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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Virtual console game prices need to be halved!

 

Virtual console game prices need to be halved!

I think the current price is fine 26 32.50%
 
They should be half of what they are now 36 45.00%
 
they should be less than half 18 22.50%
 
Total:80
Mr. Fister on 30 August 2010

First we have to get Nintendo to start releasing games for the Virtual Console again, then we can talk about dropping the price.



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Jumpin on 30 August 2010
Mr. Fister said:

First we have to get Nintendo to start releasing games for the Virtual Console again, then we can talk about dropping the price.


My thoughts exactly. I don't really care about most new PSN or WiiWare games, they're mostly just iPhone ports/adaptations/rip-offs by low-grade development houses anyway. All they care about is making a quick buck off of yet another platform, they're not as invested in the titles as the talented developers who did the VC titles were.

 

Aside from Final Fantasy 4: The After Years, nothing on Wiiware has really impressed me.



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Soma on 30 August 2010

I think the prices are fine, all my VC games have been worth the money. Wiiware is the one that needs to cut prices, there are some good games here and there, but honestly the VC offers better quality.



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Armads on 30 August 2010
famousringo said:
Armads said:
famousringo said:
Armads said:
famousringo said:

2. Cutting the VC price would undercut WiiWare prices. Creators of new content have a hard enough time competing with some of the best games in history without getting into a price war with content that has long since paid for production.


Competition is good for the industry, if we lessen competition then they have less incentive to create better games.  If the only way they can get their games to sell is because they're cheaper than a game that was made 30 years ago then they've just made a sorry excuse for a game.

So far I've bought Bit.trip.beat/core/void and will get runner and fate when it releases, pokemon rumble, and tales of monkey island chapter 1.  VC wise I've only bought Sin and punishment, personally I feel like WW has been endorsed enough and it's time for a price cut in VC.


That's nice, but you're only one person. It's been a long time since the last Channel Surfing article came out, but you can see the trend clearly in this year-old article:

http://gamrfeed.vgchartz.com/story/4790/channel-surfing-wiiwarevirtual-console-sales-chart-july-2009/

At the prices that you're protesting, VC has several million-sellers, while the most popular WiiWare games struggle to earn more than 250k downloads. A VC price cut would lead to millions more downloads of classic Zelda and Mario games instead of Bit.Trip games and World of Goo. People only have so much money and so much time to game, and it would be a betrayal if Nintendo were to to undercut WiiWare developers like you're proposing.

At least, that's certainly how WiiWare developers would feel. Why not go to XBLA or the App Store where there isn't a selection of top-quality first party software at bargain prices that you have to compete with?

That article is misleading because the charts are for top monthly sales not total. IGN shows that VC is only slightly ahead of WW in sales, with a lead by $7 million http://wii.ign.com/articles/107/1071420p1.html

 

Edit: Oh and world of goo is the 2nd best selling downloadable game on Nintendos shop channel

 

"2. World of Goo (2D Boy, WiiWare) - $4,800,000 ($15.00)"

You're not really refuting my point. As you point out, VC is already a larger market than WiiWare at prices which you consider to be outrageous. If Nintendo slashed prices on VC games in half, bringing non-participants like yourself into the VC market and stimulating more purchases from active VC buyers, it's only going to swell the size of the VC market and draw people away from WiiWare games.

It would be great for the consumer, and might even be good for Nintendo's direct revenues, but it would be lousy for small developers. Nintendo cares about those small developers.


If you read the full article you'll see that VC has been on a steady decline in sales while WW has been on a steady rise.  It's predicted to overtake it in a year.  Yet for both VC and WW the sales are mostly driven by hit titles, most of the games on either service do not generate very much profit at all whereas the good games, the ones we should be encouraging to be made make almost all of the money.  Lowering the price on VC games will take away primarily from already poor performing software because if the software is good the people will buy it. 



homer on 30 August 2010

I don't mind, but for gods sake, just give me more!!!!



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Jumpin on 30 August 2010

Do you think that halving VC prices would more than double VC sales, thus improving profits? Therein lies the big problem with your argument.



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famousringo on 30 August 2010
Armads said:
famousringo said:

You're not really refuting my point. As you point out, VC is already a larger market than WiiWare at prices which you consider to be outrageous. If Nintendo slashed prices on VC games in half, bringing non-participants like yourself into the VC market and stimulating more purchases from active VC buyers, it's only going to swell the size of the VC market and draw people away from WiiWare games.

It would be great for the consumer, and might even be good for Nintendo's direct revenues, but it would be lousy for small developers. Nintendo cares about those small developers.


If you read the full article you'll see that VC has been on a steady decline in sales while WW has been on a steady rise.  It's predicted to overtake it in a year.  Yet for both VC and WW the sales are mostly driven by hit titles, most of the games on either service do not generate very much profit at all whereas the good games, the ones we should be encouraging to be made make almost all of the money.  Lowering the price on VC games will take away primarily from already poor performing software because if the software is good the people will buy it. 

As the posts in this thread demonstrate, the reason why WiiWare has been gaining on VC is because Nintendo has been deliberately starving the VC of new releases so that they don't distract too much from WiiWare. Right now the VC is simply used as a buffer to make sure that new games are ready for the shop in case WiiWare titles aren't ready to go yet. Your proposal threatens this deliberate cultivation of the indie developer market.

And I'm not sure that indie developers would be encouraged by your attitude that the hits will be fine and to hell with the rest of the games. How is an indie developer to know whether the idea in his head is hit material or not? That's not the kind of thing you know until you've already taken the risk and sunk many months into development. Telling indies that they shouldn't bother unless they have a hit is more likely to discourage those hit games than it is to encourage them.



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A Bad Clown on 30 August 2010

Lol virtual console, I can basically get any game for the original console. Probably cheaper in the long run too...



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Resident_Hazard on 30 August 2010

I said early on that, after a VC game has been available for two years, the price should be roughly halved.  You don't keep retail games full price the entire time they're out, why do it for downloadable games?

Microsoft discounts downloadable stuff all the time.



pacman91 on 30 August 2010

I'd pay $15 or $20 for Dk64 and goldeneye on VC...