This has been something that has been happening for a while now with Nintendo of America but recently has been becoming more ridiculous, so much so that I'm beginning to consider not buying from that region at all. I've been buying US versions of Nintendo games since the cube days as NoE were an absolute joke, games would be 50Hz, more expensive and would arrive months after America and Japan. Although NoE improved things with the Wii, the Virtual Console still had the terrible PAL releases which meant importing a Wii was the better option.
With the Wii U I'm regretting getting the American version, with NoA and scalpers being the reason. NoA have decided to screw its customers over by only making a limited number of physical copies which sell out quickly and then end up on Amazon or eBay for ridiculous prices. Some examples are Metroid Prime Trilogy, Pikmin 1 & 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii, Star fox 64 3D, Ocarina of Time 3D, Pikmin 3, Bayonetta 2 (with Bayo 1), Devils Third. With the exception of Ocarina of Time which NoA made another print run recently, all of these games are sold out and are stupidly priced. Devils Third I couldn't even preorder as Amazon's allocation was gone way before the game had come out. Fire Emblem Fates Limited edition preorders were sold out minutes after the Nintendo direct announcing the package, same for bravely second and mega man legacy collection with the gold amiibo. Fatal Frame 2 didn't get released at all in America and the most recent one was an eShop only release when Europe got a Special Edition physical copy. The 3DS and Wii U games are of course all on the eShop but I prefer owning physical copies as I like the packaging, disks and also knowing that in 20 years time I can still play the games I own if I want to. Im getting sick of not even being able to preorder a game that I want unless I'm sat at my computer all day waiting for the second the game becomes available to order.
There are other games and companies where supply hasn't met demand but with American Nintendo games it seems to be more of a problem. Has this kind of situation put you off buying a game or has it made you more determined to get a copy? If you think a game might have a low print run is that likely to persuade you to preorder and buy at full price rather than wait for a potential price drop?
With the Wii U I'm regretting getting the American version, with NoA and scalpers being the reason. NoA have decided to screw its customers over by only making a limited number of physical copies which sell out quickly and then end up on Amazon or eBay for ridiculous prices. Some examples are Metroid Prime Trilogy, Pikmin 1 & 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii, Star fox 64 3D, Ocarina of Time 3D, Pikmin 3, Bayonetta 2 (with Bayo 1), Devils Third. With the exception of Ocarina of Time which NoA made another print run recently, all of these games are sold out and are stupidly priced. Devils Third I couldn't even preorder as Amazon's allocation was gone way before the game had come out. Fire Emblem Fates Limited edition preorders were sold out minutes after the Nintendo direct announcing the package, same for bravely second and mega man legacy collection with the gold amiibo. Fatal Frame 2 didn't get released at all in America and the most recent one was an eShop only release when Europe got a Special Edition physical copy. The 3DS and Wii U games are of course all on the eShop but I prefer owning physical copies as I like the packaging, disks and also knowing that in 20 years time I can still play the games I own if I want to. Im getting sick of not even being able to preorder a game that I want unless I'm sat at my computer all day waiting for the second the game becomes available to order.
There are other games and companies where supply hasn't met demand but with American Nintendo games it seems to be more of a problem. Has this kind of situation put you off buying a game or has it made you more determined to get a copy? If you think a game might have a low print run is that likely to persuade you to preorder and buy at full price rather than wait for a potential price drop?
Comment