Topic: Nintendo eShop prices too, too high!!!

Didn't read that giant wall of text, but I do agree the prices are too high.
More importantly however, the sales and discounts are pathetic.
Things like Steam and PSN have price drops on old software, sales are plentiful, but ol' Nintendo. Nope! You paying full price for old games! You want World of Goo on Wii that was released in 2008? FULL PRICE!

LOL, I knew this post would garner some angry replies. lol Yes, I know Rayman is manufactured by Ubisoft, but no, I do not agree Nintendo has no say in it's pricing strategy. I bought my Rayman 3DS when it went to $16 and change on Amazon as I read is was not a particulalry great port, but at $16 bucks knew I would have fun with it.
And to you MrWalkieTalkie, a big LOL! I too bought Gunman Clive, great little indie game for a $1.99, and I greatly appreciate the author (Bertil Hörberg) for porting this game to the 3DS, but you do know it was originally an Android game at the same cost? The again, as much as I enjoy the game, an hour to 3 hours of play for $2 bucks is hardly a bargain! Rayman DS ($10 bucks used) took me a few months to complete as did Mario Bros 64, and simular games at $29.99 on sale. Being a game addict at the time Rayman DS came out, I did buy the retail version for my Fat DS, but later sold all to a friend so need to re-purchase for the 3DS. Probably averaged 3-4 hours of play a day if not more, but lets go with 3. Three X 60 days = 180 hours of play which equates to $0.17 cents an hour! Those are worthy games as I know many are. New Super Mario Bros, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario 64 DS, Super Mario 3DLand, etc. I buy these used or new on sale, and only paid retail for NSMB 2 on the day it came out. You get my drift, sure Gunman clive is certainly worth my $2 bucks, but the replay value is not there, and if broken down into time playing vs money spent, it was a poor performer as was Rayman 3DS. If the eShop placed it at $15.99, I would have downloaded the game, but Nintendo, it seems, does not pay attention to it's retail competitors and price it's downloadable content accordingly. NSMB 2 is a great example, I would like to have it on my system rather than a cartridge, but the eShop charged $39.99 for a download with no savings applied due to no packaging, no inserts, and most importantly, NO RESALE VALUE! You people are either children or have too much cash on hand. I'm a stay at home father, by choice, and we get by one one check. We have health insurance to pay out of that check, housing, auto, food, electric, phone, internet, Netflix in place of the much more expensive Direct TV we have had since day one when I spent $900 for the first Direct TV box to hit the street. I too once had money, but as a stay at home father, I realize, now, the value of my money. Hence my anger at Nintendo! It almost appears as though you people work for Nintendo as everything I am stating is perfectly logical, and true. Nintendo's corpoprate policies are all geared torward making money. The designing of two seperate incompatible systems is first on my list. Secondly, having to do with the first, those two systems allow Nintendo to market a great game everyone wants for one system, but not the other as the other in this case, is an underpowered, underscreened, 3D gimmick. Sure, it's fun, but if you are honest and tell the truth! you, like I, have played many a 3D game, have accidently hit the 3D slider to full on, and didn't realize it until you looked down at the slider! Come on, get reel! 3D is a gimmick, always has been, and really plays no function in most games. Thinking of getting Crashmo, and it could play a role there, also with Crushed which is another I plan to purchase due to the cost, $10. If you havn't tried it out, I might suggest getting the demo while you can, and take a look. Interesting game. By and large, the 3D is of no use, but if and when they improve it to a point the graphics don't suffer, I am looking at an HD screen (installed in many of the under $200 android devices out there, B & N, Nook HD, Nexus7") with a wide viewing angle instead of this very inexpensive 800X240 pixel screen with 400 of the 800 pixels taken up by the 3D effectively giving a 400 by 240 screen like the 320x240 screen on my 6 year old Zune 30GB mp3 player. Eventually all screens will have a 3D setting just like setting the contrast or color. It will become mainstream in the not to distant future as it does play a role in entertainment, but not at the cost of the experience as a whole, and that will be up to the individual media provider to decide. I already wrote Ubisoft,; if they were to port Legends now for the 3DS, just because a device has a capability does not mean you should use that capability, and in the case of Rayman Legends, I would rather have as full a port as possible like they managed with Rayman DS, but the 3D version was shortened considerably, and the game was made so many more players could actually play the game. I realize the original was a challenge for some as it required extremem dexterity to complete, but for me was a great challenge, not so for a 6 year old I'm sure. So Rayman 3D does have a place, but I still prefer the DS version.
Anyway, didn't want to upset anyone, just my opinions, don't freak out. It boils down to the fact I see Nintendo as one of those greedy companies that is milking as much cash as possible by relying on old franchises like the Mario gang of charactors, old technology as the 3D Nintendo implements dates back to 1985, and an
underpowered the device to boot. I paid $145 as I stated so am a happy camper as I have not seen the 3DS this low since. Some will disagree, some won't, but don't get you panties in a dither. Just one opinion. You want to spend your parents hard earned cash on multiple games for multiple systems you have that right, assumming dad and mom are cool with it. Mine would have been, but when you are strapped for cash, you start to see the world from a whole different perspective, and I don't wish that one any of you, so happy gaming, if you can afford it, and if not, I wish I could afford to buy you one as the 3DS really is a great system, but only at the $145 I paid, and I actually bet it will soon be $129, and then $99 when they bring the new version out in a year or two. This is what Nintendo's history has shown as the DSi is now $99 retail or was and is selling for tha in a few colors on Amazon, but Ebay has some for $79, but out of China so not sure of the region; I think they may be region free. check em out if you need one as they will all be gone soon with the 3DS and 3DS-XL being the only two available until a new version hits the shelves. Again, no mean spirit here against anyone on this board, just my opinion on Nintendo which I will continue to spew as they continue what I see as unfair and greedy practices.

The only reasons you got those games you mentioned for so little is because of the retailers.

Developers have zero control over used games, which is what ALL OF THOSE TITLES YOU MENTIONED ARE. Retailers are the ones giving you these discounts because they're making a profit by selling it in the first place.

Get to know your stuff before you whine about it. Don't like it? Don't buy it. You're not the price god or something, where "everything has to go your way."

[quote=slidecage]wait until target #())#$ you over when you try to get your system replaced in those 15 months... It says REPLACEMENT but when i asked they said its up to Target at the time to either give your cash back or give you a new USED system with no warranty so it could blow up the next day and your sol

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I bought the 3DS in Midnight Purple for $145 on sale, no extended warranty, just the 12 months Nintendo gives, and the extra 3 moths Nintendo also gives if you register your 3DS. This equals 15 months of Nintendo warranty. Target has nothing to do with it other than selling me a $169.00 product for $145, sealed, new in the box! This was some months ago so now I am at Nintendo's beck and call, and hope I don't have need of their repair facilities as my DS fat lasted quite a few years. Hope the 3DS does as well.

What you're saying about value=Game satisfaction is very subjective on which games you speak of. Many people will approach these games differently, i.e. They will see it as something to enjoy rather than worry about the game itself not lasting enough hours to match the cost. Yes, games like Journey for example seem expensive for $15. You have a 2 hour game that features no extras. But it isn't the length that made me enjoy the game as a whole, the experience of playing the game itself and how it presented each level and theme made me love it to see past the price I paid. You think Nintendo is greedy, but that's how they generate profit, since their main source of revenue is with their Games.

I am sorry you feel this way and I can understand you anger, but I don't think you should vent it in a form of posting a hasty article that's all banter. Besides, it's nothing but trollbait. Go out, Walk to the park with your son (who's age is ambiguous to me), and see the joys of life I say. And before you go, take a chill pill:

PS. As a friendly tip, if you want to make people more interested in reading your walls of text (among other various reasons) I suggest you learn how to paragraph your sentences to make the layout... better. Seriously, I doubt many people will want to read through that.
PSS. Forgot to mention, you could do away with all that rant and get straight to the point, just Saiyan.

Also, developers are now able to make their own sales on Wii U, so your argument is indeed invalid.

@Turbo: Bit Trip SAGA is on eShop for $15 and went on sale for $10. It is indeed the publisher's decision. The only factor Nintendo has on the price is royalties for the digital distribution on their shop. Buy the used copies if you want to, but whining here will accomplish nothing but attracting trolls like LordJumpMad.

_{Speaking of which, where is that lazy troll}

"quote=CaptainMorpheus" The only reasons you got those games you mentioned for so little is because of the retailers.
Developers have control over used games, which is what ALL OF THOSE TITLES YOU MENTIONED ARE. Retailers are the ones giving you these discounts because they're making a profit by selling it in the first place. Get to know your stuff before you whine about it. Don't like it? You're not the price god or something, where "everything has to go your way. "end quote"

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Read the post, everything I stated is fact and has nothing to do with buying used or new. I bought New Super Mario Bros 2 the first day of release because, as you stated, I chose too, I wanted the game. Thats cool. It was my decision. What is not my decision is the pricing of the download of the same game at the same price having a much lower value due to it being a simple download. I have no case, no booklet, and especially no cartridge to resell should I so desire. This makes the downloaded version, imo, worth considerably less.

Should yourself and others not agree, you have to much money burning holes in your pockets. Nintendo does not need to market the game through a retailer and lose profit, they don't have to package it, they do not provide a hard copy cartridge along with the download so the downloaded version is worth $19.99 for my purposes; as I can sell my used cartridge w/ box and manual for $25. You tell me where the value in the download from Nintendo's eShop is? This is a Nintendo product, and they are saving untold amounts of money, and not passing those savings onto the customer by charging retail, which in this case is $39.99.

My other statements about third party games available for download vs. the retail version being less expensive still hold true in the same fashion, no cartridge, no cover art, no manual, no value to sell used. However, in the one case I mentioned, all I would like to see is a match of the retail price of $19.99 as I would prefer the download in this instance, but am not going to pay $10 more for the privilege of giving Nintendo money they have no right to ask me for. This regards the title Classic Games Overload Card & Puzzle Edition which is $29.99 for the download, again, try and tell me this is a good deal on a download when at retail the game is $19.99, and I can sell it as a bonus if and when I sell my 3DS. The download, I have no value other than that of playing the games included in the download. lol

The only game I have purchased used was Rayman DS as I could not find a copy with box and manual for less than $30 bucks used, and Gamestop had the used cartridge for $10 so there you go. The rest of my games were purchased new, most at retail. I did get 3DLand for $35.99 on sale. I owned Rayman DS so had little interest in purchasing Rayman 3D, but when I saw the game on Amazon for $16 and change, deal! At that price the game is worthy, but certainly not 29.99 for a download from the eShop, again with no manual, cartridge, box, or cover art to resell.

You sir, are the one I would recommend thoroughly reading a post before responding. I do get wordy no doubt, but you see the post is long so you have the choice to read or not read. If you are going to make a contribution, the facts should be at hand. When you see a long post, you are aware if you have the patience or need to read said post, if not, skip it alltogether. When you don't have the entire story at hand, and post a reply, this reiterates the fact you are the one who is ill infomed!

Ugh. Too Much TXT! My brain hurts.

You are honestly preaching to the choir here. No one is forcing you to buy the digital version. Nintendo only posted the downloadable version as an option. If you do not want it, then do not buy it. It's as simple as that.

Must every comment be an essay?

It seems that an Android device is more suited for you Tuber. Oh and, in this case for Rayman 3D, Ubisoft does have full control for the pricing.

For the most part, I think everything is reasonably priced on the eShop(only real exception in Pokedex 3D Pro which is cool a really cool app). Plus we get some sales every now and then too.

@Tuberocity:

Why should Nintendo sell you a game for less? Why? Yes, no packaging, no this, no that, but again, why? They're a business. I trust you know businesses aren't always the kindest establishments around. They have to make money, and it is exactly what they are doing here.

Why should Nintendo sell these games for less? You're not gonna make the decision for them. In the end, they are the ones in charge and they have the power, quite literally might I add.

And what is with that "You have too much money burning holes in your pockets" statement? I sense not only envy and jealousy, but you speak like we do not deserve that money. It is not our problem if we possess that cash and you do not. And just because you don't doesn't meant Nintendo has to reshape their entire infrastructure around you. You're not the center of Nintendo; you're just another customer. While you can argue that the eShop prices are too high for certain cases, I refuse to believe it has anything to do with the economy. In fact, don't even drag the economy into this. Their prices are the same across the board for all the countries they operate in.

Bottom line: it's not about you and it's not about the economy; it's about being a business and making decisions however they choose to.

I think the retail games are 40$ because the 3DS itself is always sold at a loss. They sell games for a little extra to fill that little void.

all i have to say...as a collector ive payed some premium prices for games, ive never made a big deal out of it, it seems a little unfair to hear complaining over some 20$ game or whatever. i should be the one crying lol

I own neither of these devices at present, but bought a very nice Vizio VTAB1008 about a year ago. Once having that Android experience, before Android became extremely popular, I knew others would enjoy the design as well so returned the Vizio in hopes of getting more for my investment in the near future. Here we are a year later; low and behold, Google releases an awsome 7" tablet as does Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Now, I'm waiting for a simular device without some of the restrictions these devices impose. You would have to know something about them to realize what I am talking about, but at this point, I don't own a tab, and certainly wouldn't purchase an Apple product due to cost. I think they are overpriced, and some of the value is having the name Apple on your device so you're cool. Though Apple undeniably puts out great products, they are extremely expensive, and some of that cost is buying into the Apple name, and I am not a name thrower; ooh, I have an Apple, look at me. lol

Again, like most in this thread, you obviously did not read the entire post! The eShop has some great titles for very little cash just as Android does. In fact, one of them is Gunman Clive for $1.99. This was an Android game first, and was ported by the indie author to the 3DS, and is certainly worth the 2 bucks. However, if you want to get into actual cost vs. playing time Gunman Clive provides 1 hour to 4 hours of gameplay (depending on your expertise) which at best equates to $.050 cents an hour with little replay value. On the other hand, a game like New Super Mario Bros which is still a current game at $29.99 offers you a few months at 3 hours a day of play which equates to $0.17 cents an hour with plenty of replay value.

You see, none of these statements have anything to do with what you wrote, and I reiterate, read an entire post if you are going to respond. I am doing a service here by trying to get Nintendo's attention about their pricing structure. I am not stating by any stretch the $39.99 I paid for New Super Mario 2 or the 35.99 I paid for 3DLand was out of line, they are well worth the cost vs. plability and replay value. However, I am not goint to pay retail for a download of the same game when I have nothing to show for it other than the software on my 32GB flash card which also cost money. Nintendo is reaping benefits from customers I feel are unfair. In fact, I would like to see the ability to load my retail cartridge onto flash memory should I desire to do so. Who wants to carry around all their cartridges? Something to think about Nintendo? Oh, but then you would lose the ability to sell a download for retail, and not provide a case, cartridge, manual, and cover art I can resell at some point to regain some of my investment. Downloading a game at retail is moronic, and anyone who disagrees is not deserving of the money they have been allotted in life, and have absolutely no common sense. There are hungry, homeless people out there I would rather hand that extra $20 bucks to, and probably would, as I feel the downloads are worth half their retail counterparts, at most! I'm taking about the $29.99 and up games, not the less expensive $4.99, $1.99, $8.99 games as I love the option to purchase these types of games, and have them ready to play, loaded on the 3DS.

oh hardy, you so one-note

If you are indeed concerned about those who are less fortunate, don't waste your time typing out long winded texts that is nothing more than a personal venting about a company's pricing method and go out and actually reach out and do community service. It will do you alot of good. Right now, I really could care less about your "Cost vs. Playtime" argument since as I stated earlier, is purely subjective and varying from person to person. I could also care less that you think Nintendo is an Evil, evil Company that wants nothing but to reap consumers off their cash, Business is business and I am certain you don't have a broad idea how Companies work based on your previous posts.

So go out, reach out to those in need. Money wont do them much good, Like I said, there are many out reach programs and organizations for Community service that will benefit a stay at home dad such as yourself, much good. Good luck

@Bankai (one of our fellow users, whom is intimate with the workings of the game industry) has explained this very well in the past.

The cost of the disc, box, manual, ect, have an extremely minute effect on the price you pay for games. The reason games cost as much as they do, is because of development & marketing costs.

You see, none of these statements have anything to do with what you wrote, and I reiterate, read an entire post if you are going to respond. I am doing a service here by trying to get Nintendo's attention about their pricing structure. I am not stating by any stretch the $39.99 I paid for New Super Mario 2 or the 35.99 I paid for 3DLand was out of line, they are well worth the cost vs. plability and replay value. However, I am not goint to pay retail for a download of the same game when I have nothing to show for it other than the software on my 32GB flash card which also cost money. Nintendo is reaping benefits from customers I feel are unfair. In fact, I would like to see the ability to load my retail cartridge onto flash memory should I desire to do so. Who wants to carry around all their cartridges? Something to think about Nintendo? Oh, but then you would lose the ability to sell a download for retail, and not provide a case, cartridge, manual, and cover art I can resell at some point to regain some of my investment. Downloading a game at retail is moronic, and anyone who disagrees is not deserving of the money they have been allotted in life, and have absolutely no common sense. There are hungry, homeless people out there I would rather hand that extra $20 bucks to, and probably would, as I feel the downloads are worth half their retail counterparts, at most! I'm taking about the $29.99 and up games, not the less expensive $4.99, $1.99, $8.99 games as I love the option to purchase these types of games, and have them ready to play, loaded on the 3DS.

The bit I find most interesting about this is that you would rather hand the $20 to a homeless person than a game developer/ publisher.

Because, if you had any idea of the margins that game developers and publisher struggle under, you would realise that by doing that, you've essentially said that you would rather see an entire company of people turned into homeless people than give the company $20.

The games industry desparately needs people to pay full retail price for the downloads. That $2-$3 extra margin on game sales from cutting out the box construction is badly-needed margin.

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I have donated time, and intend to continue doing so, but at the moment or rather the last 7 years, we are extremely lucky to own one, $2000 auto. So when I state stay at home father, that's what I mean! No anger, no thoughts of Nintendo being evil, just trying to get across to people like you, and Nintendo, the times have changed; people do not have the ability anymore to purchase multiple systems, let alone purchasing a download vs a retail product you actually own, and can resell. One has the benefit of being able to play at will without the unloading of cartidges, but has no value other than owners ability to quickly play a game. This is not worth paying a retail of $29.99 or $39.99 when I can have the actual product in my hand to resell at a later date, and recoup some of my investment at the same initial cost? does this not make any sense to anyone? lol If the gaming industry puts into place what I just took the trouble to read about here on Nintendolife, They may all fall the way of the devil!

Do I think Nintendo evil, no! Do I think Sony or Microsoft evil, no! Do I think them extremely greedy? yes! This is not a busniness model that will survive the worlds economy at present. I stated last year for all to hold off purchasing a tablet, that better, more feature rich tabs were on the way, and I was correct in that assumption. I think I am correct in this one as well. It's not about wanting Nintendo to go broke, it's about all the years Nintendo lived on the gravytrain, and now they not only expect it, they want more! There are plans in the works to reap benefits from customers that may vary well cause all gaming companies to file bankruptcy. You can read about it here, and educate yourself should you so wish. An article about where the industry is headed "The Slippery Slope of Micro Transactions" located on the front page. Everyone should read this to get a gist of where I'm coming from. I don't want companies to fail, I love Nintendo games or I would not have bought the 3DS., I would have bought an Android device. I have a very good idea of how companies opperate, and Nintendo is being driven into the ground by it's current CEO, I hope the news of his resignation is true! Maybe Nintendo can survive this economy. So far, I think most of the responses this thread has generated are from well to do individuals, and I'm happy for you, but look down the street at the family moving out of their foreclosed mansion; God forbid, you may be next, and then you will get what I am trying to impart to Nintendo. Retail probably wants a 50 percent markup possibly more which means a Nintendo download should cost 50 percent of it's retail counterpart, at present, it does not! I like the idea of downloadable content, but not at anywhere near retail.

This old business is business mold everyone has accepted over the years is no longer a route companies can afford to take. If Nintendo pays closer attention to retail prices, and prices downloads accordingly with more spur of the moment sales, and equitable pricing of retail games for download, they will be much better off. At this juncture, it's not a matter of making money, it's a matter of staying in business period whether this means little profit or not. Amazon gets it, B& N gets it, and Google certainly gets it! All have wonderfull tablets they are selling at or below cost, and then sell media to the consumer. Mark my words, the Wii-U will be $199 in short order. Nintendo, if wise, will start selling the cosole at cost, and reap the benefits of media consumption.

I read an article some time ago that spoke of Nintendos intention of starting a music service. I thought to myself, Nintendo is good for gaming, but the sound chip, and amplifier in the current itteration of the DS is so subpar as to be practically useless for music. Why Nintendo would even consider a music service on such a device is beyond me. Just another pie in the sky idea that would have merit if Nintendo had given us the handheld we deserved, but they did not. Nintendo, it semms cut every corner it could, and don't get me started on the 3DS-XL, horrible sound if any at all. Smaller speakers due to a design flaw that disallowed installing the same speakers as the 3DS. The sound is much softer, and very quiet on an already underwhelming "soundwise" device. The graphics also suffer as the screen is the same resolution? The pixels are so obvious you can count them. On the 3DS, they are clear enough, but just! Bad eysight would be the only reason to purchase an XL version. Nintendo needs to take some cues form what Google, and others are offering for $199, redesign the 3DS, maybe without 3D if needed as all the games I have can be played fine without it, and in fact I don't even notice when I have accidently pushed the slider full on. Playing in full 3D for an hour, and didn't notice until I turn the device off! This is how gimmicky 3D is. I have done this many times now, and think 3D is fine, but not at the cost of pixels. I'd rather have an HD screen, with associative media content available from Nintendo at a reasonable cost, like Amazon Prime. Nintendo's stock is in the dumps if you have not noticed? For you to state I know nothing about business reiterates to those with whom knowledge is king, and Nintendo's actual business state is obvious, you my friend have some educational needs. Take care, and enjoy your $5000 of Nintendo credit while I drive aorund in my $2000 car. lol Reality sucks, I know, I'm living it. We'ree happy, we have medical, we have food, we have some entertainment, we own a flatscreen tv, we can afoord a few devices now, and again, but those $700 a year Disney passes are a thing of the past we sorely miss. We are lucky to have what we do, and many are not so fortunate. Those are the people I am really fighting for, not myself as I can purchase enough games to engage my spare time, but others can't, and if Nintendo's stock continues to waver, I fear for their survival, and my sanity, as believe it or not, I absolutely love Mario games, and have no other reason for my posts than for Nintendo to get the big picture whitch so far they have failed to do. Make a little profit and stay in business, try to make huge amounts and failure will ensue.