is simple don't get it get The Letter instead. Both just as rubbish but one is 1/20th of the price.

You don't pay people for their work in capitalism. You pay people for the product they offer you (If I told you the makers of Sonic Boom worked 18 hours a day, would that make you buy it?). To me, a retro inspired, but unproven, 2D platformer isn't a product worth $15. I certainly understand the pricing, but as someone who never played a Megaman game and has played very few NES games, I'm not really interested in spending that much money.

@Barbiegurl777 I do check the price drops section, and on a few occasions I have found some really awesome deals. I got Inazuma Eleven for something like 10 dollars.

@moomoo From my experience with the demo, FE: A certainly does seem worth $40, and I don't think it's overpriced at all, I just don't have $40 to burn right now.