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[HammerOfThor]

They aren't the only company that controls prices; Apple, Under Armour, and others do this too.

I think the biggest reason Nintendo does this is less about public perception, and more about not having to deal with a retailer that decides they need to sell the game cheaper then ask Nintendo for a discount equal to the loss they had from the discount.

 

[vaporeon]

I feel a bit better about buying Nintendo games at launch because of that... but otherwise I'm not a fan. That price floor is really barring themselves from a lot of consumers.

 

[PKrockin]

Your Nintendo games are no more an investment than buying a new car from the dealership. By definition, you invest to make a profit. You may need to read up on money management if you consider usually getting most of your money back a good investment.

I don't mean to be rude but Americans have shockingly little in savings and convincing themselves their big expensive toy is "an investment" is a common, dangerous justification.

 

[entremet]

I hate GH, so I'm thankful for it.

Unfortunately I also dislike Nintendo Selects. :X Wish they did the same thing.

Nintendo Selects stuff ain't that bad looking.

However, Nintendo does have some nice box art so it just makes it smaller.

 

[Menitta]

I don't. I never sell my games (at least ones I like) and there are some games I don't want to pay full price because I'm afraid I won't like it, so I wait for a price drop. Last I checked Fire Emblem Awakening is still $40. Nintendo game prices are more stable than gold.

 

[Jonneh3003]

I like that the prices stay relatively high, I'm not punished for buying games early, I can still pretty much get my money back 2 years later.

They don't control the used game market, prices stay high because consumers will pay high. Nintendo often under cut the used market with Nintendo Selects.

 

[Opa-Pa]

It never ceases to amaze me how easily people bought into Iwata's "maintaining the value of games" BS. They just feel like they can get away with it and sadly, most of the time they do, but it's not part of some noble crusade to save video games nor some abstract seal of quality.

Plus it makes buying a bad Nintendo game without knowing the worst (this rarely happens, but still). And those Nintendo Selects versions look awful, there's no winning.

I mean OP if you can twist it enough to see it as a benefit, then more power to you, but nah. I hope they start trying different strategies with pricing for Switch games or I could see it backfiring on them, but I'm not too hopeful.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Bwahahaha. Oh wait, OP is serious?

 

[Fandangox]

Individually this is a crazy idea, its better for the consumer to just get a good deal on a game while paying less.

Although it could be argued that maintaining the value of game software is important overall for the industry, how sustainable would it be when budgets keep increasing, games still release at the same price they have been for years, and costumers are growing accustomed to just buy them when they inevitably drop price.

On the other hand it could be argued not getting games day 1 also has its benefits since they are probably bound to have mayor bugs, or the content is not all ready at release. There's also the fact that one may jump "day 1" for the sequel of a game that they only gave a chance to because they bought it for cheap.

Like a lot of things retaining the value of video games the way Nintendo does it has its up and downs.

Ultimately its up to you to decide if you want to spend 60 bucks for a game or not as soon as it comes out. I don't regret one bit getting Wonderful 101 for that price despite it dropping to half pretty soon afterwards, but Im personally waiting on a sale on Color Splash, and I wouldn't get Starfox until I can find it for VERY cheap.

 

[psyfi]

Sure, but it sucks if you don't want to resell it. It's hard to be a poor Nintendo fan.

 

[walking fiend]

Don't let them get you down, op. I also like paying more for things than I need to. It's a show of wealth and power that does wonders for my self esteem.

You don't pay more than what you need to though. If you pay $60 for a Nintendo game, you can resell it for $40 almost any time 'after' having played it, so you basically pay $20 for a game on average.

Of course if you want to hold onto your games, that is another story. But I don't feel the need to hold onto 10 year old games

 

[ChrisD]

Nintendo Selects stuff ain't that bad looking.

However, Nintendo does have some nice box art so it just makes it smaller.

Yeah, I don't hate it, just prefer having the full art outside of a smaller frame. Dislike it, but don't actively avoid like GH haha.

 

[tearsintherain]

What Nintendo should do is raise prices on their games by $10 every year, then the true Nintendo fans can truly appreciate what an innovative and trailblazing company they truly are.

Meanwhile today I traded in 6 of the PS4 games I had finished into gamestop for a little bit more than I paid (50% trade bonus active in California) and two of those games I hadn't finished, but I am 100% sure I will be able to buy them cheaper in a few months. Lucky for me Nintendo doesn't release new games that often so I don't have to really worry about having too many games at once, they are thinking of me once again.

 

[Jon Carter]

Spending a whole forty or, God, SIXTY DOLLARS on something dozens or hundreds of highly-skilled professionals spent years of hard work on? That's a whole four to six hours of work at minimum wage! I'm not made of money, I can't just support the people making things I love by paying a fair price like I'm some billionaire.

 

[Pagusas]

 

[HF2014]

My Nintendo games are the one im over 50% sure they wont lose value over time. I grab a few month go New Super Mario U + Luigi, and was surprise i could get even in the money i invest on my regular copie of New Super Mario U. Im not buying them for investment, but when buying a Nintendo product, seeing it lose his value is not something im worried. Christ, i was able ro sell for 60$ cnd an old Wii colllecting dust with a scratch copie of Mario Kart and some other worthless games.

 

[stargateheaven]

an investment? dude you're crazy..

how did you convince yourself that it's an investment? lol

 

[SmokedMeat]

So because you like spending $60 for new games it bugs you to see others pay less money after a game has been out for a bit.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

Spending a whole forty or, God, SIXTY DOLLARS on something dozens or hundreds of highly-skilled professionals spent years of hard work on? That's a whole four to six hours of work at minimum wage! I'm not made of money, I can't just support the people making things I love by paying a fair price like I'm some billionaire.

What position do you think you're addressing here?

 

[walking fiend]

I don't. I never sell my games (at least ones I like) and there are some games I don't want to pay full price because I'm afraid I won't like it, so I wait for a price drop. Last I checked Fire Emblem Awakening is still $40. Nintendo game prices are more stable than gold.

That is actually what is really good about Nintendo games. Even if you don't like the game, you can resell it just slightly under what you paid for it. However, if you buy other games at lunch and don't like them for whatever reason, you most probably have to sell them at a significant loss.

So because you like spending $60 for new games it bugs you to see others pay less money after a game has been out for a bit.

No, not all. I am just saying with other publishers you have to choose between either waiting for the game price to go down or play it early by paying a premium at launch.

With Nintendo games, you can buy the game at launch, play it early or whenever you want to, and resell it at almost what you paid for it.

 

[TheOfficeMut]

Many, this is some funny and pathetic shit.

The irony is that you're so concerned about not losing a buck by wanting to resell games that you wouldn't have to worry about that if Nintendo games depreciated in value like the majority of games to the point where you'd be able to buy them dirt cheap.

God damn.

Spending a whole forty or, God, SIXTY DOLLARS on something dozens or hundreds of highly-skilled professionals spent years of hard work on? That's a whole four to six hours of work at minimum wage! I'm not made of money, I can't just support the people making things I love by paying a fair price like I'm some billionaire.

Hold up, are you trying to discourage people from buying discounted games by guilt tripping them? Hey, you can choose to pay whatever the hell you want but you're on some shit if you think it's any wrong for people to want to save as much money as possible if the opportunity presents itself.

 

[Vibed]

The best thing about maintaining prices is I don't feel like I'm missing a potential huge price drop when buying early. Makes me feel better about my purchase, compared to some people buying FFXV at $10 when I paid $50 2 days before.

 

[Jonneh3003]

an investment? dude you're crazy..

how did you convince yourself that it's an investment? lol

How isn't it? Many games sell for more or maintain their original retail price. The used game market pays what they want for these games, Nintendo themselves are the only ones that diminish the value with Nintendo Selects.

 

[MDSLKTR]

Why stop at that op? Buy their games by the crate straight out of the warehouse to bypass the dirty retailers . Don't forget to invest in shares for maximum profit.

corporations are not your friends

Reggie & co. very much are, everyone is your buddy on the treehouse!

 

[Gator86]

What position do you think you're addressing here?

 

[SummitAve]

I mean it's nice to know that the game isn't going to be deeply discounted shortly after you buy it, but at the same time sales suck big time.

 

[Jon Carter]

What position do you think you're addressing here?

The position of the 1% trying to screw us 99%ers.

 

[Poot Poot Splash]

I agree OP. The only problem I have is Nintendo releases their games too cheap at launch. $60 for a Zelda, Mario, Pikmin game is just way to cheap. They're leaving money on the table. Should be closer to $250. When you buy Nintendo you know you're buying the top of the line product (gameplay) and the price should correlate with that.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

How isn't it? Many games sell for more or maintain their original retail price. The used game market pays what they want for these games, Nintendo themselves are the only ones that diminish the value with Nintendo Selects.

Buying something and selling it for a loss is the world's worst investment. I mean what the fuck is going on.

 

[JinjoUnchained]

Allow me to play devil's advocate and side with OP. Nintendo's full priced games can be seen as Giffen goods, in economic terms. That is, the higher price signals higher quality to consumers and thus creates higher demand, the inverse of the usual demand curve. Thus, Nintendo consumers are conditioned that their $60 purchase will get them a high quality game with a lot of content. A lower price for a given game would then suggest a lower quality game with less content. Like that value-priced Mario Tennis game for Wii U, for example.

OTOH, other developers may not put as much time or quality content into their games if they know they are going to slash the price soon anyway. Why make a game with $60 worth of content if you're going to have to slash its' price in half within a month? Instead, make a game with $30 worth of content and crank up the pre-order hype machine to sucker in a few early adopters to pay the $30 early adoption tax. Throw them some ancillary pre-order bonus to bait the hook.

You typically don't see that shit with Nintendo games. You pay your $60, you know you'll get your money's worth. That's it, no more dicking around the consumer post-purchase.

 

[GhostOfSparta305]

What Nintendo should do is raise prices on their games by $10 every year, then the true Nintendo fans can truly appreciate what an innovative and trailblazing company they truly are.

With all the hype surrounding the outdated Switch, Nintendo could likely get away with that too.

 

[Malio]

Yea man, I hear you. As a consumer, I hate when games go on sale that I (might) someday (probably not) want to sell. Paying $10-$20 for a 3 year old game is just the WORST.

 

[Drackhorn]

I hope I will see games never as an investment but just as what they are: games.

 

[Piston Hyundai]

I love paying 30 dollars for Nintendo DS launch titles in 2016.

 

[rochellepaws]

I don't like to sell games and I also like to catch up on games which may be a few years old, so Nintendo's pricing policy is a real headache for me.

 

[RoboPlato]

Nintendo's refusal to drop prices and properly stock items so that there can be sales is the absolute worst thing about the company and makes me want to buy their products less. One of the benefits of buying a console later in life is that you can catch up on missed games for cheap. Nintendo doesn't even give you that option.

They even do this for hardware. The Wii U cost more than the Xbox One and PS4 this holiday. That is insanity to me.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Stockholm Syndrome: Nintendo Edition

Yep. Sadly common with videogame companies, I don't know why.

I can't help but be reminded of this:

"You know, given human nature, if people got hit on the head by a baseball bat every week, pretty soon they would invent reasons why getting hit on the head with a baseball bat was a good thing. But if you took someone who wasn't being hit on the head with a baseball bat, and you asked them if they wanted it, they would say no."

The context was the cliché that "death gives meaning to life", but it applies to a suprisingly wide variety of circumstances. If you imagine a fictional you that has always lived in an universe where the opposite circumstance exists, and can't picture that fictional you actually preferring to live in yours, well, that's kind of a clear sign.

 

[walking fiend]

Buying something and selling it for a loss is the world's worst investment. I mean what the fuck is going on.

Do you think buying a car instead of paying for a taxi is an investment or not?

The opportunity cost of not reselling games at a slightly lower price is not selling them at all or selling them at a significantly lower price or not buying games whatsoever.

Economically speaking, Nintendo's policy is most consumer friendly as long as you don't want to keep the games.

 

[cw_sasuke]

OP is kinda right - at least for the big Nintendo games you can sell them again after month for more or less the same price you bought them for. Its crazy.

3DS first party games - bought them new for 30-33€ and was always able to sell them months later for at least 25€. Love it.

 

[Jonneh3003]

Buying something and selling it for a loss is the world's worst investment. I mean what the fuck is going on.

Woah what's with the exaggeration? Most releases drastically go down in value after the first month, for instance I got Fallout 4 for £15 in December of last year, it feels you only pay that high £40/50 price to get it a few weeks early. With Nintendo games I can pay £40 for it and get maybe £30 back 3 years later. Used game market is a bitch that way but it's great for the day one buyers. Nintendo makes it easier for those who wait to buy games with Nintendo Selects.

 

[GhostOfSparta305]

Spending a whole forty or, God, SIXTY DOLLARS on something dozens or hundreds of highly-skilled professionals spent years of hard work on? That's a whole four to six hours of work at minimum wage! I'm not made of money, I can't just support the people making things I love by paying a fair price like I'm some billionaire.

So I'm guessing you were/are one of those "A for effort" kids? All devs deserve a consolation prize?

 

[TheOfficeMut]

OP is kinda right - at least for the big Nintendo games you can sell them again after month for more or less the same price you bought them for. Its crazy.

3DS first party games - bought them new for 30-33€ and was always able to sell them months later for at least 25€. Love it.

The only thing he or she is right about is that the games rarely become cheaper and not that they should remain at a barely-reduced price. Nintendo sucks with this shit.

Do you think buying a car instead of paying for a taxi is an investment or not?

The opportunity cost of not reselling games at a slightly lower price is not selling them at all or selling them at a significantly lower price or not buying games whatsoever.

Economically speaking, Nintendo's policy is most consumer friendly as long as you don't want to keep the games.

I'm going to advocate that Nintendo sells its products as close to $1 as possible so that when it comes time for me to resell them I am barely losing out! Now that's how you save!

 

[walking fiend]

Nintendo's refusal to drop prices and properly stock items so that there can be sales is the absolute worst thing about the company and makes me want to buy their products less. One of the benefits of buying a console later in life is that you can catch up on missed games for cheap. Nintendo doesn't even give you that option.

They even do this for hardware. The Wii U cost more than the Xbox One and PS4 this holiday. That is insanity to me.

That is false though.Buy a Nintendo console and a game, play the game, finish it, sell it at why you paid for it, buy another game and so on. As I said, you people want to collect games, you don't want to play them

I am waiting for anyone to actually come up with an econicimal reason explaining why Nintendo policy is not in favor of the consumers that are not into collecting games, but actually playing games.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

Do you think buying a car instead of paying for a taxi is an investment or not?

The opportunity cost of not reselling games at a slightly lower price is not selling them at all or selling them at a significantly lower price or not buying games whatsoever.

Economically speaking, Nintendo's policy is most consumer friendly as long as you don't want to keep the games.

That analogy has nothing to do with your views of games being investments. Buying game A at $60, enjoying it X amount and selling it for $40 is no more an investment than buying game B for $20 dollars, enjoying it Y amount and not selling it.

 

[sir_kevith]

I actually agree. I had a bunch of GBC and GBA games complete in box since college that were collecting dust. I didn't seem myself playing GBA hardware anymore so I made like 500 bucks selling 7-8 games. Not the best investment since I bought them all over 10 years ago but their value did go up.

 

[Kai Dracon]

I don't care about video games as an investment, but it is so weird how people are upset at Nintendo for, basically, making games that have value. It seems most people have been conditioned by the shaky economics of the big 3rd party publishers and expect all games to be 20 bucks six months after release.

There are AAA games that do not lose all their value in just a few months though. The GTA games are a prime example of stuff that doesn't end up in the bargin bin even a year later.

I realize some say they won't buy Nintendo games because they're never discounted to fire sale prices. However Nintendo titles that flop commercially do get discounted, generally. Meanwhile, there are evidently enough people who think Smash or Mario Kart are worth the money that Nintendo doesn't have to quickly drop the price to be happy with their performance.

I mean it's just economics? There are people in this thread that sound personally offended Nintendo won't let them buy new hardware and new games for pennies just because they'd like it.

 

[III-V]

I think the only thing the high cost does is present a high barriers of entry, and hurts more than helps. N is not exactly a value brand.

 

[jrush64]

I absolutely see nothing wrong with what the OP said. Call it Stockholm Syndrome all you want.

I like being able to sell a game I bought a year ago for a reasonable price.

 

[linko9]

I won't say whether I like it or not, but the practical effect it has is that I buy any Nintendo game I'm interested in day 1 if I think I want to play it within the first year, whereas I wait with almost anything else. Another reason for that is that Nintendo games tend to be finished when they're released, rather than having the experience change drastically within the first few months due to patches, though that's perhaps slowly changing.

 

[Kalopsia]

Spending a whole forty or, God, SIXTY DOLLARS on something dozens or hundreds of highly-skilled professionals spent years of hard work on? That's a whole four to six hours of work at minimum wage!

I hope you never have to subsist on minimum wage and weigh entertainment budget against medical expenses, warmth, rent, bills, or food, you miserable asshole.