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Crystal Chronicles Headed Down Under

by Ben Kosmina - March 12, 2004, 9:31 pm EST
Total comments: 32 Source: Nintendo Australia

Australia due to have four-player Final Fantasy soon!

FINAL FANTASY®: CRYSTAL CHRONICLES

Melbourne, Australia, March 12th 2004 – For the first time in over a decade, Final Fantasy® has returned to a Nintendo console. Final Fantasy®: Crystal Chronicles™, exclusive to the Nintendo GameCube™, launches nation wide on March 19th, 2004.

In a world ravaged by plague, the people depend on a blessed crystal. In order for this crystal to maintain its sparkle and power, Mirula Droplets are constantly needed. These crystallized drops can only be found in the deepest, darkest caverns of a far-off dungeon. Every year, the Crystal Caravan must collect the precious Mirula Droplets, burdened with the fate of the villagers. This year, however, players and up to three friends must take the caravan that makes the vital excursion to save the villagers lives. As a long and perilous trek is taken through a wilderness overrun by monsters, players will fight through this epic role-playing game with the story and graphic quality fans have come to expect from the Final Fantasy series.

Discover multiplayer connectivity! Up to four players can play simultaneously, working cooperatively to solve puzzles and defeat enemies on their quest, using their Game Boy Advance™ systems to control their character data and view character information. Some clues may only be available to certain players, and they’ll have to communicate and cooperate to share the information they receive on their personal game screens!

Line up four players side-by-side to communicate with one another as you move through dungeons and defeat enemies together.

Developed by The Game Designers Studio/Square Enix Co., Ltd., Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is classified G8+ Medium Level Animated Violence by the Office of Film and Literature and has a suggested retail price of $99.95.

Talkback

Infernal MonkeyMarch 12, 2004

The best part will be when NAL won't advertise it at all, and the game fails to sell more than five copies. Waaiiitt...

MarioMarch 12, 2004

Apparently my EB aren't getting many copies in, and they said if i wanted it i would have to preorder. So uh, if you want it, you should preorder.

*tumbleweed rolls past*

DrZoidbergJuan Schwartz, Staff WriterMarch 12, 2004

if it's coming out on gamecube you should pre-order it, regardless of what game it is, we get screwed that much

Aussie Ben PGCBen Kosmina, Staff AlumnusMarch 13, 2004

Hmmm, I wonder if it comes with the GameCube to GBA link cable like the Euro version did?

WuTangTurtleMarch 13, 2004

i know pricing is bad in european areas but $99.95? Is that a typo? Or do u Aussies really have to pay that much money? If so how much is 99.95 in your country, For example how much would milk cost?

mouse_clickerMarch 13, 2004

$99.95 AUD is roughly $73 USD, which is outrageous. Even if it came long with a link cable AND a game soundtrack, it's still a complete ripoff. I really hope that was a typo.

savanna03March 13, 2004

wow... $73USD... dang that is a rip off. $59CAN in here but i would rather buy VIEWTIFUL JOE for $39CAN... i played the game but IMO doesn't really the type of game that warrant a purchase... it is seem lacking for a SQUARE game and the multiplayer cant be enjoyed without the gimmick device... oh well

kennyb27March 13, 2004

Let's all figure out how much this game will cost in AUD according to a few members of this forum and some other ignorant gamers (because remember, it costs $600 USD). face-icon-small-wink.gif

DrZoidbergJuan Schwartz, Staff WriterMarch 13, 2004

nope, they sure isn't a typo all games launch for around $100, regardless of what price they are in other territories, alot of Konami games launch for $110, which is what i expect MGS TTS to retail for. hasn't anyone been paying attention to all the ranting us aussies have been doing? face-icon-small-tongue.gif

head over to xe.com for all your currency conversion needs.

mouse_clickerMarch 13, 2004

That's horrible! Why the hell do they think they can charge that much for games in Australia? I'm sure they could give sales a huge boost if they dropped the prices, even just a bit. I bet you could import games for less. Wow.

Uncle Rich AiAiMarch 13, 2004

I think it all comes down to the population size. Australia has a population of roughly 20 million. That is super small compared to the US, especially for a country as big as Australia. So, publishers know they will sell far fewer games down under, so games are more expensives. I guess they trade-off between how much they can sell VS how much profit they can make.

I hope I made sense! face-icon-small-tongue.gif

mouse_clickerMarch 13, 2004

What makes MORE sense than that, AiAi, is if they drop the prices of their games and sell more copies, which I think would be a better way of getting the most out of a comparitively smaller market. face-icon-small-wink.gif

Shift KeyMarch 13, 2004

Mouse: That makes so much sense its stupid. Now lets tell them we'd love them to sell no games at all so we can remove our eyes because we no longer need them! NARF!

KnowsNothingMarch 13, 2004

Poor Australia...........I feel really bad for all you "mates"........er.........yeah

o hay i went to Outback Steakhouse and had food and stuff. IS IT TRUE YOU HAVE CHICKEN DOWN UNDER?! Foster's, Australian for bee-ah.....

Anyway, $75 is completely outrageous. If *I* were ruler and world tyrant, I'd make sure that you guys get it for FREE. And I'd make kangaroos domisticated and have them roam the streets of every country, including France. And I'd create a giant statue of of Charles Darwin in a mickey mouse hat holding a horseshoe and a floppy disk rising out of the indian ocean and looking over india. watching. just in case they try to pull a fast one.

but that's just me.

Uncle Rich AiAiMarch 13, 2004

It isn't always how much you can sell, but how much profit you make. So, lets say they sell it for AUD$20 less, making it AUD$80, yes, more copies will be sold, but will they make as much profit as if they sold it at AUD$100? That depends on how much more copies are sold. And you also have to factor that there is only so many game gamers can buy & have the time for.

I'm sure publishers have a good idea about that, better than we do. Like you said last year, we are not sales analysis! (I remember that quote of yours face-icon-small-tongue.gif) And remember like I said, Australia is a very small market, so I doubt a hell lotta more game will be flying off shelves if the price was dropped.

But I want to be proved wrong, 'cos I hate buying games at that price.

mouse_clickerMarch 13, 2004

How much profit are they really making, though? I'm sure they could increase their market if they didn't price games so that only the rich and hardcore will buy them.

Ocarina BlueMarch 13, 2004

NZ wins with $85USD per game. And the price doesn't drop, ever. How much are the Cubes themselves in Aussie? They're $160USD here.

The only thing that should change the cost of a game in Australasia is the shipping fee from Europe; they don't localise it past what they've done in Euroland.

mouse_clickerMarch 13, 2004

Quote

NZ wins with $85USD per game.


face-icon-small-shocked.gif

Aussie Ben PGCBen Kosmina, Staff AlumnusMarch 13, 2004

I remember paying $110 for Castlevania: Circle of the Moon when it was available at launch. Here's a rough breakdown of Australian game prices:

Most GC third-party games: $99
Most GC first-party games: $80
Player's Choice games: $50
Most GBA first-party games: $60
Most GBA third-party games: $80

You either have to cope, or import, or sometimes a combination of both.

WuTangTurtleMarch 13, 2004

Wow im sorry u guys, i kind of sent this disscussion a little off topic.

Lets get back on topic. Crsytal Chronicles is worth the money if u have friends who will be able to play it. Otherwise the single player is a bit lackluster. The game is essentially like Kingdom Hearts but it still doesnt seem that good in single player. Once u go multi player u will never want to go back to single player..........ever!

I would rate the game a 8.5 for multi but only a 7 for single.

Infernal MonkeyMarch 13, 2004

Fun fact, Mario Paint on SNES launched at $139.95. Seriously.
Er, I may rent out Crystal Cronicles one day (if Blockbuster bothers to get it in). Doesn't seem like my cup of tea, single player-wise.

KDR_11kMarch 13, 2004

In continental Europe we pay EUR60, that's about the same as the australian price. I heard this was caused by a strong dollar/weak Euro at the time the prices were fixed and now, even though this turned upside down (it's cheaper to import than buy locally!!!), the prices are still at that amount. Some newer games (mostly first-party) retail for a fiver or tenner less nowadays.

Uncle Rich AiAiMarch 13, 2004

Quote

Originally posted by: Aussie Ben PGC
Most GC first-party games: $80

Zuh? Most GC first-party games are $99. I don't know where they are generally $80.

PlugabugzMarch 14, 2004

I thought we got it bad, Player's Choice UK is £20, and most other games go between £30 and £40.

KDR_11kMarch 14, 2004

GBP40 is the same as EUR60 or AUD99... (+- 1 Euro)

MarioMarch 15, 2004

Quote

Originally posted by: AiAi
Quote

Originally posted by: Aussie Ben PGC
Most GC first-party games: $80

Zuh? Most GC first-party games are $99. I don't know where they are generally $80.

Yeah. I've never seen a GC first party game for $80, they're either $99 or $50 if they're Players Choice. *confused look at Aussie Ben*

And eh, i'm used to it. I payed $110 for Timesplitters 2, Resident Evil, Resident Evil Zero.. and probably others, and $100 for pretty much every other game i've ever bought. face-icon-small-thumbsup.gif

ib2kool4u912March 15, 2004

Mario, if I were you I'd pick a new hobby. Actually that goes for all you Aussiesface-icon-small-wink.gif In comparison how much does a CD or DVD cost in Australia?

Drunk FlyMarch 15, 2004

Between $20 and $35 Australian depending on what it is.

mouse_clickerMarch 15, 2004

That's a bit more expensive than Americans pay for CD's, but CD prices are high everywhere. Hence piracy's huge popularity. When is the music industry going to learn that the reason people don't buy CD's is because they're too expensive. Raising prices to "recoup" their "losses" from piracy will only propogate the problem. At least CD prices have come down in recent times.

Shift KeyMarch 15, 2004

Eh, this is nothing new. Its been like this since the N64 came out (I didn't buy games for the SNES, so I can't remember what they were like back then) and we're all still alive, albeit grumpy.

*points to other things that make Australia awesome, like beer.gif and women face-icon-small-cool.gif*

KDR_11kMarch 16, 2004

They should at least lower console games to the prices of PC games, though.

vuduMarch 16, 2004

Quote

hasn't anyone been paying attention to all the ranting us aussies have been doing?
no, we haven't. we've all been banned from the aussie thread. face-icon-small-sad.gif

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