david.dakota Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 Jeez, the way you guys are acting, you'd think they were at £20 a piece. Smartphone software and humble bundles have really devalued games... Has anyone but you mentioned smart devices? No. I think they're a convenient argument for you to disregard other opinions. I think people were expecting a fair price and there's nothing fair about the inconsistencies between Japanese, US and our prices. I think the prices in those other territories are fair, actually... perhaps slightly above what I'd like to pay to they're fair. The conversion into sterling is bonkers and, quite frankly pretty insulting; that's a valid discussion. We would simply jot be having these discussions if Nintendo had used a fair currency conversion and charging around the £4 mark. I'm convinced that these prices make VC make purchases a considered purchase and that's not really something you want on a digital platform, you really want to encourage impulse purchases - and I don't see that with these (UK) prices.
Serebii Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 (edited) Has anyone but you mentioned smart devices? No. I think they're a convenient argument for you to disregard other opinions. I think people were expecting a fair price and there's nothing fair about the inconsistencies between Japanese, US and our prices. I think the prices in those other territories are fair, actually... perhaps slightly above what I'd like to pay to they're fair. The conversion into sterling is bonkers and, quite frankly pretty insulting; that's a valid discussion. We would simply jot be having these discussions if Nintendo had used a fair currency conversion and charging around the £4 mark. I'm convinced that these prices make VC make purchases a considered purchase and that's not really something you want on a digital platform, you really want to encourage impulse purchases - and I don't see that with these (UK) prices. Eh? I was using smart devices as evidence that people's perception of what is a reasonable price for a bit of software has been screwed with. This is an acceptable price. Could it be smaller? Sure. However, that doesn't mean it's expensive or a ridiculous price. Edited March 26, 2014 by Serebii
Pestneb Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 Eh? I was using smart devices as evidence that people's perception of what is a reasonable price for a bit of software has been screwed with. This is an acceptable price. Could it be smaller? Sure. However, that doesn't mean it's expensive or a ridiculous price. Whether or not a product is expensive is surely a subjective conclusion. Based on desire for said item, cost of competing products (other games, or other forms of entertainment in this instance) and available disposable income. For me, a couple of the best games there would need to be much cheaper, maybe a tenth of that price for me to consider them. The others... yeah I would have to think about it.
Cube Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 Or perhaps the VC seems expensive because some smartphone games have really good value. Sonic the Hedgehog cost me £1.99 on Android. That £1.99 gets me a version of the game which has been improved to perfectly fit the resolution of pretty much any device, it has optional extra characters, it lets you use the spindash if you want and has multiple save files or a "no save" option. The music was also redone to sound exactly like the original Mega Drive chip (so better than emulated music). I can also play it on my phone and tablet, as well as future Android devices. Sonic 2 and Sonic CD are also the same price. So for less than a GBA game, I can get improved versions of Sonic, Sonic 2 and Sonic CD. Also, even if they're more expensive, Sega are also doing a really good job with the 3D classics on the 3DS.
liger05 Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 Eh? I was using smart devices as evidence that people's perception of what is a reasonable price for a bit of software has been screwed with. This is an acceptable price. Could it be smaller? Sure. However, that doesn't mean it's expensive or a ridiculous price. Purely subjective. Personally I feel they are overpriced. Two GBA emulated games shouldn't cost me more than £10.00 I don't buy games for my phone so what they charge on Google play store for games is irrelevant and has no bearing on why I think these are overpriced.
Hero-of-Time Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 I'm personally fine with the price, especially when it comes to the likes of Golden Sun and Advance Wars. You get easily 20+ hours on each of these games for a little over £6.00. You can buy a game these days for £40 that lasts only 6 hours. Yes the games are old but the quality is still there.
Dcubed Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 (edited) For games of this calibre, TBH I think these prices are a steal (especially if you compare them to eBay prices); but people's perception of software value has been warped tremendously in recent years (and this topic is proof in of itself of that!) It's sad that we live in a world where people would turn their noses up at enhanced versions of games as good as the likes of Golden Sun for the price of a Subway, because they can get a POS game like Angry Birds for £0.69, but that's reality And it's not just smartphones that are the cause of this downwards pressure on pricing (though they were the catalyst), but also things like Steam Sales and bomba price drops at retail within 2 weeks of a game's release etc... Edited March 26, 2014 by Dcubed
Pestneb Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 Yeah, I guess it's easy to forget that not everyone has already played these games. Knowing what I know now, on a first time run I would be happy with the price for those games. As someone who has already bought them once/passed them a while back, I don't really feel the price is right. Maybe in the future they may have a sale...
Serebii Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 Yeah, I guess it's easy to forget that not everyone has already played these games. Knowing what I know now, on a first time run I would be happy with the price for those games. As someone who has already bought them once/passed them a while back, I don't really feel the price is right. Maybe in the future they may have a sale... They have been getting good with the sales of late However, it'll never drop to what some people are wanting.
Pestneb Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 They have been getting good with the sales of late However, it'll never drop to what some people are wanting. Yeah, it will certainly never drop to the level I'm wanting But maybe low enough for me to consider a purchase.
Serebii Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 Posted this on GAF but we're starting to see the results of what Iwata said they had resolved at the investor meeting. Iwata alluded to various issues they were having with the Virtual Console on the Wii U, though he specifically referenced the Nintendo DS, I believe it was a larger issue. We started with NES: First release - April 2013 SNES: First release - April 2013 But, since then, things are ramping up MSX: First release - December 25th 2013 (Japan) PC Engine: First release - December 25th 2013 (Japan) GameBoy Advance: First Release - April 3rd 2014 Nintendo DS: 2014 Nintendo 64: 2014 (if still happening. They promised it was coming, though) In Japan, they've also shifted to a minimum of two titles a week. We need the western side to do this, also. It's reassuring too. They mentioned about how future console & handheld are going to have very, very easy portability with the Wii U and the fact the console & handheld will be closely tied to eachother in both account and architecture, that we'll never have to worry about one device getting it and another not ever again, plus crossbuy will be there, almost certainly.
Josh64 Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 It's sad that we live in a world where people would turn their noses up at enhanced versions of games as good as the likes of Golden Sun for the price of a Subway, because they can get a POS game like Angry Birds for £0.69, but that's reality And it's not just smartphones that are the cause of this downwards pressure on pricing (though they were the catalyst), but also things like Steam Sales and bomba price drops at retail within 2 weeks of a game's release etc... That's a ridiculous generalisation. The fact that the prices on these GBA games seem bloated is because there are quality games that you can get for a lower price, optimised, with extra features, on other devices. If everything on the app store was a piece of shit then it wouldn't be so popular. And that's another problem, these are barely enhanced versions. As @Cube said, SEGA offer value and enhancements on many of their releases, especially across the android and app store, and that's more of what Nintendo should be doing. I still think the fact 3DS and Wii U eShops aren't linked is a joke. Let me play the same download on my Wii U and 3DS and include all of the original features and then maybe I'd consider it at that price.
dazzybee Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 We can never basque in the positive of having some great virtual console games huh Obviusly I'd love if they were under a fiver, I do think over £6 is a little expensive, but it's still pretty cheap. I'll pick up advance wars, mario and luigi and golden sun and they'll be some of the best games I play all year! The should do deals though, paying 50% and more and not getting the deal is a bit of a fuck you Europe!
david.dakota Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 Eh? I was using smart devices as evidence that people's perception of what is a reasonable price for a bit of software has been screwed with. This is an acceptable price. Could it be smaller? Sure. However, that doesn't mean it's expensive or a ridiculous price. How is that evidence? It's simply an opinion of yours based on some unsubstantiated comments by a bunch of reporters putting two and two together and coming up with Apples. To my knowledge there has been absolutely no research on this subject. The issue, which you're totally ignoring, is the fact that UK pricing is approximately 50% more when compared to the rest of Europe, the Americas and Japan. Like I said previously, I actually think those overseas prices are reasonable but the inflated UK price is simply not acceptable, it is expensive and it is ridiculous.
Serebii Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 How is that evidence? It's simply an opinion of yours based on some unsubstantiated comments by a bunch of reporters putting two and two together and coming up with Apples. To my knowledge there has been absolutely no research on this subject. The issue, which you're totally ignoring, is the fact that UK pricing is approximately 50% more when compared to the rest of Europe, the Americas and Japan. Like I said previously, I actually think those overseas prices are reasonable but the inflated UK price is simply not acceptable, it is expensive and it is ridiculous. And, what people continue to ignore, is that direct conversions are never the way forwards. It's an entirely different economy.
Dcubed Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 And, what people continue to ignore, is that direct conversions are never the way forwards. It's an entirely different economy. No matter how you slice it; even after accounting for tax differences, the UK is still paying more than anyone else for these games... The price itself is not the issue for me, but rather it's the principle of getting ripped off in comparison to everyone else that stings...
Wii Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 (edited) And, what people continue to ignore, is that direct conversions are never the way forwards. It's an entirely different economy. Please give us the justification for charging more in comparison to other parts of the world? It's digital, these games are coming from central servers. It was the same last gen, we got inferior VC games with borders, inferior refresh rates and for those privileges we got charged extra. It's not on, it shouldn't happen in this day and age. The prices aren't hugely excessive but I don't think in this day and age any of these should be more than €5 if they want to compete and make them impulse buys. Edited March 26, 2014 by Wii
david.dakota Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 And, what people continue to ignore, is that direct conversions are never the way forwards. It's an entirely different economy. I forgot our VAT rate is 50%. Silly me. I'm no economist, so care to elaborate? As far as I'm aware Germany and UK share very close rates of VAT (19% and 20% respectively). There's no additional costs to the product. The currency conversion fees are in single-figure percentages - and I'm sure corporate rates are towards the lower end of this scale. The figures just don't add up, it makes no sense.
Wii Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 At least the GBA VC games have multiplayer.......oh...right...
david.dakota Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 At least the GBA VC games have multiplayer.......oh...right... Which is something emulation software in the Android Google Play Store has. Some even have network play! No experience of them myself, but the fact small developers can make it work (to at least some workable degree) shows how lazy Nintendo are with VC.
Agent Gibbs Posted March 27, 2014 Posted March 27, 2014 I don't mind the cost as such, and i'm happy to rebuy the odd GBA game (give me folders and i'll be 100% happier) but the UK gaming tax is obviously applied her, direct monetary conversions should apply, with the rate of tax potentially on top, however we often find our games 50% more, which is purely because they can
RedShell Posted March 27, 2014 Posted March 27, 2014 (edited) Super Mario Kart day. Woop woop! Yay! : peace: Edited March 27, 2014 by RedShell
Dcubed Posted March 27, 2014 Posted March 27, 2014 If you guys have never played the US version before, you're in for a hell of a treat! 60hz makes a HUGE difference to the way the game plays (for the better of course!) Don't hesitate to upgrade straight away! One of my greatest treasures from the US Wii VC and worth every penny!
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