Virtual Console vs. Real Copies of Classic Titles: Which is Cheaper?
By Jonathan on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 1:52 PM PST In Game Companies, Game Consoles, Gamer Life, Games, Games Industry, Nintendo, Nintendo
People gripe a lot about shelling out cash for new Virtual Console versions of classic game. It’s not hard to understand why, considering many people probably owned these titles years ago and finding free (but illegal) ROMs for these same games can be found online quite easily. With all that in mind, it’s only natural gamers would feel a little cheated by a $5 price tag for the original Super Mario Bros. But is it really cheaper to scour garage sales and eBay for the used copies of your favorite titles rather than downloading them onto the Wii?
Well, JJ Hendricks, author of the Video Game Price Charts Blog set out to answer that question. He put together a detailed chart comparing the price of every single Virtual Console title to their cost on VideoGamePriceCharts.com on January 24th just to see which was cheaper. The results were…surprising:
|
Game Title |
Used Price | VC Price |
| Nintendo Entertainment System | $273.53 | $288.00 |
| Super NES | $354.38 | $216.00 |
| Nintendo 64 | $169.42 | $102.00 |
| Sega Genesis | $406.59 | $353.00 |
| Neo Geo | $135.00 | $72.00 |
| TurboGrafx-16 | $1,177.67 | $294.00 |
|
Totals: |
$2516.59 | $1325.00 |
Yep, that’s right. Seems it really is cheaper to just download the VC version rather then tracking down an actual cartridge; a lot cheaper, unless you’re looking for NES games. Of course some titles skew the final results quite drastically — TurboGrafx-16 games cost at least $20 each for the most part, as opposed to their $6 VC price tag. Besides which, the way I’ve always looked at it is the Virtual Console allows anyone a chance to relive an old classic and not just the guy who won the final eBay bid. Now, what’s say we get some Tetris Attack on there?
Via Vintage Computing and Gaming
I figured they’d be a bit cheaper, but not that much.
eh.. I just say go to a garage sale and pick up whatever game you want from the old systems for a quarter. Until VC has online multiplayer, there’s no point. Just find an old dusty system at a flea market or garage sale and pick up a stack of games. You could probably walk away with a system and several games for less than 10 bucks.
OMG… You like Tetris Attack? I love Tetris Attack!!!!
That is quite a lot, but, in some cases, it’s not going to be that much between the individual game and the hard copy. I wonder why on earth the savings aren’t even more. They should be giving Mario Bros. away for free…I wish.
You also have to factor in the hassle of attempting to find the game you want in physical form. When you consider that, I’d actually be happy to spend a dollar or two more (even though it’s not the case, as the article shows) to simply buy it on the Virtual Console.
And this way you’re also guaranteed to never have to blow in a cartridge. I know I’m not the only one that gets a huge smile on their face at that prospect.
I’ve tried the garage sale route. Most time the games don’t work, or work intermittently. You actually end up wasting a lot of money and a HUGE amount of time. Plus, my main TV doesn’t even have the proper inputs for my NES anymore so its finally been completely relegated to the closet full time.
Because of that I absolutely LOVE the VC. I’m playing games I missed or always wanted to try but didn’t have the system like the TG-16, games that are rare and expensive on ebay are all standard pricing. If you like retro gaming, there is no better way than the VC. The classis controller add-on really adds to the feel of the 16 bit era games as well. And these games were never designed to be played on line anyway so you’re not missing anything. Besides I prefer to play them pixel perfect as they were meant to be played. Its like driving a new car versus a classic, its much better if its original as it was when it was new so many years ago. Otherwise, really, whats the point?
All that chart proves is two things:
1. JJ Hendricks has never been to a garage sale because he could find plenty of old ladies giving that junk away for next to nothing if he did.
2. Nintendo is gouging the hell out of its customers by charging approximately the same price for some downloadable bytes of data that comprise crappy old games which have long since paid for themselves as real physical products of the same old crap which sell for inflated prices to idiot collectors trying to relive the past who don’t have enough good sense to checkout garage sales to pickup that junk by the truckload for a few bucks.
“Nintendo is gouging the hell out of its customers”
I’m fine with the price. I used to think it made sense to make the less desirable games on a VC system cost less, but then I realized that meant doing the opposite with more desirable games so standard pricing actually works out well. Like I said, I tried the garage sale route and its impossible to find what you’re looking for without spending hours scavenging through junk and wasting gas driving around. And ebay gets expensive when shipping is usually $5 or more for a single cart. Being an adult with a good job, I make enough that my time is actually pretty valuable.
“idiot collectors trying to relive the past”
That’s just the kind of attitude that makes it challenging for games to reach the same level of entertainment as movies and music. If I go buy a movie or a CD from 20 years ago, its still $10-$20 even though they “have long since paid for themselves”. People watching classic movies or playing classic games are not necessarily trying to relive the past. Generalizations like that don’t make much sense. Not all of us have seen every movie, heard every song, or played every game. We didn’t own every system and there were lots of games we missed or would simply like to play. I’m really pleased with the VC thus far.
Nintendo is gouging customers and so is Microsoft on XBL. I’m guilty of purchasing many XBLA titles.. I guess it’s convenience. It’s certainly not being smart with my money.
I guess I just don’t understand how the VC or XBL is price gouging? What incentive do they have to price these games at unfair levels? They only make money if people buy them. I mean, especially with the VC, the games are easily available used, at garage sales, and on ebay, or for the unsavory, ROMs are certainly playable on any PC within minutes. Price gouging occurs when the product is a necessity and not available by other means, neither of which is true of the VC. I mean, you said it yourself, “it’s convenience”. Thats the truth with the VC. Imagine how much time you might have to spend finding a specific game at a yard sale. It could take weeks of driving around and scavenging (which can admittedly be fun in and of itself). Or look on ebay where most carts have $2-$5 shipping. Having actually been interested in vintage gaming in the past and having bought a lot of old carts on ebay, the prices seem pretty competitive to me.