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[kiphalfton]

Was on another forum I frequent, and found out that apparently Xenoblade 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna are out of print.

Pretty surprised, since these seem like games that sell well? In any case, if sales dropped dramatically it seems odd that Nintendo didnt instead change this to "Players Choice" or something like that.

I checked the eShop, and naturally both games are still full price.

So I'm not quite sure why Nintendo just dropped physical copies completely?

Before digital fanboys come in and say just get the digital copy, that's beside the point and it's the principle behind it (i.e. why even stop printing the game).

I noticed a couple other games that went out of print as well, such as The World Ends with You Final Remix.

It's just kind of frustrating, as I buy physical games... and the few games that are exclusive to switch they stopped printing (which is annoying, since it's not like there's a ton of exclusives on Switch).

 

[rabbity-thing]

Yeah, this is beyond strange. Things like friggin' Doom seem to be OOP. Gotta love that FOMO, I guess.

 

[StormCell]

Was on another forum I frequent, and found out that apparently Xenoblade 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna are out of print.

Pretty surprised, since these seem like games that sell well? In any case, if sales dropped dramatically it seems odd that Nintendo didnt instead change this to "Players Choice" or something like that.

I checked the eShop, and naturally both games are still full price.

So I'm not quite sure why Nintendo just dropped physical copies completely?

Before digital fanboys come in and say just get the digital copy, that's beside the point and it's the principle behind it (i.e. why even stop printing the game).

I noticed a couple other games that went out of print as well, such as The World Ends with You Final Remix.

It's just kind of frustrating, as I buy physical games... and the few games that are exclusive to switch they stopped printing (which is annoying, since it's not like there's a ton of exclusives on Switch).

Does going out of print necessarily mean that it can't be bought physically anywhere? I see XC2 available pre-owned, and I guess I can see how that would be frustrating if you wanted to buy new. OTOH, given the cost of the cartridges and supply/demand for them, it would make even less sense to continue producing hard copies of the game if retailers have stopped stocking it.

An unfortunate consequence of digital distribution might be the death of Player's Choice -- what is the benefit of selling physical carts at a reduced price? If anything, putting the carts OOP means the digital product is now free to go on sale as much as the publisher likes.

 

[Miles708]

Nintendo are masters of artificial scarcity but this is still odd.

 

[Nester99]

Wtf.

Torna is $334 on Amazon Canada via reseller right now.

Thanks for the heads up OP. I want Torna physical to go with my other xenoblade physicals!

 

[Cornbread78]

Wtf.

Torna is $334 on Amazon Canada via reseller right now.

Thanks for the heads up OP. I want Torna physical to go with my other xenoblade physicals!

Oh, maybe I should sell my copy...

 

[Alexios]

Lol @ people seriously claiming they sell more copies by not having them available. Wtf? This guy literally told you he can't buy game x or y, how does that lead to more sales? He'll either get it digital or forget about it altogether and if he buys it used Nintendo ain't getting shit.

That's just what happens to all physical, hence needing re-prints like Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, etc. under the PlayStation Hits line for huge discounts to justify old games noone cares about any more taking up shelf space.

They'd be full price physical too, that's their schtick, no devaluing unless it's a bomba. Readily available here in part of EUland so buy now or complain later when those copies run dry too.

Edit: yep, stealth Switch has no (xclusive) gaemz, is an inferior portable port machine thread I guess, keeps getting reiterated for no reason by OP, lol.

 

[kiphalfton]

Does going out of print necessarily mean that it can't be bought physically anywhere? I see XC2 available pre-owned, and I guess I can see how that would be frustrating if you wanted to buy new. OTOH, given the cost of the cartridges and supply/demand for them, it would make even less sense to continue producing hard copies of the game if retailers have stopped stocking it.

An unfortunate consequence of digital distribution might be the death of Player's Choice -- what is the benefit of selling physical carts at a reduced price? If anything, putting the carts OOP means the digital product is now free to go on sale as much as the publisher likes.

I can buy it pre-owned, it just costs more and I would prefer getting it new (without paying way more than it retailed at) since I've got some questionable pre-owned items before.

Interesting point you made in your second paragraph about offering more sales since it is digital and there is no longer any production cost associated with it... but this is Nintendo were talking about. Not trying to be sarcastic.

I'm not above digital, it's just that digital stuff doesn't generally seem to go on sale as often as physical. I'm basing that off seeing physical switch games go on sale a few times a year, sometimes as "low" as $40 for their big hitters (i.e. Mario, etc. games).

 

[nush]

Digital is the replacement for long tail software titles now.

 

[salamanderjuice]

I think the fact that Switch uses carts rather than discs is partly to blame. There is only so much chip supply and probably a much limited number of factories that can make them so they probably prioritize new games and high sellers like MK8 Deluxe.

 

[Miles708]

Digital is the replacement for long tail software titles now.

Until licences expire, at least.

 

[iHaunter]

Nintendo are masters of artificial scarcity but this is still odd.

They've been doing it for years, that's how they sell so much.

 

[nightmare-slain]

Until licences expire, at least.

when that happens you won't be able to download your patches + dlc so doesn't make much difference.

 

[Roni]

Nintendo chasing that Supreme hype money...

 

[kiphalfton]

That's what happens to all physical, hence needing re-prints like Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, etc. under the PlayStation Hits line for huge discounts to justify old games noone cares about any more taking up shelf space.

They'd be full price physical too, that's their schtick, no devaluing unless it's a bomba. Readily available here in part of EUland so buy now or complain later when those copies run dry too.

Lol @ people seriously claiming they sell more copies by not having them available. Wtf? This guy literally told you he can't buy game x or y, how does that lead to more sales? He'll either get it digital or forget about it altogether.

Glad you brought that up, as that's something I was thinking about. Maybe when people find out you can't buy it physically anymore, they'll run out and buy it before it goes out of print, resulting in a surge in sales (ala Super Mario 3D All Stars), but it doesn't matter if Nintendo just suddenlty stops printing the games and only a relatively small group of people notice it's hard to come by before finally going out of stock.

 

[StormCell]

I can buy it pre-owned, it just costs more and I would prefer getting it new (without paying way more than it retailed at) since I've got some questionable pre-owned items before.

Interesting point you made in your second paragraph about offering more sales since it is digital and there is no longer any production cost associated with it... but this is Nintendo were talking about. Not trying to be sarcastic.

I'm not above digital, it's just that digital stuff doesn't generally seem to go on sale as often as physical. I'm basing that off seeing physical switch games go on sale a few times a year, sometimes as "low" as $40 for their big hitters (i.e. Mario, etc. games).

Yeah, Nintendo is stingy. XC2 was on sale in the eShop for $40. When I made that comment about going on sale, I was thinking of third party publishers... For instance, I've only ever seen Tropical Freeze on sale once, and even then it was $40. I passed. I still want it, but I don't $40 want it...

And, also, a good example of what happens when carts are over-produced is Civ VI (physical) for $10. *lol*

Of course, what I got for $10 amounts to a physical card that allows me to basically download that game seeing as so much of the content ends up coming in the form of a day 1 patch.

 

[Alexios]

Glad you brought that up, as that's something I was thinking about. Maybe when people find out you can't buy it physically anymore, they'll run out and buy it before it goes out of print, resulting in a surge in sales (ala Super Mario 3D All Stars), but it doesn't matter if Nintendo just suddenlty stops printing the games and only a relatively small group of people notice it's hard to come by before finally going out of stock.

Look, everyone releases a limited edition of whatever here and there, notifying their super fans to buy it now that they can, to get preoder numbers and so know how much of this thing they can't print forever they should really allocate resources to etc., same for super niche games that get limited physical editions and are otherwise digital only because a widespread physical release simply isn't justified by the amount of buyers out there, etc. But yes, just finding out from a forum thread a game you didn't intend to buy because you had forgotten about it already anyway is out of stock is not exactly a reliable marketing strategy to attribute to Nintendo. The series is relatively niche, sold little, copies ran dry as they obviously knew it's no Mario and didn't somehow pull a Capcom to bait retailers into ordering gazillions nobody would buy so they'd fill bargain bins forever and ever...

 

[Miles708]

when that happens you won't be able to download your patches + dlc so doesn't make much difference.

That's a good point and also the reason why I don't download any patch at all for any game.

 

[kiphalfton]

Since Nintendo has been on such a roll with re-releases, I'm guessing I'll get my chance to get a physical copy on whatever console is the successor to the switch. So just a waiting game.

I mean the first Xenoblade Chronicles has now been ported twice I believe (it was first on Wii, then was ported to the new 3DS, and now to Switch).

 

[StormCell]

Glad you brought that up, as that's something I was thinking about. Maybe when people find out you can't buy it physically anymore, they'll run out and buy it before it goes out of print, resulting in a surge in sales (ala Super Mario 3D All Stars), but it doesn't matter if Nintendo just suddenlty stops printing the games and only a relatively small group of people notice it's hard to come by before finally going out of stock.

I hope that wasn't my post that was interpreted as suggesting the games will sell even better once digital only. I simply meant that publishers can put the titles on sale in the eShop once there's no longer physical product on store shelves. If they want to mark the price down, they have to do it at both physical locations as well as on the eShop -- it's due to some agreement Nintendo has with retail to prevent eShop prices from being better than physical prices (???? stupid if you ask me).

 

[Birdo]

Games don't stay in print forever, unless they continue to sell (GTA, Skyrim, and so on)

The original Hyrule Warriors and Monster Hunter Generations have also recently vanished from retailers (You used to always see them in stock).

 

[kiphalfton]

Games don't stay in print forever, unless they continue to sell (GTA, Skyrim, and so on)

The original Hyrule Warriors and Monster Hunter Generations have also recently vanished from retailers (You used to always see them in stock).

I'm not expecting that they be printed forever, but for Switch exclusive games this is pretty damn sad. Not like there's a ton of switch exclusives.

 

[Kjtc1979]

I'm not expecting that they be printed forever, but for Switch exclusive games this is pretty damn sad. Not like there's a ton of switch exclusives.

Maybe it’s a sign that a Nintendo Selects line is finally coming. Fingers crossed!

 

[ManaByte]

So I'm not quite sure why Nintendo just dropped physical copies completely?

Carts are costly to produce.

 

[Miles708]

Carts are costly to produce.

And they're poor and need money.

 

[HF2014]

Digital is the replacement for long tail software titles now.

Ok. You got me here with your avatar, really thought i was having a hair on my ipad!

 

[Unk Adams]

This is why I'll be holding on to my physical games from now on and not worry about trading them in or anything like that. It used to be you could trade in a game or trade for another game and you could always rebuy it much cheaper down the road if you ever change your mind. Now it seems like many physical games become scarce and more valuable in time. Like you said, certain Switch games are already valuable and even if they do get reprinted down the line as Nintendo Selects once that print sells out then they'll be expensive again. Many GC Player's Choice now go for over $100 used for beat up, old copies and they were $20 MSRP at one point...

 

[WalterSobchak]

There going to be a lot of rare switch carts in a few years. There is already quite a few non nintendo rare switch games like Binding of Issac first print , RiME , and Disegaea .


I noticed a few months back how much Xeno 2 and Torna were going for. I am kicking myself for not buying Torna for $40 on sale a year or 2 back. But I do have a sealed Xeno 2 at least.
It's pretty seldom for non collectors editions of games to be so rare while a system is still in its marketing lifespan , but we will see that a lot with the Switch.