Game prices drop too quickly

[retrosportsgamer]

I try to wait until games are $19.99 new. A couple companies fuck this all up though. Prices of first party Nintendo games never seem to come down. And Atlus and NIS games are sometimes released in such limited quantities that you're forced to pay launch price or wait until it's $80 on ebay (ie: Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel).

The Nintendo stuff doesn't go down because of the ridiculous tail their games have. Nintendo doesn't do all their sales in the first month; it's much more evenly spread over a multi-year cycle. I think it really speaks to the quality and universal appeal of their games.

Well, unless you wait for the Player's Choice equivalent - then they are available new for $19.99.

[AppleQueso]

You clearly speak English and live in the states, so why are you buying only Japanese games?

I tend to buy Japanese only if the game was exclusive to that region (Sailor Moon games), different and/or superior to the American version (Final Fantasy IV), or cheaper (SNES and Saturn RPGs, PC Engine games).

I generally try to buy North American when possible, as my English is better than my Japanese (understatement of the century).

I prefer games made by Japanese people, and the original Japanese versions are usually superior to the American versions. I want the best version of the game, so I seek out the Japanese versions.

For example, the Japanese version of Mario Kart 7 has the correct names for the characters. That's important to me.

Koopa > Bowser

What if the US version fixes some game-breaking bugs or something?

[BoneSnapDeez]

You clearly speak English and live in the states, so why are you buying only Japanese games?

I tend to buy Japanese only if the game was exclusive to that region (Sailor Moon games), different and/or superior to the American version (Final Fantasy IV), or cheaper (SNES and Saturn RPGs, PC Engine games).

I generally try to buy North American when possible, as my English is better than my Japanese (understatement of the century).

I prefer games made by Japanese people, and the original Japanese versions are usually superior to the American versions. I want the best version of the game, so I seek out the Japanese versions.

For example, the Japanese version of Mario Kart 7 has the correct names for the characters. That's important to me.

Koopa > Bowser

Fair enough. Still, I think there is sometimes a lot of charm in American localizations (see Working Designs).

I would probably import some current-gen Japanese games if it wasn't so damn expensive.

I try to wait until games are $19.99 new. A couple companies fuck this all up though. Prices of first party Nintendo games never seem to come down. And Atlus and NIS games are sometimes released in such limited quantities that you're forced to pay launch price or wait until it's $80 on ebay (ie: Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel).

The Nintendo stuff doesn't go down because of the ridiculous tail their games have. Nintendo doesn't do all their sales in the first month; it's much more evenly spread over a multi-year cycle. I think it really speaks to the quality and universal appeal of their games.

Well, unless you wait for the Player's Choice equivalent - then they are available new for $19.99.

It seems to take forever for a game to reach Player's Choice status though. And I'm not sure such a thing exists for DS games.

[Inazuma]

What about American games released in Japan? Do you get the original American version, or opt for the Japanese in that case as well?

I just get them in Japanese. Japanese is the language of video games to me, so it feels right. Unless the American version is much better for some reason, then I may decide to get that one.

Also, a lot of systems are region locked so I couldn't get the American version anyway. However, I do buy the occasional non-Japanese game if it was never released in Japan, as long as I can actually play it. I have a few American games on N64, DS and SNES.

In other words, Japanese is my first choice, but depending on the situation, I would get the American version. Or European. I have a few European only games on the PC.

If I preferred games made by Americans such as Call of Duty and Battlefield and whatnot, I would be buying American systems and American versions of games, like most people in the USA. But since I generally dislike American games and love Japanese games, it makes sense for me to mostly buy Japanese versions for them.

[equalsign]

Didn't read the thread, but I just wanted to chime in that I love this trend. I don't have a ton of money. I would say that 2008-early 2010 I bought maybe 4 new games. The rest used, because I couldn't afford them otherwise or they were no longer available new.

Late 2010-2011 almost every game I have purchased has been new because they lower the prices so much. I dig being able to support developers and purchase a new copy even years later.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Seriously, I can't justify dropping $60 for a single game. Or going to GameStop/Wal-Mart/whatever and spending $120 only to leave with two games. Insane!

[BoringSupreez]

Seriously, I can't justify dropping $60 for a single game. Or going to GameStop/Wal-Mart/whatever and spending $120 only to leave with two games. Insane!

Whenever I'm tempted to do that, I always start thinking *just a few more dollars, and I could afford a whole new system.* That always stops me.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Seriously, crazy to think that a 3DS costs less than three Xbox 360 games.

[gtmtnbiker]

Seriously, crazy to think that a 3DS costs less than three Xbox 360 games.

You have heard of the "razor" selling model, right? That is, sell the razor cheap and make your money on the replacement blades. Same thing applies to video games - make your money on the software.

[Hobie-wan]

Seriously, crazy to think that a 3DS costs less than three Xbox 360 games.

You have heard of the "razor" selling model, right? That is, sell the razor cheap and make your money on the replacement blades. Same thing applies to video games - make your money on the software.

Also the sales model used for inkjet printers.