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Mister Facetious posted:A corporate chain of Friendly Local Game Stores™ would've been an interesting experiment. I worked for one of these, they had 7 or so locations in most major malls int he Chicago suburbs: Magic, Yugioh, and Pokemon carried the store while the owner tried to find whatever else he could to shove onto the shelves which were already full of junk that wasn't selling and in some cases hadn't sold since the 90's. I would look at stores like Game Stop and marvel how their shelves looked clean.
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Oct 22, 2020 22:19
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HootTheOwl posted:I worked for one of these, they had 7 or so locations in most major malls int he Chicago suburbs: Magic, Yugioh, and Pokemon carried the store while the owner tried to find whatever else he could to shove onto the shelves which were already full of junk that wasn't selling and in some cases hadn't sold since the 90's. I would look at stores like Game Stop and marvel how their shelves looked clean. So, just like flgs today? 
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Oct 22, 2020 22:40
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is pepsi ok posted:Why according to the socially necessary labor time it took to produce it of course. That $69.99 Street Fighter II SNES cartridge? Almost $130 in 2020 money. Holy moly.
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Oct 23, 2020 01:37
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is pepsi ok posted:Why according to the socially necessary labor time it took to produce it of course. This is very well said. Classic economics, pseudo-science that it is, is based on the idea of scarcity which is becoming less and less of an issue as technology advances and supply outpaces demand due to a combination of the aforesaid advancement, commodity overproduction and 90+% of the developed world getting relatively poorer every year. Nevertheless, when an institution (here, a corporation) exists only to make more money, it is going to do anything possible to try and make infinite money off of something that can be replicated literally infinitely at trivial or no cost even if it's absurd to expect infinite return from a finite expense. There's also the secondary issue that so-called "AAA" games are so ludicrously expensive to make now that they have to have a massive RoI in order to satisfy their parasitic shareholders. Since making a good profit isn't enough for the bloated giants of interactive entertainment and everything has to make a huge return, this has led to the prevalence of DLC, which is Latin for "content cut from the base game", the constant push for cookie-cutter franchises and subscription/fee-for-service games. It's unsustainable and unrealistic, but what bloody isn't these days? By the way, what is the $5 smash hit you mentioned in bold up above? I have genuinely no idea.
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Oct 23, 2020 01:43
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JustJeff88 posted:By the way, what is the $5 smash hit you mentioned in bold up above? I have genuinely no idea. Among Us, a Mafia/Werewolves style game with a cute artstyle that costs $5 on Steam.
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Oct 23, 2020 01:44
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Abner Assington posted:Generally agree on all points (outside of WoW expansions and the horrific mistakes of purchasing Diablo 3/early release Battlefield V), but your post made me go back and look at what games cost 25ish years ago, adjusted for inflation. https://www.pricecharting.com/game/super-nintendo/street-fighter-ii-30th-anniversary-edition
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Oct 23, 2020 02:36
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AAA PC game prices always rise to parity with whatever the console games of the generation are going for. It was $20 in the 4th generation (NES) then hit $30-40 during the Fifth Gen (N64/PS1), and up to $50-60 by the Seventh Generation (Wii/PS3/360). Now we're creeping past $80. It's disappointing for a variety of reasons, but it is what it is. Indie games usually sell for less, and it's rare for a game to last more than a year before going half off on Steam. My solution is to just not play new games. My most recent purchase was Mad Max, for example, and it was like $12. I'm not sure whether the pressure for those price points came from developers, console manufacturers, or retailers, but my gut feeling is all three.
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Oct 23, 2020 03:36
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I feel bad for all the people who apparently are forced at gunpoint to buy AAA games brand new. I mean, we have 20 years of good games which are now old and cheap as poo poo, and a bunch of inexpensive new indie games which are fun to play, so it's tragic that, nonetheless, apparently consumers are forced against their will to spend money on expensive new games.
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Oct 23, 2020 04:47
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poo poo POST MALONE posted:https://www.pricecharting.com/game/super-nintendo/street-fighter-ii-30th-anniversary-edition But yeah, there are some games out there that have gotten some insane valuation to them--a black label (not Greatest Hits) version of Castlevania: SOTN on PSX is a couple hundred bucks used. e:  or a few thousand dollars if they're brand new.
Abner Assington fucked around with this message at 05:02 on Oct 23, 2020 |
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Oct 23, 2020 04:59
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The last brand-new "AAA" game I bought at full price was GTA5. Since then, I'd either wait for a Steam sale and buy a >$20 game from there or go the  route and get games that way. Being a PC gamer has its perks.
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Oct 23, 2020 12:08
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Oct 23, 2020 14:20
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90s Solo Cup posted:The last brand-new "AAA" game I bought at full price was GTA5. Since then, I'd either wait for a Steam sale and buy a >$20 game from there or go the Same here, basically. I buy plenty of games, but my backlog is frankly ludicrous and I'm perfectly happy to be patient. I do not apologise for downloading a game, giving it a try and then possibly buying a copy later when it doesn't cost a week's food. I do do a fair amount of console gaming, to be honest, but that can offer good deals as well - it just requires even more patience. For example, I bought RDR2 after the first big price drop when physical copies went from $60 US to $40. That's still quite a lot, but it's a huge game and there's a lot of value there. On the other hand, people who paid, say, $60 for the RE3 remake must be as mad as a bicycle, as Hugh Laurie once said. The one exception to this, for me, is probably first-party Nintendo games because those rarely go down much in price. Even Blizzard has better sales than Nintendo.
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Oct 23, 2020 15:26
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PT6A posted:I feel bad for all the people who apparently are forced at gunpoint to buy AAA games brand new. Ditto. We're in a golden age of games and developing AAA titles isn't cheap. If people want to drop $60-80 on a new game to be the first to get it, good, let them. Video game developers work horrendous hours we they deserve to be paid for their work (publisher fuckery notwithstanding). Otherwise wait 2 or 3 years. There's almost an infinite backlog of games to buy from Steam/PS4 Store/Microsoft, ect In the last two months I picked up the following AAA games: SpiderMan PS4 - $20 Call of Duty Infinite Warfare PS4 - $10 Shogun 2 Total War PC - $7 All of these games were AAA releases that had prices of $59.99 upon release. Gaming is a privileged hobby but no one is forcing you to buy a game at $60 new at release or a PS5 on launch day. I think the last game I bought full price was Final Fantasy VII Remake and before that probably Zelda BoTW. And if you are really strapped for cash Xbox Game pass is like $10 a month (that's cheaper than Netflix!) and you get unlimited access to a huge catalog of games. Seriously video games as a hobby has never been cheaper or more accessible. So hearing goons whine about how "expensive" it is sounds trite *EDIT* How could I forget, as other goons mentioned, the absolute treasure trove of amazing <$10 indie games available on literally any platform? Solaris 2.0 fucked around with this message at 15:48 on Oct 23, 2020 |
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Oct 23, 2020 15:38
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I always wait a few years before getting non-Nintendo AAA games, they're usually like 25% of the price and I manage to dodge so much overhyped crap.
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Oct 23, 2020 16:08
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i regard picking up a AAA on or near release day at full price is just paying a premium because you want to play that game right now and not wait a while for DLC bundles and modders to smooth out the rough edges
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Oct 23, 2020 16:21
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The only reason to pay full price for games is if you're into the whole online multiplayer thing, where waiting a couple of years to pick up a game means the community has moved on. Otherwise just wait for the Steam sale and pick up two year old AAA titles (with all the DLC) for $8 or whatever. Speaking of, the Steam Halloween Sale should start sometime late next week.
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Oct 23, 2020 17:08
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I abuse my brother's gamefly subscription to buy brand new AAA titles for 45 bucks. Their policy is to treat all games they send as used, even if a game is released day 1 and nobody else has touched it. It's a great way to get brand new titles at a discount if you don't mind waiting a few days for the delivery. That said my last brand new AAA purchase was just shy of 2 years ago. I don't make a habit of jumping on the latest game, but I do make some exceptions.
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Oct 24, 2020 14:32
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My last AAA purchase was the Switch Mario compilation, which I regret buying now somewhat because of Nintendo's artificial scarcity tactics. They may be bluffing, but even if they are they are colossal assholes (even for a corporation).
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Oct 24, 2020 16:20
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Nintendo is apparently mobbed to the gills with the Yakuza, btw.
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Oct 24, 2020 16:22
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Freakazoid_ posted:I abuse my brother's gamefly subscription to buy brand new AAA titles for 45 bucks. Their policy is to treat all games they send as used, even if a game is released day 1 and nobody else has touched it. It's a great way to get brand new titles at a discount if you don't mind waiting a few days for the delivery. I mean, you pay 15.95 to get a 15 dollar discount. The scam only works if your brother pays it for you or you are buying multiple brand new games a month
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Oct 24, 2020 16:33
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Solaris 2.0 posted:... Abner Assington posted:... Yep millennials and younger Gen-Xs are rebuying their childhood. So demand is high. In addition, the internet has destroyed cheap “retro” game prices. There was a golden period when retro games were superseded buy newer consoles but before they got popular again. You used to be able to pickup so much at garage sales and flea markets. People would practically give away their (kid’s) entire collection on eBay. Now with the demand and the internet, everyone knows these items are actually worth something and they never even make it to the flea market. There is a retro gaming store near me that is failing because of this (even before COVID). No one brings anything to the store to sell because they can easily see they will get way more on eBay or Amazon. No one goes in to buy because the shelves are filled with old sports games no one wants. Anything valuable that manages to make it into the store never makes it onto the shelves. It’s kept in the back and put for sale online. The same thing is happening to used bookstores. There is a used bookstore near me that is doing ok because they move so much volume, transitioned to online much earlier, and sell the used bookstore equivalent of funcopop plastic crap and It is amusing seeing people offended that the bookstore only wants to offer them $2 for their stack of Dan Brown novels. (In reality the store is probably taking a loss walking those to the dumpster and are hoping the person will stick around and spend more).
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Oct 24, 2020 16:39
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I want to make it clear that what you say makes total sense, which makes it all the more bizarre a situation that a friend of mine just had. He went to a sort of jumble sale held by nuns to raise money for charity where people would donate things to the convent for them to sell. Some guy was buying a box of something for $200, and my friend looked to find that it was a mint-condition aqua N64 with the expansion pack, several controllers and a bunch of good games. Apparently the young nun that sold it to him had no idea what it was worth and thought "$200 is $200  ", but you all know that it is worth much more than that. Apparently the sister was about to hand the guy the goods and take his cash when my friend said "I'll give you $800" because he knew that the guy was trying to get away with something, on nuns trying to make charity money no less. $800 was much closer to the actual "street value" of the goods and apparently the guy stared hatefully at my friend so much that my mate was genuinely afraid the guy was going to attack him.Fake Edit: Just remembered that this was in Canada, which changes the economics a bit.
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Oct 24, 2020 16:59
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JustJeff88 posted:My last AAA purchase was the Switch Mario compilation, which I regret buying now somewhat because of Nintendo's artificial scarcity tactics. They may be bluffing, but even if they are they are colossal assholes (even for a corporation). I would like to know what tactics you are referring to
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Oct 24, 2020 18:42
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Unoriginal Name posted:I would like to know what tactics you are referring to They're pulling the Disney Vault bullshit. They released a compilation of Mario games but announced that it will only be available for sale for a limited time and both physical and digital copies will be pulled on March 31st.
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Oct 24, 2020 18:51
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is pepsi ok posted:They're pulling the Disney Vault bullshit. They released a compilation of Mario games but announced that it will only be available for sale for a limited time and both physical and digital copies will be pulled on March 31st. Fomo is basically all they have left when reviews are so easy to check and word of mouth relies on the product being...y'know...good.
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Oct 24, 2020 20:32
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Beachcomber posted:Fomo is basically all they have left when reviews are so easy to check and word of mouth relies on the product being...y'know...good. I mean it has 3 great games in it that I haven't played in years (galaxy never but I'm really enjoying it)
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Oct 24, 2020 20:38
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I stopped caring about physical media for games when flash carts and ODEs became reliable and ubiquitous. Go ahead and make five copies of a game, I'll still find a way to play it.
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Oct 24, 2020 20:40
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Pulcinella posted:This specific idea never would have worked, because: I never sold my childhood, so when my kid was born in 2012 I had the same NES I received for Christmas in 1987, a bunch of accessories, and 300 games, most of which I bought in the late 90s for probably a dollar each. I wound up selling the entire collection, one game at a time (or so) on eBay for over $7,000 a few years ago after the CRT television I kept around for the console died. I couldn't be bothered to figure out a halfway decent method of connecting the NES to a flat-screen LCD and I couldn't replace the CRT television because they're expensive again for the same reason and LaunchBox is free. Now I have a USB NES controller, which cost me $20, and I have pretty much the same experience as the various folks who dropped $7k on my games.
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Oct 24, 2020 20:58
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Heads up: get a SCART cable for your SNES and an OSSC. Then you can hook it up to a modern tv via hdmi. NES you'd need to physically mod to work with the OSSC but SNES will work out of the box if you get a SCART cable. Then get an FX Pak Pro and play any game you want. Even the fan translation hacks.
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Oct 24, 2020 21:01
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SSJ_naruto_2003 posted:I mean it has 3 great games in it that I haven't played in years (galaxy never but I'm really enjoying it) always wanted a Wii but it never hit the price point I wanted; I've been enjoying Galaxy for the first time.
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Oct 24, 2020 22:04
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poo poo POST MALONE posted:SNES will work out of the box if you get a SCART cable. Most will. The redesigned SNES can't output RGB or S-video at all without modding, and some very late revision original SNESs (1CHIP-03 boards) need to be modded in order to output CSYNC, so you'd need to use a SCART cable that uses luma for sync for one of those.
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Oct 24, 2020 22:08
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Check a local buy nothing group. People give away Wiis all the time.Kreeblah posted:Most will. The redesigned SNES can't output RGB or S-video at all without modding, and some very late revision original SNESs (1CHIP-03 boards) need to be modded in order to output CSYNC, so you'd need to use a SCART cable that uses luma for sync for one of those. Yeah I was just assuming he had a standard early revision SNES based on his post.
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Oct 24, 2020 22:08
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I basically just did this with the N64 and an EverDrive, but I wanted to play the EU versions of Star Fox (Lylat Wars in Europe) and the other games that I grew up on and I did not take into account that A) A NA system is going to have frequency issues with PAL Roms and B) Unlike modern PAL tvs, NTSC televisions don't work in both formats. So, if I want to play anything that wasn't formatted for North America or Japan, I have to emulate. To summarise, I wasted my money.
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Oct 24, 2020 22:10
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Abner Assington posted:I mean with a quarter of a century's worth of inflation, that original $69.99 price tag from 1992 would be almost double today. I'll never understand "new in box" prices for mass-produced things in cd cases. The cellophane wrapping isn't impossible to reproduce.
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Oct 24, 2020 22:12
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PJOmega posted:I'll never understand "new in box" prices for mass-produced things in cd cases. The cellophane wrapping isn't impossible to reproduce. They also
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Oct 24, 2020 22:15
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Mister Facetious posted:always wanted a Wii but it never hit the price point I wanted; I've been enjoying Galaxy for the first time. They're practically free now (not quite old enough to be "retro" yet, and sold in high numbers so easy to find) so if there's anything else you've been missing out on, go hog wild.
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Oct 24, 2020 23:33
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Ethics_Gradient posted:They're practically free now (not quite old enough to be "retro" yet, and sold in high numbers so easy to find) so if there's anything else you've been missing out on, go hog wild. Nah, I'm not doing that again. Two consoles (switch and ps4) is already one too many.
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Oct 25, 2020 00:11
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I find Wii controls so annoying that I will emulate games that I actually own on Dolphin just to avoid them. One of the reasons that I bought the recent Switch compilation is to be able to play Galaxy semi-normally. One still has to use the gyroscope in the Switch classic controller, but it's still better.
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Oct 25, 2020 01:14
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Just give me Endless Ocean on
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Oct 25, 2020 01:16
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JustJeff88 posted:I find Wii controls so annoying that I will emulate games that I actually own on Dolphin just to avoid them. One of the reasons that I bought the recent Switch compilation is to be able to play Galaxy semi-normally. One still has to use the gyroscope in the Switch classic controller, but it's still better. I really hate motion controls. They assume you play sitting up perfectly every time and come on, man.
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Oct 25, 2020 01:59
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