Why Do Nintendo Games Hold Their Value So Well?

Drumstick wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Drumstick wrote:I got a sealed copy of Zelda for under 40 snoops and I also got Mario + Rabbids (sealed) for £30 off eBay. My advice would be to try something similar, sometimes you can get some really good bargains.

But I totally get your pain, it’s frustrating as hell, but it’s always been the same, except at times during the Gamecube’s lifespan. The N64 was absolutely shocking for it.

The N64 is still shocking for it - a boxed copy of Paper Mario or Mario Party 3 will set you back up to £150.

That's a shame because MP3 is the second best iteration of Mario's much vaunted Party.

Green Gecko wrote:It is kind of odd however the idea of Nintendo having a monopoly on their systems that third parties complain about (users don't want to buy non-Nintendo games on their systems etc.) specifically as a result of their games being generally very good. I mean it's hard to complain about that, "If Nintendo games weren't as good and weren't exclusive then we would sell more of our generally not-as-good games", it's very strange. I find you tend to have a 1:1 or maybe 2:1 if the system has a particularly good library balance of good Nintendo games to good 3rd party games, and a whole bunch that do nothing special on the system next to their PS/XB/PC counterparts, that Nintendo users come to expect (touch screen and motion functionality etc.), making those purchases for multiplat gamers essentially pointless. This has been addressed a great deal with the portability factor, nothing like Doom or Dark Souls coming up for example with proper controls and a nice screen would be expected since Sony basically quit the market by quietly forgetting about Vita.

Which is why for years now along with the retro mindset I've not played entirely on Nintendo systems since around 2005 (including PC).

It also gives an opportunity for indie eShop releases to flourish because they are affordable next to the physical/"AAA" releases whereas those might suffer on other platforms because there is just too much choice and generally worse choice when you average the % critical reception or some other arbitrary metric and compare the smaller Nintendo system libraries (discounting Wii which was massive and full of gooseberry fool) versus PS and XB. I appreciate those are usually overpriced compared to other systems as well, although only really when accounting for Nintendo's reticence to place games on sale (although I've seen some massive markdowns like eShop only games from £30 to £10 etc. which is quite good, e.g. Rune Factory 4). I don't think it really matters whether a console has 20 or 50 or 100 excellent games available because let's be honest hardly anyone has the time to play all of those games, yet might put 50-100 or even 200 or 300 hours into a single game like Breath of the Wild (as I have, but on Wii U ).

Ultimately it comes down to what the individual wants, certainly at the moment I can't just justify a Switch plus the expense of the games, having said that when I was a teenager I was perfectly happy to spend £40-£50 on GC games and I still have a full shelf of those. Obviously the best thing about the GameCube was its extremely low price (especially when it dropped to £70 but was still almost as powerful as the Xbox) but that same level of graphical fidelity just wasn't possible and would have cost considerably more (probably the PSP price point scaled with inflation would be a half valid comparison maybe without the 720p IPS display and 2x bluetooth motion controllers with a total of 3x lithium batteries). It's amazing to think that the Switch even in real terms with inflation probably costs 2-3x that of the last "normal" Nintendo console but then so did the 3DS and PSP etc..

Maybe gaming is just getting more expensive and we find it harder to justify that expense in terms of ROI. And I would say at the moment the ROI on a Switch is quite poor, unless you have no other systems and commute and move around a lot - a similar situation during which I picked up my 3DS and absolutely loved it. But that was £117.

It's certainly a very expensive system and combined with the game prices it doesn't look good. From a business perspective however it's immensely successful as the Switch has performed really well despite the high price. Which I'm sure Nintendo are happy about.

If I had the money and from a purely psychological standpoint, similar to the N64 era, I just wouldn't have the cash to splash on a Switch system and loads of games so I might be more inclined to eek more value out of each title and play titles like Smash or MK or others similar to the '64 for 100s of sessions and it that way get good value for money than buying a huge amount of cheap games and never playing most of them - the cost can easily be the same. So pretty ironically for a povvo gamer, once the cost of the system is set aside, you can get equal or more value out of system that does not spoil for choice but has consistently high quality if you are selective of your choices. That could apply deliberately for any system really but the high prices forces it and some might consider that a healthier scenario than having buckets of sealed games, and there's no shortage of individuals guilty of that here on all systems. That's probably why I continue to pick up Nintendo systems no sooner than half way through their lifecycle (such as Wii U but I picked up a Wii in 2011) because I generally feel that money is well spent on however many games I choose to purchase and the system just remains an ticket fee. That has always been Nintendo's model, sell the games at a high price and let the games sell the system. At the moment we have the most powerful console with the XBX for example but I have no interest in it whatsoever except for one game (Sea of Thieves) and also demands a 4K telly with HDR to get the most out of it.

Nintendo have also done very well to position the Switch as a premium lifestyle product that equates expense with quality, and that is highly convenient despite its meagre technical specifications, in a very similar way to Apple (that they have openly spoken about wanting to imitate - all you need to do is look at the aesthetic of the Wii and compare its interface to something like the touch wheel on an iPod, a brand and icon apart from the manufacturer itself). Previously Nintendo would deliver high quality at quite low prices like the GC and that model obviously did not work for them, so they've done the natural thing - increase the price because "why not". They've firmly positioned themselves at the top end of the market despite what technical gadgetry is actually in their machines. As everyone knows a top end Android device or good laptop usually trumps an Apple one based purely on spec.

The strongest asset Nintendo has is their brand (and their development talent), and so they are selling that, unashamedly. Which is probably what they should have been doing all along when their marketing was strawberry floating awful in the late 90s/early 00s next to Sony's manufactured "cool". In comparison to Sony who are still "cool" and increasingly insular "for the gamers", Nintendo are pretty hip and social and associated with innovation again. Again, the Apple comparison rings true. In a societal context all these things are normally associated with a high price, high society.

And that's the only reason the New 2DS exists - Nintendo have been smart enough to realise that a huge segment of their market can't afford a Switch, but the games are just as good, which is nice.

Samuel_1 wrote:

OrangeRakoon wrote:I consider £50 for Zelda good value when I've played it for 150 hours

Absolutely, I wouldn't dispute that for a second. It's just that I usually buy games when they reach around £25, with a few notable exceptions. So £50 for every game that I'd want on the Switch would be quite a drain on the wallet. Was the situation the same with the Wii? I'm hoping that economies of scale will kick in with the Switch at some point.

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Drumstick wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Drumstick wrote:I got a sealed copy of Zelda for under 40 snoops and I also got Mario + Rabbids (sealed) for £30 off eBay. My advice would be to try something similar, sometimes you can get some really good bargains.

But I totally get your pain, it’s frustrating as hell, but it’s always been the same, except at times during the Gamecube’s lifespan. The N64 was absolutely shocking for it.

The N64 is still shocking for it - a boxed copy of Paper Mario or Mario Party 3 will set you back up to £150.

That's a shame because MP3 is the second best iteration of Mario's much vaunted Party.

It’s one I’ve been interested in for some time. A good copy appeared in my local CEX a little while ago, and by the time I got in there to snap it up(for £110 I might add) it he already gone.

SandyCoin wrote:I'm mildly regretting my Switch. I've so far only got Odyssey, but just can't really justify spending £50 plus on a new game. I'd like Mario Kart and Zelda, but that's over £100 for 2 video games. I've not spent that much since the N64 days.

Drumstick wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Drumstick wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Drumstick wrote:I got a sealed copy of Zelda for under 40 snoops and I also got Mario + Rabbids (sealed) for £30 off eBay. My advice would be to try something similar, sometimes you can get some really good bargains.

But I totally get your pain, it’s frustrating as hell, but it’s always been the same, except at times during the Gamecube’s lifespan. The N64 was absolutely shocking for it.

The N64 is still shocking for it - a boxed copy of Paper Mario or Mario Party 3 will set you back up to £150.

That's a shame because MP3 is the second best iteration of Mario's much vaunted Party.

It’s one I’ve been interested in for some time. A good copy appeared in my local CEX a little while ago, and by the time I got in there to snap it up(for £110 I might add) it he already gone.

How much would cart-only set you back?

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Vermilion wrote:What surprised me was how some of my old Gamecube games have shot up in value.

I have among my collection, Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Skies of Arcadia Legends & Chibi Robo, all three of those are often found at prices way above what i paid for them.

I’d buy them all off you at good prices.

Vermilion wrote:I also have a mint condition boxed copies of Paper Mario, Majoras Mask, Banjo Tooie, and Pokemon Snap on N64.

Vermilion wrote:
I also have a mint condition boxed copies of Paper Mario, Majoras Mask, Banjo Tooie, and Pokemon Snap on N64.

Vermilion wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Vermilion wrote:What surprised me was how some of my old Gamecube games have shot up in value.

I have among my collection, Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Skies of Arcadia Legends & Chibi Robo, all three of those are often found at prices way above what i paid for them.

I’d buy them all off you at good prices.

I ain't selling though

I also have a mint condition boxed copies of Paper Mario, Majoras Mask, Banjo Tooie, and Pokemon Snap on N64.

Lotus wrote:Paper Mario aside, are any of those actually that rare or sought-after? Majaora's Mask and Pokemon Snap seem very affordable on eBay (£40-£50), and Banjo Tooie even more so (£20-£30), even in very good condition.

Lotus wrote:Paper Mario aside, are any of those actually that rare or sought-after? Majaora's Mask and Pokemon Snap seem very affordable on eBay (£40-£50), and Banjo Tooie even more so (£20-£30), even in very good condition.