Topic: paying for VC games

[crashnnburn]

Hi you guys, i'm kinda new to writing topics in forums, but I just wanted to get my idea out. Am i the only one that sees paying for games you already bought wrong? I mean don't get me wrong, i will pay for VC games, but what if i already have mario 64, ocarina of time, majora's mask..etc. Can't i just send the game's serial number, or something of that sort, and get nintendo to send me the game to mi WII for free??

[IceCold]

If you already own the old games, the Virtual Console is just a convenience. It's fair that Nintendo charges you extra for it - if you don't want to pay, just plug in your N64 and play your games that way..

[Svevan]

Owning a cartridge shouldn't necessarily give you the right to download the game onto the Virtual Console (though some will argue the lifespan of cartridge batteries does provide this right). I for one won't buy NES Zelda on the VC since I have it on Game Boy Advance, but if i wanted to have everything on one console paying money would only be fair ($5 on the other hand...).

[NWR_DrewMG]

Yeah, your best bet, since the games aren't updated at all, is to just NOT buy them a second time.  If you still have the cartridge, then hook up your N64.  The games are best played with the controller they were designed for anyways.

[Pikachelsea]

I'm pretty sure that the serial numbers on the boxes for a given game are not unique... so if Nintendo allowed you to add games to the VC that way, you could just give the serial number to all your friends (or worse yet, I can envision a giant online database being made with every game's serial number) so everyone else gets to add it for free too.

Even if Nintendo wanted to do this, there's just no way it would work, and gamers themselves don't have any reason to when they own the original games unless your game doesn't work anymore.

[Smash_Brother]

I think the games are obnoxiously overpriced, yes.

$5 for a game I can download and play on my PC in under 7 seconds is ludicrous, especially a crap game like NES sports.

The only exception to this rule are games which you can't find anymore of multiplayer games, like Bomberman, which would be infinitely easier to play on a console with controllers than trying to fit multiple people around a keyboard.

SSB will still be the first VC game I buy.

[crashnnburn]

 i get you guys, but there is an alternative, you could send your physical cartridge to nintendo, and then they can send you the game to the vc. I mean, its not like you can duplicate 64, nes, or superNES cartridges, probably if they were cd's but you'd still need the exact cd artwork. Anyways, if i had a ps3 or xbox 360, and it's 'backwards' compatible, why would i have to pay extra for a game i already have, and why would i have to get the old system out too. I'm not complaining about the service, don't get me wrong, i already bought mario 64, just that nintendo could make it better, i will eventually buy games i never got. Or if your repaying for a game, make it better, polish it or something.

[Kairon]

There's no question that Nintendo can make the service better for us hardcore gamers who have deep game collections, but does it make any financial sense to do so?

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Vance]

Two things:

- The VC feature is the thing I love most about the Wii. There are thousands of NES, SNES, Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, and N64 games I've never played and can't easily find on eBay or game stores. I would gladly pay $5-10 a piece to play these classics again, and there are even some titles I already own that I'd buy again just to support my favorite developers and play their games on the Wii.

- Personally, I don't want Nintendo or any third party to make any changes to the games I love. As a gamer who loves his nostalgia, I want to have the confidence to know that if I do purchase a game on the VC, that it is as close to if not exactly the same beloved classic that I loved when it was first released. If they do include upgrades of any kind (like extra game modes, levels, or better graphics), they should clearly label those versions of the game with the words "Enhanced" with descriptions of what they added to the game, and give gamers the option of turning these enhancements on or off.

[couchmonkey]

I do wish it was this easy, but as a Nintendo investor, I'm glad the company is going to make oodles of cash from all you double-game-buying suckers.  Personally I won't be re-buying anything, but I look forward to buying some games I missed.

[wandering]

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I think the games are obnoxiously overpriced, yes.

$5 for a game I can download and play on my PC in under 7 seconds is ludicrous, especially a crap game like NES sports.

*shrug* I could steal a six pack from a convenience store in under 7 seconds. I guess that makes $5 a "ludicrous" price for such an item.

I missed out on the NES and SNES generations, and, for me, the prices are more than acceptable. I'd much rather pay $5 for a classic game, that I can spend hours enjoying in the comfort of my living room, than $1 for a few minutes of lossy music that will only play on an ipod.

[Pikachelsea]

The only reasons I have ever re-bought a game was that a) I lent the game out and it was never returned (happened once), or b) the re-release has substantial new content/features which merits a re-purchase, as with Yoshi's Island for GBA. So unless we start seeing some major revamping on the Virtual Console, which Nintendo has not explicitly stated as being part of their strategy, I won't be re-buying anything.

Anyway, comparing the Virtual Console prices to the cost of PC piracy is retarded. Any price that Nintendo sets is going to be "overpriced" compared to free piracy.

[Smash_Brother]

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Originally posted by: wandering *shrug* I could steal a six pack from a convenience store in under 7 seconds. I guess that makes $5 a "ludicrous" price for such an item.

Except the likelihood of being caught is 99.9% higher and you'd actually have to leave your house to do so.

There are tons of ROM sites which function right out in the open and no one has shut them down yet. Honestly, I'm not sure how they do it, but there's a minimal chance of legal drawback to downloading them.

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I missed out on the NES and SNES generations, and, for me, the prices are more than acceptable. I'd much rather pay $5 for a classic game, that I can spend hours enjoying in the comfort of my living room, than $1 for a few minutes of lossy music that will only play on an ipod.

First of all, you lost me at "enjoying". Most of those games suck a whole pile of ass which is what truly makes me scratch my head about the price. Paying $8 for something like Chrono Trigger or FFVI, sure, I can see that, as you're looking at 30-40 hours of gameplay and that WOULD be more comfortable in a living room.

But most of the games up now are sh*tty NES sports games which probably weren't even very good at the time, and to say sports games age poorly is the understatement of the century. Those games should be 99¢ and not a penny more.

Lastly, are you implying the iTunes music store? I don't see how the comparison holds any relevance. You can hate the store, Apple and mp3s all you want but it doesn't make any of those NES games any less of a goddamn rip-off.

The VC console will be worthwhile when we start getting games which need a living room, controllers and 4 players to truly enjoy. Then and only then will the console truly hold its own.

Right now, if I want to play SMB, LoZ, Punch-Out or Ice Climber, I'll play them in Animal Crossing, or steal them, like any sensible person would.

[wandering]

For the most part, I'm not going to buy games I already own (one exception is Zelda - I can't stand playing it with the Cube controller), or games that suck. Obviously not every game is going to be worth the money...that's true of virtual console games as well as games on the shelf at EB. But, yes, I will fork over the cash for games I haven't played that are supposed to be good - like punch out. And, no, I don't consider stealing a viable alternative to purchasing them. Maybe that means I'm not sensible.

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First of all, you lost me at "enjoying". Most of those games suck a whole pile of ass which is what truly makes me scratch my head about the price.

F-Zero, Mario Bros, Zelda, Sonic, and Mario 64 are all quite enjoyable, and worth the money, in my opinion.

[Smash_Brother]

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Originally posted by: wandering And, no, I don't consider stealing a viable alternative to purchasing them. Maybe that means I'm not sensible.

Honestly, I couldn't even see bothering to steal most of the NES games. But I'd much rather put that $5 toward a Wii game from a 3rd party to encourage more 3rd party support (I already did this, really).

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Anyway, comparing the Virtual Console prices to the cost of PC piracy is retarded. Any price that Nintendo sets is going to be "overpriced" compared to free piracy.

Not in the wonderful world of economics, my friend, the principles which govern every human action ever taken...ever.

See, if it's a single player game that looked sorta decent, I'd steal it and try it, lest I wound up paying $5 for a terrible game.

However, if we're talking about a game which is either multiplayer or offers enough engaging gameplay that it warrants the comfort of the living room, the fee the VC charges is basically a one time fee to be able to play with the convenience and comfort the Wii offers, and that much I WOULD pay for.

[couchmonkey]

I do think a few of the older NES games are a bit overpriced, but then...don't buy them.  I hope Nintendo will adjust some prices later on, but I don't know if that's going to happen.  It probably depends on how the games sell.

[nitsu niflheim]

I have both Zelda Collectors disc for GCN, so the only games I can't readily play without downloading in via VC will be A Link to the Past, and the Gameboy games, but seeing as I have a Gameboy Advance SP I can play all the gameboy version.  The only Zelda game I would remotely consider would be A Link to the Past, and even that would be a very hard sale.

I am more inclined to give a game a go that I missed in the past, not one that I can play so easily.

[IceCold]

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But most of the games up now are sh*tty NES sports games which probably weren't even very good at the time, and to say sports games age poorly is the understatement of the century. Those games should be 99¢ and not a penny more.

Then don't buy it. And if they're as bad as you say, the "wonderful world of economics" will make sure that few people will buy them, forcing Nintendo to lower the price. I think that the best games of the VC consoles are definitely worth the price..

[ryro]

Considering how much any quality NES/SNES even N64 game goes for at used game stores, flea markets, even pawn shops... five bucks for an NES game is great.  Personally I'm more interested in TG16 and Genesis games, having never owned either system.  Bomberman thank you!  But for NES, say, I'd love to pick up the Yoshi puzzle game.  I've never seen it for less than $20 used.  Legend of Zelda is a classic quality game out for NES.  I've never seen it for as low as $5 in a store.  What about Illusion of Gaia for SNES?  Mario RPG?   8 dollars used?  Try 40+.  I really want a copy of Mario RPG but I can't give up that kind of money for an old game.  8 dollars is fine.

For me the VC is about playing games I missed or don't have.  The cheapest I see actual physical old NES games for is five bucks.  Nintendo isn't ripping anybody off, unless you think that having to pay for things to have them means you're being ripped off.  Besides:  The Wii's only been out for about ten days.  If in six months the VC has hardly any games and most of them suck, then I'll consider it a let-down.  

I'm waiting for Blazing Lasers as far as top down shooters go, but how is this Super Star Soldier game?

[Ian Sane]

No company would ever give you free downloads for that which you already paid for when they could just make you rebuy.  Even if you don't rebuy your games there are a bunch of people who will.  I think the VC games are overpriced and I would never rebuy a game I had already anyway unless my save battery was screwed.  But your old games still work so it's not like you have to pay.  Just choose not to rebuy the games and deal with the hassle of using an older format.  It's no different then having vinyl albums or VHS movies.  It's your choice if you want to upgrade.

And if you really want everything accessable from one machine it doesn't take a lot of effort to do that for free.  If you only downloaded games you already had I don't think anyone would think you were doing anything unethical (aside from Nintendo of course).

The idea of sending cartridges in sounds scary.  A game cartridge will always work provided you own working hardware to run it.  They came out before this bullsh!t "you buy the licence to use it" idealogy came about.  No matter what that copy is YOURS and you can play it as long as your physical copy lasts.  With all this download stuff there's nothing stopping Nintendo from sending some firmware to your machine to deactivate all VC games.  That likely won't happen but it could.  You don't own a physical copy so you could lose your game.  Ten years after the SNES was discontinued my games still work.  If my SNES breaks I can buy a used one.  If my Wii breaks years after it has been discontinued my VC games are GONE.  That is why I really don't like the idea of trading cartridges for downloads.  Something physical, if preserved well, could last forever.  A digital copy can be lost permenantly in a second.

[Striderprime00]

I think VC games are generally overpriced.  Yes, I would pay more for the more popular fun games, but there are thousands of crap games out there too.  Unless Nintendo only releases the AAA games. Another problem with VC games is that you don't own the games.  Nintendo has said that you are not buying the game, but simply buying a license to play the game.  When you pay $5, $6, $8, or $10, you are only paying for the rights to play it on the Wii.  The ownership of the game is non-transferable.   So basically, you don't get a physical copy of the game, you don't own the game, and you can't sell it in the future.  

Also, the development cost of these games are really cheap and have been paid for a long time ago.   They also don't need to make physical copies, so there are no fixed cost involved.  Maybe a few pennies for putting up on the Virtual Console site.   So, I'm not convinced that they can't offer these games at a lower price and still not stay hugely profitable.  If they want to make more money and get more people to buy the VC games, they need to lower the price.  
 

[NeoThunder]

I completely agree, I see no reason why NES games for $3, TG16 for $5, SNES and Genisis for $6, and N64 for $8.  For this setup, and still can't see Nintendo not making a lot of money and at the same time offering great old school gaming at a great price.  I personally won't be buying hardly any games on VC untill prices come down or a game comes along that I really want.  By the way, where the hell is Super Mario Bros. for the NES or Mario World for the SNES

[SixthAngel]

I haven't bought any vc games yet but probably will soon.  The price being 2-3 dollars cheaper wouldn't persuade me to buy more.  I wish they were cheaper just as I wish everything I ever bought was cheaper but I simply do not see these so called "high prices" scaring anyone away.  5-8 dollars is an impulse buy and those who planned on buying everything will still be buying a lot.

[JonLeung]

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Originally posted by: Striderprime00
So, I'm not convinced that they can't offer these games at a lower price and still not stay hugely profitable.  If they want to make more money and get more people to buy the VC games, they need to lower the price.

I agree.  As I said before, if NES games were under $2 and they could guarantee the whole library, I might be willing to pay approximately $1400 for it all.  Or at least a hundred or two for all the good ones.  At $5 a NES game (and not a great selection) I haven't spent anything yet.  I probably will, but I certainly won't be "collecting".

[Kairon]

Considering how much people spend on friggin' COFFEE...

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com