What's The Deal?

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MR.KAZ

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In Saint John,N.B. Canada where I live the prices of games with respect to the "PS2" & "Gamecube".Give or take a few bucks an average "PS2" game used can run you about $14-20,factory sealed sort of new games,(i.e. "Ratatouille")about $29-34.

With respect to "Gamecube" used,roughly the same except with Super Mario Bros.Most gaming stores are still charging quite a bit,for example,some places are still charging $35-45 for "Mario Tennis" or "Mario Kart:Double Dash"!

Why is it that "Gamecube" titles are holding their value even better than most "PS2" titles.?I don't think it's a Supply&Demand thing.Could it be due name recognition(Mario)or rarity?What's your opinion?
 
Quality, for one. Supply and demand, could be, cheapness of the store, another.
 
fhqwhgads said:
Quality, for one. Supply and demand, could be, cheapness of the store, another.
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I'd say supply and demand mostly, with quality being second, and cheap store third. It's not just Cube though, for example on the PS2 a run of the mill Madden game will sell used for like $5 because it's so common, whereas something like Shin Megami Tensei:Nocturne may sell for as much as $200 simply because they did not make many of them. Hope that helps some.
 
Yeah, year old Madden games are $5 at my Gamestop. Almost makes me want one.
 
fhqwhgads said:
Yeah, year old Madden games are $5 at my Gamestop. Almost makes me want one.
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I've never owned a Madden game in my life, lol. They're ok, but I'll let my friends buy them instead.
 
x2 said:
I've never owned a Madden game in my life, lol. They're ok, but I'll let my friends buy them instead.
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Same with me. They're not appealing.
 
1. Leftover 'Cube titles are being remarketed as "Wii Compatible!"

2. Lots of little kids still buying them or, at least, their parents are. Even pawn shops charge more for used GameCube games than PS2 and Xbox and tend to have fewer in stock.
 
FrakAttack said:
1. Leftover 'Cube titles are being remarketed as "Wii Compatible!"
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I'd say that's probably the main reason.

But successful games by Nintendo usually stay higher priced because Nintendo knows people will pay that price. Super Smash Bros. Melee was still $30 new last time I checked, and that game has been out for a LONG time. Twilight Princess launched with the Wii and it hasn't seen a price drop yet, for another example.
 
FrakAttack said:
1. Leftover 'Cube titles are being remarketed as "Wii Compatible!"

2. Lots of little kids still buying them or, at least, their parents are. Even pawn shops charge more for used GameCube games than PS2 and Xbox and tend to have fewer in stock.
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Leftover Cube titles are being remade into Wii games is defenitly one reason and I think another would be, Lots of little kids still buying them or, at least, their parents are. Even pawn shops charge more for used GameCube games than PS2 and Xbox and tend to have fewer in stock. (exactly what Frak said)

Spot on explaimation Frak :)
 
Yeah, Melee has been out since the GCN launch and it's $30. They raised it back up from $20 because they knew people would still buy it.
 
It's Nintendo, they'll charge as much as they can for as long as they can.

It has nothing to do with quality, and everything to do with profit margins.
 
stealth toilet said:
It's Nintendo, they'll charge as much as they can for as long as they can.

It has nothing to do with quality, and everything to do with profit margins.
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Huh? So you're saying that a game like SMT:Nocturne selling for $200 has nothing to do with its quality!? I don't think Nintendo has anything to do with games such as Double Dash and Fire Emblem being so expensive. If that were the case the price would not be so varied from store to store. It's all about supply and demand!
 
And Advance Wars. That's one of the harder Nintendo series to find, seeing as it gets taken off shelves so fast.
 
x2 said:
I don't think Nintendo has anything to do with games such as Double Dash and Fire Emblem being so expensive. If that were the case the price would not be so varied from store to store. It's all about supply and demand!
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Nintendo sells game "x" to all outlets at "y" price. Each outlet has it's own markup to turn a profit, this causes some slight variation in consumer price, as some outlets are trying to move product while others are after more profit per item. However, when it comes to factory sealed games, prices are very competitive, and they rarely differ by more than a couple dollars. Double Dash and Fire Emblem cost more because every outlet has to buy them at a higher price than God of War 2 and Mercenaries (for example).

If it was simple supply and demand from store to store, you would see an incredibly wide range of prices, but factory sealed GC games cost more than their PS2 and Xbox counterparts because Nintendo sells them at a higher price, and they do that because they can.
 
stealth toilet said:
Nintendo sells game "x" to all outlets at "y" price. Each outlet has it's own markup to turn a profit, this causes some slight variation in consumer price, as some outlets are trying to move product while others are after more profit per item. However, when it comes to factory sealed games, prices are very competitive, and they rarely differ by more than a couple dollars. Double Dash and Fire Emblem cost more because every outlet has to buy them at a higher price than God of War 2 and Mercenaries (for example).

If it was simple supply and demand from store to store, you would see an incredibly wide range of prices, but factory sealed GC games cost more than their PS2 and Xbox counterparts because Nintendo sells them at a higher price, and they do that because they can.
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Yeah, stealth is right on the dot, IMO.

That's why Pokemon games are still so expensive, too. Pokemon Emerald was still $34.99 new at GameStop when I was working there, even though it had been out for a couple of years by that point. As long as people still buy those games even at high prices, Nintendo will keep charging those prices.
 
I guess I should make an amendment here and say that if you consider a game's selling power to be linked to it's overall quality which is reflected in it's price then you could say Nintendo games are sold at a higher price because they are of a higher quality. However, if that is the understanding, then you have to concede that a game which doesn't sell well, or is priced lower than others, is therefore of lesser quality. Price points are not an effective way of determining quality, as a game of incredible quality can be overlooked and found in bargain bins across the country.
 
Ok, I see what you're saying and I agree, but you also can't say that quality and supply and demand have *nothing* to do with price, either. Well, I guess you could say that, but you'd be dead wrong ;)
 
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