21 replies to this topic

[TwinChargers]

Nintendo has had the Players Choice series since the Gameboy/SNES consoles straight up through to the Gamecube. We all know that its when the top selling titles get packaged up at a reduced price point. Is the Wii going to be exempt to this? I've adopted pretty late into the whole "owning a Wii" phenomenon, and think its a bit odd that some games that sold years ago are still being sold for $50. Maybe its still too early? Its been out for almost 5 years, I guess I don't recall how long Nintendo normally waits before its games get the Players Choice treatment. Maybe someone could enlighten me?

[godslabrat]

TwinChargers, on Tue Mar 8, 2011 5:51 PM, said:

Nintendo has had the Players Choice series since the Gameboy/SNES consoles straight up through to the Gamecube. We all know that its when the top selling titles get packaged up at a reduced price point. Is the Wii going to be exempt to this? I've adopted pretty late into the whole "owning a Wii" phenomenon, and think its a bit odd that some games that sold years ago are still being sold for $50. Maybe its still too early? Its been out for almost 5 years, I guess I don't recall how long Nintendo normally waits before its games get the Players Choice treatment. Maybe someone could enlighten me?

There were Player's Choice NES games too. I'm puzzled by Nintendo's treatment of some of their Wii titles. For example, Metroid Prime 3 is out of print? WTF? Why not make it a Player's Choice?

[Rex Dart]

Nintendo's been really shitty about Players' Choice this generation. REALLY shitty.

[DickNixonArisen]

Jeez, I hadn't even thought about that. GCN had them, right? Yellow spine instead of black? But you're right, nothing on the Wii yet. There are a lot of Wii games that I just don't see floating around much in the used market that you'd think would be.

[Atariboy]

Why would they? Their software dominates software sales for the platform and many of their games remain selling at $50 at the top of the charts for years due to the lack of 3rd party support from publishers and Wii consumers alike.

If they start a program that reduces prices on the occasional title that may of underperformed and not have stayed in print for an extended length of time, people may hold off purchasing something like Super Mario Galaxy for $50 thinking it's going to be in the next round of Player's Choice releases.

You sort of saw this coming on the Game Boy Advance. The Player's Choice line was absent until 2006 during the final few viable months of the platform, and we only got two rounds of releases for 8 games total (Wikipedia list three Spyro games as being part of the program and Super Mario Brothers 3, for 11 total, but I never saw any of those and bought several from the first two rounds and was paying attention to the program, so I think it's incorrect).

I don't think a program designed to reissue games at budget prices is in Nintendo's gameplan any longer. If it happens, I bet it doesn't occur until sales decline drastically in the wake of a new console release as they try to get the last few sales they can from this platform and software lineup.

The DS should give provide us an answer since that one is in the process of being replaced now and sales, I assume, are going to decline drastically this year compared to earlier years. If that one gets a Player's Choice program, I bet the Wii eventually does.

[Mendon]

For me, the lack of Players Choice titles on the Wii is strange.

While some 1st party titles have dropped in price shortly after release, Sin & Punishment being a recent example, many of the launch or near launch Wii titles are still at full or near full MSRP. Without looking at any sales current figures, I find it hard to believe that Pokemon Battle Revolution or Paper Mario or Endless Ocean 2 are currently anything more than a microscopic blip on the sales charts.

And rather than have a Players Choice category and realize some potential sales, Nintendo has simply just stopped production of games, with Metroid Trilogy the most notable of these.

I don't know what to make of this current policy by Nintendo. Atariboy may have an excellent point, but this lack of reduced price 1st party games is really strange.



Mendon

[godslabrat]

Mendon, on Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:56 AM, said:

I don't know what to make of this current policy by Nintendo. Atariboy may have an excellent point, but this lack of reduced price 1st party games is really strange.

Atariboy did say that some people would hold off until certain titles hit the Player's Choice range. I know I was such a person. I was going to get MP3 when it hit $30, but it went OOP instead. Now instead of $30, Nintendo didn't get any of my money. It's an odd strategy indeed... in almost every generation, there has been a time/price tradeoff, even for Nintendo games which usually maintain their value quite well. Why tell the people waiting for a price drop that they're out of luck?

I'm not pissed, just confused.

[Mord]

godslabrat, on Thu Mar 10, 2011 10:46 AM, said:

I was going to get MP3 when it hit $30, but it went OOP instead. Now instead of $30, Nintendo didn't get any of my money.

Yeah, that's pretty much how it'll be for me as well, both on the Wii and DS line. (Has there been any DS Player's choice? I don't recall seeing them...)

Several games I wouldn't mind picking up, but I don't feel they're worth bothering with at the 60 dollar price point. It's why I picked up a red wii rather than spending a full 60 dollars on Super Mario Bros. Wii on it's own. Probably a good thing for me overall. I have way too much gaming on my plate to get through as it is.

[Atariboy]

Thinking about it some more, when did we get the Player's Choice line each console generation?

I don't remember any NES "Classic Series" rereleases until the SuperNes had been on the market for a while and I don't remember any SuperNes Player's Choice titles until they launched the redesigned model in 1997 in the wake of the Nintendo 64.

Other than the Nintendo 64 and GameCube, which were mixed successes for Nintendo that were basically dead before each was due to be replaced, you could argue the lack of a Player's Choice line at this point in the Wii's lifespan was business as usual for Nintendo if my memories of the NES and SuperNes are accurate.

Edited by Atariboy, Thu Mar 10, 2011 5:20 PM.

[TwinChargers]

Well, no more Players Choice, but Nintendo Selects is the new budget title name. Quite fitting too, since I doubt the few titles released would have been a true "Players Choice" and are more in the line of what Nintendo "Selects".

While maybe not the titles that I was hoping for, I might pick up one or two seeing that $20 is a decent price for these games. I wonder how long before more titles get this treatment? Either way though, its good to see that some Wii games are getting a price reduction.

[ATARI7800fan]

Its just Nintendo being cheap and greedy like the other platforms.

[Austin]

ATARI7800fan, on Tue May 17, 2011 12:57 PM, said:

Its just Nintendo being cheap and greedy like the other platforms.

No, Nintendo being cheap and greedy was continuing to ask for $50 on a three year old game (*cough* Mario Galaxy *cough*). It's good to see they are finally letting up.

[Atariboy]

What else would Nintendo rerelease at a budget price beyond something like Twilight Princess? Seems as worthy as anything else.

It's not like we're going to be limited to 4 games here. These things are always done in waves by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. I'm sure we'll see a second wave with a new group of titles come to this program later this year and hopefully several more that eventually will encompass most all of their 1st party releases.

Edited by Atariboy, Tue May 17, 2011 7:20 PM.

[TwinChargers]

Looks like they might be at it again, giving us another installment of there Selects series-

Selects Rumor

Definately going to pick up Super Mario Galaxy if this is true!

[DickNixonArisen]

Yeah, Galaxy is still worth fifty I think, but it is pretty amazing how long those first party prices hold, and even the secondary market seems to hold close, too. It almost makes me just give up and buy the big nintendo titles new at first release, rather than wait six months for the used price to drop to ten bucks below the new price.

My question is... Wii sports? WTF? It was a packin! Who had a wii but didn't have Wii sports? And anybody who DID have a wii without wii sports would be better off buying the old sleeve copy for five bucks than a new box copy for twenty.

[Atariboy]

Nintendo discontinued it as a pack in title. This way, new Wii owners have the option of buying a new copy of Wii Sports.

[Austin]

Anyone else feel the retail Wii Sports will be rare in the future? I can't imagine they will sell very well.

[DickNixonArisen]

Good point. Might pick a copy and keep it sealed if I can find it for under ten bucks. It's twenty new; and there's no way there will be a big demand. What the hell is this about Rune Factory being worth a hundred bucks? I paid like fourteen, not that long ago, and it ain't that great. Little runey bastards; I let 'em all die so I wouldn't have to bother with them, and it turns out that wasn't an option.

[moycon]

"Four games will be added to the Nintendo Selects collection on Aug. 28! Super Mario Galaxy, Super Paper Mario, Mario Strikers Charged and Punch-Out!! will be available for $19.99 each!" - Taken from the Wii Facebook Page.

[Austin]

That's awesome Moycon. I've been wanting to pick up a lot of those games, but not for the $40 to $50 a pop they go for. Now I will be able to snag used ones in the $15 range.

[DickNixonArisen]

Yeah; strikers I could care less about, but punchout is pretty good and super paper looked interesting. Galaxy I finally cracked on though about six months ago, too good to wait that long for.

[Mord]

moycon, on Tue Aug 16, 2011 8:13 PM, said:

"Four games will be added to the Nintendo Selects collection on Aug. 28! Super Mario Galaxy, Super Paper Mario, Mario Strikers Charged and Punch-Out!! will be available for $19.99 each!" - Taken from the Wii Facebook Page.

And as planned after hearing this, I picked up 3 of the 4 yesterday on the way to work. The Wal-mart here in town was selling them at $19.00 each. I suspect I'll be playing a lot of Punch Out in the upcoming months - although only a bit at a time. As after playing just a little bit of it at my sister's place over the weekend... It's enough to qualify as a workout for me.