Author Topic: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?  (Read 6939 times)

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Offline Ymeegod

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Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« on: January 23, 2011, 05:33:56 PM »
Nearly the end of this generation and we haven't seen any player's choice titles in the states, we had a few Play Control ones from the GC era but what about this generation?  Last year they released a few other in Japan with that killer royal box art.  Yeah, some games like Mario Kart continue to sell but what about Punch Out.
 
What's your take on it? 

Offline TJ Spyke

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2011, 05:52:34 PM »
Technically those Japanese released weren't part of the Player's Choice program either, they were games that got high ratings on the Nintendo Channel (Player's Choice is based on sales usually).

I think they see no need since Nintendo tries to only pick games that could use a boost in sales. I do wish they would bring it back, it's silly that Mario Kart Wii is almost 2 years old and the MSRP is still $49.99
« Last Edit: January 23, 2011, 05:54:40 PM by TJ Spyke »
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Offline Adrock

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2011, 06:40:09 PM »
I believe Twilight Princess is still $50 as well. It's going to be weird seeing Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, released roughly 5 years apart on the same console, next to each other on store shelves at the same price. I kind of feel like Nintendo would have introduced a Player's Choice line already if they were going to do it.

It'd also be nice if Nintendo would release Wii Sports resort individually. I have no need for the Motion Plus Add-on.

Offline Chozo Ghost

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2011, 06:49:31 PM »
it's silly that Mario Kart Wii is almost 2 years old and the MSRP is still $49.99

It isn't silly if consumers are continuing to buy it at that price (which they are). It makes no sense from a business standpoint to cut prices if the demand remains strong. Being the market leader and in the position they are Nintendo sees no incentive to introduce a player's choice for the Wii. For the Gamecube it made sense because the Gamecube had to struggle and fight tooth and nail for any sort of consumer attention. The Wii isn't struggling like that, so it doesn't need to.

Furthermore, why does the fact Mario Kart Wii being almost 2 years old have to do with anything? Its still a great quality game, and its not obsolete. The fact it is still extremely popular at $49.99 is a credit to Nintendo's shrewd policy of only releasing one such game per generation. If they went the Madden route and released a new Mario Kart game every single year with little or not change then you could buy Mario Kart 08 at rock bottom prices, because by now there would be Mario Kart 09 and Mario Kart 10 with their incremental minor improvements.

So I say just be glad Nintendo isn't doing that. You can buy a Nintendo game and be confident its not going to be obsolete in a year's time.
« Last Edit: January 23, 2011, 06:54:08 PM by Chozo Ghost »
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Offline TJ Spyke

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2011, 07:04:20 PM »
Maybe I should have used Zelda as an example like Adrock did. Is it unreasonable to expect a 4+ year old game to go down in price at least a little? Why not drop it to $40? It also makes it more expensive for people new to the system. If I were a new Xbox 360 owner, for example, there are tons of good games I can get for a cheap price now.
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Offline Chozo Ghost

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #5 on: January 23, 2011, 08:14:29 PM »
I remember like 10 years ago Kmart was still selling brand new NES games for $49.99. They refused to mark them down even though they had them so long. But at this point NES games are antiques and a new one might actually be worth that much.
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Offline Mop it up

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #6 on: January 23, 2011, 09:01:12 PM »
Nintendo weren't kidding when they said they aren't going to drop prices anymore. If the Wii lineup for 2011 is truly as bare at it currently seems, then it would be a nice time to re-release some out-of-print games at reduced prices. I, personally, would like to see Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, Punch-Out!!, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, Big Brain Academy, and Link's Crossbow Training get another run. Some of these were early releases, so they might still get quite a few more sales since the Wii userbase is a lot larger now.

Offline TJ Spyke

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #7 on: January 23, 2011, 09:04:22 PM »
Good idea, I would love to buy some of those older Wii games without having to pay high prices or tracking down a used copy.
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Offline Guitar Smasher

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2011, 12:07:05 AM »
I'm probably annoying some people by now, but I'll mention it for at least the third time: some of these games that you'd expect to be Player's Choice have recently been bumped UP by $10 where I live.

I think the reluctance to drop prices is motivated in two ways: 1) these games are still selling at full price.  2) Nintendo wants to change consumer culture, as in "you might as well pay full price now, because you won't find it cheaper next year."

Offline SixthAngel

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #9 on: January 24, 2011, 12:17:35 AM »
Don't forget that people don't sell Nintendo games after they buy them very often.  The tons of used games available is what pushes many of the prices down.

Offline Mop it up

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #10 on: January 24, 2011, 01:45:30 AM »
Eh, it isn't a big deal that they don't drop the MSRP, because it isn't too difficult to find them on a retailer's sale for a fairly low price with a little patience. There are plenty of used Nintendo titles out there for sale but they seem to always be in demand, so they tend to hold their value. But an out-of-print game won't be in stores to go on sale, and many people always price them at far more than they are worth simply because they are no longer in production (Metroid Prime Trilogy is the worst offender, which is by no means a rare game). So even if the games are still their full MSRP, I'd still like them to go back into production because then it'd be easier to find them on sale or a reasonable price on a used copy.

Offline TJ Spyke

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #11 on: January 24, 2011, 10:32:54 AM »
I would consider Metroid Prime Trilogy. It only had a small print run and it is very hard to find a copy (hell, in the last 1 1/2 years, I have seen exactly 1 copy), at least for a decent price. The one copy I actually saw was $55 and was used, I probably should have gotten it anyways.
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Offline Retro Deckades

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #12 on: January 24, 2011, 10:51:11 AM »
While they are not "Player's Choice", there are Wii Nintendo games out there which are being sold at reduced prices. Sin and Punishment 2 and Metroid: Other M come to mind.

Offline noname2200

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #13 on: January 24, 2011, 12:32:47 PM »
I would consider Metroid Prime Trilogy. It only had a small print run and it is very hard to find a copy (hell, in the last 1 1/2 years, I have seen exactly 1 copy), at least for a decent price. The one copy I actually saw was $55 and was used, I probably should have gotten it anyways.

Problem is, no one bought the original run, which is why it was so easy to find for $20 shortly after the game's release.  People just don't know quality when they see it... :(

Offline Chozo Ghost

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #14 on: January 24, 2011, 02:20:27 PM »
I would consider Metroid Prime Trilogy. It only had a small print run and it is very hard to find a copy (hell, in the last 1 1/2 years, I have seen exactly 1 copy), at least for a decent price. The one copy I actually saw was $55 and was used, I probably should have gotten it anyways.

If you see it for $55 get it. People on places like Ebay are selling it now for upwards of $90, so you can probably make a profit on it if you can get it for $55.

While they are not "Player's Choice", there are Wii Nintendo games out there which are being sold at reduced prices. Sin and Punishment 2 and Metroid: Other M come to mind.

Those games wouldn't deserve to be called "player's choice" anyway, because players obviously didn't "choose" them, and that's the reason why their prices were reduced. I'm against games being labeled "greatest hits" or whatever if it wasn't actually a hit, because that ruins the integrity of the whole thing.

Besides that, a lot of people hated the baby puke yellow labeling Nintendo had for its player's choice games on the GC. If it were a nice shiny gold like the old Zelda carts then that would be cool. But I understand their reasoning, because if the labeling looked cool consumers would actually favor it over the original packaging and might wait to buy games. Having a shitty looking labeling makes people desire it less, and want to buy the original packaging more.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2011, 02:26:18 PM by Chozo Ghost »
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Offline TJ Spyke

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #15 on: January 24, 2011, 03:09:48 PM »
Believe me, if I ever see the game that cheap again I will buy it on the spot.
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Offline BlackNMild2k1

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #16 on: January 24, 2011, 03:53:59 PM »
I bought it for cheap.... still haven't played it. :(

But I also have Epic Mickey & Kirby unopened and only played DKCR up to the second map, so my Wii doesn't get much attention these days.

Offline NinGurl69 *huggles

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #17 on: January 24, 2011, 04:10:44 PM »
Cuz you end up spending it here.  Go AWOL and play some games.
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #18 on: January 24, 2011, 05:01:44 PM »
Quote
Problem is, no one bought the original run, which is why it was so easy to find for $20 shortly after the game's release.  People just don't know quality when they see it...

Metroid Prime Trilogy is a quality package but it is a re-release of old games.  I didn't get it entirely because I already own those three games and they all play on my Wii too.  So the target demo for such a title is either hardcore fans who will buy something more than once and people new to the series.  That just isn't the recipe for a big runaway smash hit.  It doesn't compare to a new title that no one already owns.
 
I agree with Chozo in that any sort of "greatest hits" label should only be applied to titles that were legitimately successful.  If just any old game gets labelled as such the whole thing is really false advertising.  I would maybe cut slack for a critically acclaimed title that just didn't sell that well since you could still argue that it is one of the platform's best games.
 
I figure if Nintendo could charge $200 for Super Mario Galaxy they would.  They will charge what the market is willing to pay.  Though who here doesn't have the big first party Wii titles?  We probably each have most of them.  So it's kind of funny to be hoping for a "Player's Choice" line when we probably already bought most of those games at full price.  In principle is seems annoying that Super Mario Galaxy's price has not gone down but I bought it brand new and had no intention of waiting for it to be discounted.  I don't own ANY Gamecube Player's Choice titles just because I wasn't willing to wait for the really awesome titles.  Usually the sort of big hit games that would not normally drop in price are not the titles one would put off and wait for.

Offline BlackNMild2k1

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #19 on: January 24, 2011, 05:13:21 PM »
Cuz you end up spending it here.  Go AWOL and play some games.
I multi-task here.  Closing this window will not get games played....

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Offline Mop it up

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #20 on: January 24, 2011, 05:23:38 PM »
I regret not getting the Metroid Prime Trilogy when it was $20, but it was right after Christmas so I didn't have much extra money. I figured that it would remain cheap since no one cares about Metroid, but I forgot anything which is labeled "collector's edition" automatically has inflated prices.

So it's kind of funny to be hoping for a "Player's Choice" line when we probably already bought most of those games at full price.
I bought most of my Nintendo-published titles when they were on sale. I have to wonder if retailers make any profit when they discount an item with an MSRP of $50...

Offline Retro Deckades

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #21 on: January 25, 2011, 02:27:39 AM »
Though who here doesn't have the big first party Wii titles?  We probably each have most of them.  So it's kind of funny to be hoping for a "Player's Choice" line when we probably already bought most of those games at full price.

This is my thought exactly. Because I already own all the big titles (and I find it hard to believe that most Wii owners don't as well), I would rather see Nintendo re-release and market a bunch of their other IPs. There have been many good Wii games that just haven't sold as well as they should have. As previously mentioned, I think Punch-Out!! is the perfect example of an excellent game that didn't quite garner the sales that it could have, and would probably see an increase in sales if dropped to $30. Some games which I think would be good candidates:

Punch-Out!!
Battalion Wars II
Wario Land: Shake It! (Out of print)
Mario Strikers Charged (Out of print?)
Super Paper Mario (A million seller, I believe)
Sin and Punishment: Star Successor
Endless Ocean 2
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Offline Mop it up

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #22 on: January 25, 2011, 02:57:59 AM »
Punch-Out!!
Battalion Wars II
Wario Land: Shake It! (Out of print)
Mario Strikers Charged (Out of print?)
Super Paper Mario (A million seller, I believe)
Sin and Punishment: Star Successor
Endless Ocean 2
Excite Bots
The only one of these I know is still in production is Sin and Punishment: Star Successor. Super Paper Mario and Endless Ocean 2 might be, but I doubt it. The other games on the list have been confirmed to be out of print.

As far as I know, the two Mario games are the only ones on the list that sold more than a million, and just barely at that, which makes them the lowest-selling Mario games on the Wii. Which is for good reason if you ask me, as neither one is very good.

Offline Chozo Ghost

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #23 on: January 25, 2011, 10:33:06 AM »
I regret not getting the Metroid Prime Trilogy when it was $20, but it was right after Christmas so I didn't have much extra money. I figured that it would remain cheap since no one cares about Metroid, but I forgot anything which is labeled "collector's edition" automatically has inflated prices.

I just missed the boat on Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition which is now discontinued, and already its prices are going through the roof. So its the same exact thing as Metroid Trilogy all over again, and the sad thing is I should have known better this time. Next holiday season when Nintendo releases a "Limited Edition" something or other and it is priced at $19.99 or $29.99 get it right away because as soon as it is discontinued it will go up to $60, $70 and beyond and you will never see it that cheap ever again.
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Offline KDR_11k

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Re: Are we ever getting Player's Choice games in NA?
« Reply #24 on: January 28, 2011, 10:47:28 AM »
There's a budget line called The Pyramid here but it only includes third party titles.