Topic: Anyone else just feel like the e-shop is too damn expensive?

[Miyamoto]

In this day and age, considering what you can get for the same price on iOS, PSN or Steam, the e-shop is just too damn much. There's a few games I'd like to try and a few old classics I'd like to replay, but out of sheer principal I can't bring myself to part with £20+ for a handful of games when I compare it to what the money would buy elsewhere. Goddamn Nintendo, I want to give you my money and support your on-line store but you make it difficult when you insist on being so greedy!


Thoughts?

[TJ Spyke]

eShop is about the same as PSN and Steam and good games on iOS.

[Miyamoto]

eShop is about the same as PSN and Steam and good games on iOS.

Dude c'mon. Are you crazy? For the price of 4 NES games I can buy 3 PSP games. And don't even get me started on Steam.

[TJ Spyke]

Steam does have sales, but that is different. And most PSN games are overpriced. The majority of eShop games are reasonably priced.

[Sarail]

Agreed, TJ. I feel that the price structure for eShop games is quite good. I paid, what?... $11 for Shantae: Risky's Revenge. It's worth every last penny. Honestly, I would have paid more, too.

[MegaByte]

Virtual Console? Yes. Other stuff? It's not as flexible as it should be, but overall, not really.

[Miyamoto]

Well, it definitely looks like I'm in a minority of 1 (although this is a Nintendo site), but really for me, the price Nintendo is putting on 20 year old games when you consider what is being offered else where is far too much. Even the DSi/3DS ware seems too pricey to try. But like I say, seems like people are OK with it. Thought I put it out there to see what others thought. Guess I'm alone on this one...

[Miyamoto]

most PSN games are overpriced. The majority of eShop games are reasonably priced.

With have polar opposite opinions, brother, but it would be a pretty boring world if everybody thought the same.


 

[xcwarrior]

The games are pretty cheap when you think about it. Plus, how do you expect developers to make money?

Let's say I make a game, I put it on iOS and the eshop.

I make it cost $1 on iOs
I make it cost $5 on eshop.

I sell 10,000 copies on iOs = $10,000
I sell just 2,200 copies on eshop = $11,000

The iOS might be cheap, but most developers don't see their games sell well at all. For every Angry Birds there is (note that is the only example I can give you of a success not having a smart phone), there are 1000 games that might sell 100 copies, all for a $1 or free.

How is a developer going to make money like that?

[Miyamoto]

You genuinely think that e-shop is a better platform for developers than iOS? Seriously? Wow.

[TrueNerd]

Does the eShop cost a bit more than iOS App Store? Yes. However, the level of quality of the eShop in comparison to the iOS App Store is ASTRONOMICALLY HIGHER, so I'm not too upset about paying a couple bucks more for a game. Seriously, Pushmo alone makes the eShop better than the entirety of iOS App Store, at least if we're discounting games on the App Store that are also on DS. Which I am so my argument looks better.

I don't use Steam and my PSN usage is for home purposes only so I feel like it's not a worthy comparison here.

Hey look! I'm praising the eShop instead of ripping on it for the super terrible support it's received recently! Oh, wait, damn.

[UncleBob]

(although this is a Nintendo site),

You know, this may be a Nintendo-focused site, but that doesn't mean we're  bunch of blind fanboys.  We commonly call out faults or issues with Nintendo, their processes, their products, their business strategy, etc.  Hell, even ***I*** had someone on here say I was too anti-Nintendo...and I own seven GameCubes and three Wiis.

[NWR_insanolord]

I'd say most of the original 3DS software on the eShop is probably about right where it should be. Stuff like Pushmo, Mutant Mudds and and Zen Pinball are great deals for their prices, and would be more expensive on something like PSN or XBLA. iOS isn't really a fair comparison; it's basically gone through a similar process to what happened to the Atari 2600 in the early '80s, where prices have bottomed out, killing the chances of any kind of deeper experience flourishing in that environment. The VC stuff is, in general, overpriced; something like Link's Awakening or Donkey Kong '94 are easily worth what they're charging, but most of the stuff on there isn't (and I say that as someone who has bought nearly everything on there).

[nickmitch]

iOS games have a different business model. Some of those game need to be 99¢ to even get a sale. Most people are taking a risk because they see the game is popular, and being less than a buck facilitates the impulse buy. Meanwhile, on the eShop side, VC games we already know are good. Most of us remember playing them, so there's not as much risk. Then there's the original games which usually are better than 99¢ iOS/Android games, so there's a premium there. Also, you can do a bit more of due diligence on those games. Maybe not a lot more, but you probably won't run in to this problem.

[Miyamoto]

You know, this may be a Nintendo-focused site, but that doesn't mean we're  bunch of blind fanboys. 

Maybe, but people here really don't seem to have a problem paying/defending the "Nintendo-tax". It seems to me like another example of Nintendo asking what's the most they can charge rather than realizing that a fairer pricing system would generate more sales and improve their image. Earlier this year I bought Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX for the PSP (and free additional downloads for the PS3) For £11.97. That's over 5 Gigabytes of data yet that amount of money wouldn't even buy 3 NES games (let alone allow me to transfer the titles I've already purchased on Wii). Don't get me wrong, I think there are a few games that are comfortably worth the price tag, Pullblox being the most obvious example,= and there are a few others too, but for the most part Nintendo are taking liberties in my eyes.

[xcwarrior]

You know, this may be a Nintendo-focused site, but that doesn't mean we're  bunch of blind fanboys. 

Maybe, but people here really don't seem to have a problem paying/defending the "Nintendo-tax". It seems to me like another example of Nintendo asking what's the most they can charge rather than realizing that a fairer pricing system would generate more sales and improve their image. Earlier this year I bought Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX for the PSP (and free additional downloads for the PS3) For £11.97. That's over 5 Gigabytes of data yet that amount of money wouldn't even buy 3 NES games (let alone allow me to transfer the titles I've already purchased on Wii). Don't get me wrong, I think there are a few games that are comfortably worth the price tag, Pullblox being the most obvious example,= and there are a few others too, but for the most part Nintendo are taking liberties in my eyes.

That was during a sale, which yes the eShop desperately needs, and for it to be that cheap, don't you have to be a sucker - I mean, Playstation Plus member?

Most iOS games are made in a week, maybe less. Is there crap on the eShop? yes, but there is high quality stuff too. I would probably make the VC stuff cheaper as well, but it is what it is. I am selective on what I buy on the eShop, and I got the 20 free ambassador games which have been keeping me busy.

Just don't get used to paying $1 for video games. If you do, expect the quality to go down. Do note that you're example of high quality games were PS1 VC titles, not new games that you got 5 gigs of data from. Those games in their original hey day were a ton of money.

[ejamer]

This post feels like a troll attempt, but I'll respond anyway.

Are things too expensive? Sometimes. Most of the new software is (in my opinion) reasonably priced, but obviously uses a different model than you see on iOS platforms. Virtual Console titles probably are overpriced, but often aren't that different than what you would pay for physical versions of the same games - and in some cases are considerably cheaper through eShop.

My only disappointment about pricing of digital content on Nintendo system is the lack of sales up to this point - offering price flexibility for older software downloads would go a long way.  (Presumably this is why you feel that Sony does a better job, because their base prices usually aren't very impressive from what I've seen.)

As for digital downloads of full games:
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=37589.0

I still think this is ridiculous though. Why should I pay full (or almost full) price for a game that is permanently attached to my system/account?  I don't understand how you can complain about things being overpriced and then immediately follow up by saying that you want to forfeit any resale options and restrict choices on where a game can be purchased.  But hey, sometimes it's fun just to complain.

[GoldenPhoenix]

You know, this may be a Nintendo-focused site, but that doesn't mean we're  bunch of blind fanboys. 

Maybe, but people here really don't seem to have a problem paying/defending the "Nintendo-tax". It seems to me like another example of Nintendo asking what's the most they can charge rather than realizing that a fairer pricing system would generate more sales and improve their image. Earlier this year I bought Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX for the PSP (and free additional downloads for the PS3) For £11.97. That's over 5 Gigabytes of data yet that amount of money wouldn't even buy 3 NES games (let alone allow me to transfer the titles I've already purchased on Wii). Don't get me wrong, I think there are a few games that are comfortably worth the price tag, Pullblox being the most obvious example,= and there are a few others too, but for the most part Nintendo are taking liberties in my eyes.

Not sure why "5 gigs of data" equates to a great deal or has any relevance to this. Games people want to play don't have their value dictated by how many gigabytes or megabytes the game is. Anyway, each system has a different pricing model, each with its positives and negatives. The fact is that many find various VC, Wiiware, and DSware games to be well worth the price of admission. At the end of the day, it is what the buyer perceives as value for their money.

[lolmonade]

You genuinely think that e-shop is a better platform for developers than iOS? Seriously? Wow.

Each have their advantages & disadvantages.  There are more iphones/ipod touches out there, but you're also competing with a much larger volume of apps for the attention of consumers.  Currently the e-shop has less titles, which means you have a better chance of your title getting a look from gamers.  iOS isn't exactly the land of milk and honey either.

I think there could be more variable pricing on the e-shop, but it isn't any more offensive than other platforms (not including steam.  God I love Steam).

[Kwolf]

My problem with the E-Shop is that it's just too static.   Sales and eventual lowering of prices after a certain amount of time would be nice.   I know a lot of people like it, but I'm not going to spend 12 dollars on Shantae. 

 The thing is today, April 26th I can get both Dead Space 1 and 2 on steam for less than that on sale.   Not saying one or the other is better, but if I have just a vague interest in both of those, chances are my money is going to be going to steam.

Now if it was a game I was really crazy about, I would gladly spend that money. Throw Minecraft on the E-Shop for twenty or thirty dollars, I would have no problem!

Basically I have games that I will gladly spend money on to help support or even help a developer.  Then there are games that I get in passing.  Things that I'm not so big on.   Chances are those things are going to be bought on sale.  Which is why steam probably has seen more of my money since 2004 than any other publishing house.

So just as  personal opinion I'm not going to say the E-shop is broken or anything, but on a personal level I would spend more money there if there was sales.  They don't have to be ,buy a game for a dollar. Just small decent sales would be enough to get me to buy more things.

[Miyamoto]

This post feels like a troll attempt, but I'll respond anyway.

Ditto.

[Miyamoto]

Not sure why "5 gigs of data" equates to a great deal or has any relevance to this.

Because at some point you would expect the packet size would have some bearing on the hosting costs, yet VC games are over 500 times smaller.

[UncleBob]

Yeah... umm..

How come we're talking about file sizes when discussing PSN downloads, but completely taking that out of the equation when talking about iOS/Android downloads?  If we're going to look at GB per Dollar for PSN purchases, how does that equate to GB per Dollar for an iOS download?

Let's see, I recently downloaded the second Cut the Rope for Android.  23.02MB for $1.  So, .022 GB/$1.

PSN - 5 GB for $19.38 or 0.25GB/$1.  TEN TIMES AS MUCH.  PSN downloads must be a far better value than iOS/Android downloads.  Which must mean PSN's setup is the future and iOS/Android is DOOMED, right?

[ejamer]

This post feels like a troll attempt, but I'll respond anyway.

Ditto.

Wow, with great discussion points like this and totally ignoring the points being made, I don't know how I could've thought you might just be a lame troll.    Thanks for confirming - next time I see you post I'll know better.


 

[NWR_insanolord]

This post feels like a troll attempt, but I'll respond anyway.

Ditto.

Please refrain from comments purely intended to troll other forum users. I don't mind a snide remark or two if you're going to also provide a reasoned response, as ejamer did, but don't just attack people.