Topic: Rumor: Player's Choice GBA?

[vudu]

According to a recent Rumor Control article at GameSpot, the DS lite may come out in America in May.  No real surprise there.

However, the article also mentioned the possibility of a Player's Choice lineup for GBA.

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Kotaku mentioned a discounted Player's Choice line for the Game Boy Advance that will feature games like Super Mario Advance and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.

The Player's Choice line seems like a long-overdue idea for the GBA. Nintendo announced last week that GBA software sales were down almost a third from the year before. That means the time is ripe for the company to cut the prices on its most popular games in order to squeeze more bucks out of the system before it's completely overtaken by the DS.

What does everyone think?  'Bout damn time?

Any games you'd like to see make the cut?  Think there's a possibility of reprints of OOP games (Golden Sun, Mario Kart Super Circuit, Wario Land 4, etc)?

EDIT:  I just checked out GameSpot's source.  

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The tipster goes on to say that Nintendo is going to start a program called Player’s Choice for GBA Games. The first three of the discounted line-up will be Super Mario Advance:   Super Mario Bros. 2, Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3, and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. The games will sell for about $20 each.

I'm pretty sure Yoshi's Island is OOP, so it looks like there's hope.  The other two mentioned by name are fairly easy to find new, so who's to say about those.

EDIT #2:  Changed title.

[KnowsNothing]

I certainly hope this is true, it's about damn time.  Freaking launch titles still sell for 30 bux.  I'd like to be able to pick up Golden Sun 2, Metroid Zero Mission, and Mario Kart Super Circuit, but who knows what the credentials are for a GBA players' choice...

I'd like to see a $15 price point though....I mean, when I console game becomes players' choice it drops 60% in price, the least we could get for the GBA is %50, especially considering games like Super Mario Advance have been out since before the GC was even released.....

[Smash_Brother]

As long as the DS features GBA compatibility, the DS will never "overtake" its titles.

I think it's a great idea, especially for all those who picked up a DS but never played some of the GBA classics.

-SB

[vudu]

Here's another idea ... think they'll bring back OOP GB and GBC games as Player's Choice GBA games?  I'd buy Link's Awakening DX again, just so I could play it on my Micro.  How about the Oracle games on the same cart?  Or how about Super Mario Bros Deluxe?  God we need that game ported over to GBA.  

[UncleBob]

$20?

$50 GCN games go down to $20 when they hit Player's Choice.  $30-$35 GBA games going down to $20?  Blah.
I'd say, for the "popular" games, by now, either people got 'em for full price, picked them up on one of the many GBA game sales that go on for about $20 already, bought the game used (possibly for less than $20 even) or they just don't want the game.  I'm sure Nintendo would sell a few more copies, but overall it doesn't seem like that great of a deal.

$15 (or, perhaps $10) seems like a better plan to me.  Or do a THQ-type thing and bundle two games on one cart (SMA4:SMB3 and SMA2:SMW on one cart?  Yeah!  Zelda: LttP with Four Swords and Minish Cap all together?  Yeah!)

Just my opinion though...

*edit*: vudu's got a good idea though!

[Smash_Brother]

And yeah, $20 is too much for GBA games, especially considering that they're a generation out of date.

$10-15 sounds good.

-SB

[Ian Sane]

I assume this means they'll have horrible packaging.

Nintendo should have been doing this years ago but then when you have no competition I guess you don't feel there's any need.  $20 is still a little too much.  In Canada they'll charge $30 and a lot of places already charge that for older GBA games.  $20 would have made more sense a few years ago but now it's too little too late.

The choices are a little disappointing too.  3/4 of them are ports and I can easily find all four games new with no problems.  The least they could do is re-release some of the more obscure stuff.  I doubt there are many people who want those four games that don't already have them.

I think Nintendo has to realize there's a reason GBA game sales have dropped.  The GBA is OLD.  It's been replaced by the DS.  I looked at Gamerankings the other day so see what the highest rank game of 2005 for each system was.  I had the filter set to show the top 30 results.  The GBA didn't even have 30 games.  Some stuff is probably not reviewed enough (like That's So Raven 2 and junk like that) but GBA releases have dried up.  Lowering the price of GBA games will have about as much affect as lowering SNES game prices in 1997.

I think a better idea would be for Nintendo to start re-releasing these games in collections on the DS.  The Rev download service doesn't include portable games so they could include GB, GBC, and GBA titles.  I don't know many people who would buy Super Mario Advance now.  But a Super Mario Advance collection that includes all four on one DS cart?  Yeah that would sell.

[Bill Aurion]

Good grief, putting out a game at 10 dollars wouldn't make it worth even shipping to stores...20 bucks is perfect for impulse buying...(I bought Mario Tennis GBA for 20 bucks just this past weekend)

[KnowsNothing]

But $15 is perfect ;__;

[Strell]

Nintendo, could you PLEASE bring over Mother 1+2 and Mario Bros. Lost Levels?

Thank you.

[UncleBob]

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Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
Good grief, putting out a game at 10 dollars wouldn't make it worth even shipping to stores...20 bucks is perfect for impulse buying...(I bought Mario Tennis GBA for 20 bucks just this past weekend)

And yet, that goes to prove my point even more - you picked up a brand new GBA game for $20.  And Nintendo wants to release old games at that "discounted" price?

It'd be like the new Zelda game being on sale for $20 at/near release and someone 'waiting' for it to go Player's Choice.

[Infernal Monkey]

Wow, three year old games getting a whopping $10 price drop. Exciting stuff. I'd be interested to see if Nintendo Australia also do this, seeing as GBA games are often more expensive than console and PSP games. "Here's a one dollar price drop on Super Mario Advance"

[Shecky]

So I see a lot of $35 games go for $30, and a lot of $20 NES Classics that went for $15 or even $10.  MSRP of $20 wouldn't mean that they couldn't actually sell for less.

[Mario]

I think this is a good idea depending on what games are discounted. I still need to get Golden Sun.

[jasonditz]

Hell I see a lot of NES classics games for $5.

What they should do is come up with more multigame carts, maybe SMA and SMA4 for $20 on a single cart, and SMA2 and SMA3 for $20 on a single cart. That's how you move product.

[KDR_11k]

We have the "Pyramid" for GBA games now, basically a pyramid-shaped table with various games for 10-20€ each. I've picked up Klonoa: Empire Of Dreams for 20 two weeks ago but I think the rest of the games aren't worth it, mostly movie tie-ins. There's Pyramids for the PS1, PS2 and PC as well but those actually carry good games and the PC one goes as low as 5€ on some games.

Player's Choice for the GBA would be nice, GBA games don't drop in price until the store wants to get rid of surplus inventory. It's probably because the carts are so expensive to make, anything less than 20$ would probably have a negative profit margin in some places.

Ian: The GBA never had many interesting games released in a year and few publications review GBA games (and even if most just focus on those that have hype associated with them). Since Gamerankings drops titles with less than 20 reviews from the listing that means you won't see the vast majority of GBA games.

Bill: Nonsense, I've seen games with an MSRP of 1€ and hundreds below or at 10€.

[Cap]

i can think of at least 10 gba titles that i would like to buy, but i refuse to buy them at the current prices. a players choice lineup is long overdue.

[vudu]

Gamesarefun.com reports that Player's Choice GBA games are no longer a rumor.

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Nintendo has announced that it will be bringing its Player's Choice budget line of titles to the Game Boy Advance. As is the case with the GameCube Player's Choice line, games that meet a certain sales threshold and have been out for a certain length of time can qualify for inclusion in the Player's Choice line.

On April 2, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 2, and Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 will become the first Player's Choice titles and will retail for $19.99, instead of the usual $29.99 price.

Nintendo plans to add more games to the GBA Player's Choice line soon.

It's a pretty slim starting lineup.  (Although it matches up perfectly with the rumored list that I posted here over a month ago.)

Hopefully they'll add additional titles very soon.  Golden Sun Get!!

[Flames_of_chaos]

Actually IGN has the box arts for the 3 titles and they have the same yellow band saying PLAYER'S CHOICE like the gamcube player's choice.  http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/694/694807p1.html if you want to see for yourself.

[jasonditz]

I got an import of SMA for like $8 from NCS a couple years back... I really wish Nintendo would price these a little more aggressively. If you really wanted these games for $20 you've had plenty of chances to get them.

[31 Flavas]

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Originally posted by: Ian Sane

Nintendo should have been doing this years ago but then when you have no competition I guess you don't feel there's any need.  $20 is still a little too much.  In Canada they'll charge $30 and a lot of places already charge that for older GBA games.  $20 would have made more sense a few years ago but now it's too little too late.

Honestly, GBA games are cheap enough already. A price cut isn't going to spure sales much anyway. I think its a great way to release out of print titles, though.

I mean, new console titles are priced $50 - $60 initially to subsidize high upfront development costs, so it makes sense to heavily cut the price afterwords. But when the upfront development costs aren't so huge and hence much lower intial price, why should such a steep "Player's Choice" price cut be exepcted or even at all.... ?

edit: fix the quote tag not working, a transposed word, misspelled word, and removed an extranious word. Yesh, I should preview first ....  

[vudu]

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edit: fix the quote tag not working, a transposed word, misspelled word, and removed an extranious word. Yesh, I should preview first ....

There is a Preview button, ya know.  

[31 Flavas]

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Originally posted by: Ian Sane

I think Nintendo has to realize there's a reason GBA game sales have dropped.  The GBA is OLD.  It's been replaced by the DS.

And I think, its about high time you realize and stop posting ignorant crap. The GBA is certainly realitivly old, but so is the PS2... That doesn't stop either system from selling like gangbusters though. And GBA software sales are certianly dwindling, but so are PS2 software sales. GBA pushed 6 digit system sales back in January (outselling the DS, btw) and this was how many months since the release of DS? 13-14? (updated NPD numbers would be appreciated someone...)

GBA love is still quite abound...