The legendary RPG title EarthBound hit the Wii U Virtual Console last week but after the initial excitement abated, fans soon wondered why the game featured an unexpected price hike. Most virtual console titles will appear in the eShop with a $4.99 price tag (NES) and $7.99 (SNES) or £3.49 to £5.49 for the UK, however EarthBound is currently sitting pretty at number 2 in the eShop at $9.99 or £6.99. Fortunately, Nintendo has explained the reason for such a price increase and gave the following comment:
“As for EarthBound, Nintendo sets prices in the Nintendo eShop and Virtual Console on a game-by-game basis. Different games will be offered at different prices.”
Nintendo, no doubt, knew how well the game would sell as it had been a fan favourite for many years, and the anticipation and teasing from the company was award-winning, nail-biting stuff. However, the price increase could be due to the release of the online strategy guide, marketing from the new trailer, or toning down the game’s lighting effects so it would be less likely to strain the eyes and cause seizures. But even so, does this warrant a price increase? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
interesting.
Lol where are all the people who said take all my moneyz at now xD
But… but this is the second best selling game on the eshop. The first one is Donkey Kong… because it’s freaking Donkey Kong.
Not only that, it’s in the top 10 selling games of all time according to the charts!
I’d still buy it at $10. If I can afford a $400 console, what’s $10?! The game is awesome and is finally coming to Europe and Australia.
Thats such a pussy conformist way to look at it. All the other games are cheaper, and the explanation they gave is basically “We set this game’s price higher because we knew it was gonna sell.” Pretty greedy. Also, I don’t understand what the big deal is with this game, earthbound was already in the wii’s virtual console (In spain at least). Why the hell aren’t all the snes games in the virtual console already? This really gets me about nintendo, how is it so hard to port the games? It makes emulation seem so hard, when really you can emulate almost everything in your computers right now already
EarthBound was never released in Europe until now so please tell me how it was on the spanish wii vc
I can say this because I’ve beaten this game twice in recent years…without even paying for it. History shows that when Nintendo released Earthbound in the US in the 90s, sales did pretty poorly and since then there was no hope that another Earthbound game would release outside of Japan. This game only released in the US and Japan, not even Europe. The fans cried out for Earthbound to come back since the 90s. The day has finally come. $10 is nothing after asking for something for over 15 years!
Clearly never played Earthbound.
Well there’s legal ramifications copyright Issues, Different countries have different rules on how they handle these legal ramifications. Keep in mind that this game is never been available other then Japan and North America and now they it’s in Europe, Chances are it’s not in other languages that Europe uses so they had to translate it. And that costs money too. It’s impossible to port every single SNES game. Because some companies that made those games are no longer business. Or they don’t have the rights to them anymore or they got sold off to Other companies and they bought the rights to those properties. Companies that used to own those property don’t longer own it but when the game with the development. Assets got sold companies no longer own. Or the company that currently owns those intellectual properties doesn’t want to give those rights to allow Nintendo to put on the VC.
Did you ever think about that????? It’s far more complicated because of legal issues then you might think.
But wait…the lighting effects caused seizures?! o_O
Maybe it was a good thing that it wasn’t released back in ancient times, otherwise western gamers would probably be both retarded and confused today…
Must be what happened to you, makes perfect sense now.
In Australia its 15.00, don’t tell me whats fair and what isn’t
Fuckin Aussie pricing is bullshit
You have heard of currency fluctuations right? Your currency is not the same as the US dollar. But at the end, it still priced the same. Just remember no two country’s currency is the same.
Judging by the current exchange rates, AU$15 is nowhere near US$10, goddamn you dumbasses. The Australian dollar isn’t that high, the price shouldn’t be over $11. We’re suffering exorbitantly high video game prices for no reason.
No two countries currency is the same. You’re still paying for the same amount. Just as any other country. Currency fluctuation my friend, currency fluctuation.
I make ten bucks on the shitter at work. If you r bitching about a few bucks you should get a better job.q
That’s easier said than done considering there are barely any jobs in Europe today…
Plus most are not born with tiaras on their heads and served gold as food…
That is a completely invalid argument. Not everybody makes “$10 sitting on the shitter at work” like you do. A few bucks does add up after a while.
If it were another game? It’d be bullshit. If it’s Earthbound? Completely warranted.
Even if it was $20.00 I’d buy it. Earthbound is worth every penny.
No VC games in the UK cost £4.49.
NES games are £3.49. SNES games are £5.49.
Which are both too much.
I’d pay $50. Better han paying over $200 on ebay.
lol@shitty explanation
“different games will be different prices”..shame on you once again…
Says one who plays games on consoles where you have to pay to play online…
lol?
i have a wiiu and ps3.. .. im not paying to play online.
I see…
*Makes my previous statement invalid*
Why are people bitching about $10? Can’t afford it? Save up and come back to it later then, it’s not going anywhere. $10 is way better than spending an upwards of $100 on an original copy of the game, and good luck having it come with the original strategy guide.
Hell, I OWN the original cartridge and still paid $10 for this, you know why? Because it’s a whole lotta game for $10–seriously, my completed playthrough on Wii U took me nearly 32 hours–and, simply put, for a game like Earthbound it’s worth it!
Still whining about it? Get a job or something. At least Nintendo finally gave Earthbound to us instead of some game that we’ve played millions of times already. If they did that, I’d probably be reading a ton of bitching about that instead. Nothing ever pleases you people.
Indeed, many act as if they are forced to buy every single game…
Plus I’m sure there will be some sort of sale in the future…
That too! People should just be thankful we finally have Earthbound, instead of complaining that it’s a little more than the average Super NES game. I think it’s worth that price.
And the article is sorta deceptive about something; they said that most VC games are $4.99 but never went any farther. $4.99 is the price of the NES VC games, which there are more of. Super NES games are mostly priced $7.99 on the service. So Earthbound is $2 more? Big deal.
Agreed, the Earthbound price is acceptable…
However the NES and SNES are not…
They should cost half of what they charge for today…
The article has been edited to reflect both NES and SNES prices in the Wii U eShop.
Its also might be more expensive cause of the music. I keep hearing it uses songs from other artist recreated and if that is the case Nintendo would have to pay publishing rights for those songs (not sample clearance which is different). All the clearing through legal and paying for them cost money.
Also no Nintendo representative would say it publicly cause they might have deals with Publishers. Generally, everyone likes to keep somewhat quiet about those things. This site might give you more information on who things work:
http://www.ascap.com/
At least the game is doing well
as of now, It’s the #2 best seller in the Wii U eShop
Hopefully it claims the #1 spot soon!
(once people quit crying about an extra $2, that is)
This
If you can’t deal with the price don’t buy it. At minimum wage you can make $10 in about an hour and 15 minutes so if this experience isnt worth an hour and 15 minutes of effort to you then don’t buy it. End of story
^ THIS!
I certainly have the money; it is actually credited to my eShop account. I’m just the kind of tight-ass-sonofabitch, that counts every penny. So unless this game goes on offer at some point, I’m not interested.
fuck no it doesn’t justify the price increase. only retard sheeps would fall for that.
Well then, maybe the fact that Earthbound in its original form isn’t any cheaper than $100 on the second-hand market does justify it? It’s only $2…
well you would have to be missing a few chromosomes to sell a snes game for anything higher than $6-$7, so probably does justify it.
Earthbound costs around 150 online, why would 10$ phase me? I’m just happy its finally on the VC.
Demand explains the price, but if demand can fetch $10 for a very old game, why can’t the demand for a new installment of Earthbound materialize into profit.
What if they increased the price because they want to see if the franchise is profitable again?!
I’ll buy this game just because I haven’t played it yet.
4.99? Really?! Earthbound was a snes title thus like ALL snes titles on the Virtual Console should have a 7.99 price tag on it. The 4.99 is reserved for original NES titles while the 9.99 price point will be assigned to the N64 titles when the Wii U VC finally gets them. No different than the Wii VC pricing. Are you guys here even Nintendo fans at all or is that you just don’t do your research?
I see you fixed the prices in your post…you’re welcome. No hard feelings. I was a journalism major so I’m kinda ticky about accurate information.
Yes, the article has been edited, thanks for spotting it (along with another user up above). It was a simple misprint due to some problems with the User Dashboard – the article was updated before it was published, but for some reason it didn’t go through. Anyway, thanks again.
Nintendo just loves ripping off their sheep. How is $10 ($15 in Australia) justifiable for a SNES game? That’s insane. I could buy Batman Arkham city or Assassins creed 3 for 15 fucking dollars. SNES games should only cost $2.50 at most…. And people say Nintendo aren’t greedy LOL.
Oh my god people like you are such BITCHES man. The original copy goes for 400 BUCKS online. So your telling me 10, that’s 10 dollars, is too fucking much to pay for. I could buy 5 fucking Snickers bars with 10 dollars. Stop being a whiny bitch and go play something else if your that sore about it.
Your comment just doesn’t make sense. How about at launch day? Could you get AC 3 for $15? No. Since the 4th one is announced, people are unloading AC3. So price goes down since the demand is down.
This is also VC. Don’t like to pay $10, go track down an original copy of it. Hell, just add $100 on your account now and Nintendo will give you $10. You’d get the game for free (in the US).
You know you were the first in line to buy thisgame so stop talking shit.
Exactly, if anything there was a $2 increase. Maybe that’s their price for scanning and adapting the old guide, or maybe they are still sore that this game didn’t sell that well back in the day and saw a new opportunity to monetize with its cult following.
My previous experience with this game was through an emulator and I’m sure many people are in the same position. It’s good to play this game as it is meant to be, on a Nintendo console. This game is all kinds of great too, just brilliant and creatively done.
I say the price is right.
Seeing as Nintendo can’t be bothered to release Earthbound on 3DS VC despite obvious demand for it, I guess I’ll stick with my downloaded ROM and R4. The price increase therefore doesn’t affect me in the slightest! Thanks Nintendo!
So you like to steal games with the R4? People who use the R4 are thieves. You take away from developers who dedicate time and efforts and years from their lives.. congratulations you’re a thief.
British Pounds for Europe or just UK? I mean, what about the Euro???? The most EU Countries have it -.-
It’s $10. Who gives a shit? $2 hike, boo hoo. lol it’s still cheaper than buying a 12-pack of beers…Which basically in my book rules it as dirt cheap. It’s Earthbound for christ sake. Try finding the game in a retro video game store, and IF you do(which you won’t), you’ll quickly realize the $10 on virtual console greatly outweighs the $100 you’re gonna spend on an original cartridge. Quit yalls bitching. The game should be priced more.
Spend two decades bitching about Nintendo not re-releasing Eartbound (or releasing it for the first time in Europe).
Bitch about the price when they do.
You stay classy, scumbag gamer.
I blame iOS with dragging down peoples pricing expectations when unplayable games (thanks to touchscreen only controls) are a couple of dollars a pop, if not free.
way better than paying 50 dollars for a cartridge version on ebay
Try $150
This doesnt explain why the title isnt showing up in my club nintendo account.I want my coins,this is ridiculous
Are we really even focusing on this? It’s EarthBound, I ain’t even mad. Besides, it probably took a good bit to sort out the licensing unlike the usual virtual console titles.
Doubt that. They are testing the demand for this game and if all those people really wanted this game ofcourse I’ll bump up the price.
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I’m $1.38 short from getting the game, so lower it from $9.99 to $7.99 please lol.
I would also be angry about the price if it was any other B-game released on the SNES (which there are many!). But it isn’t. It’s fucking Earthbound.
It’s hard to explain to young generations why this game is so important not only for Nintendo, but for the entire videogame industry. You can be deceived with the art style and say that it’s a “kid’s RPG game”. Trust me, it’s way more than just that. It also represents some of Shigesato Itoi’s (the creator of the series) first experiences in life, as well as some other important events that happened in Japan. To me, it is worthy paying 10 bucks for it.
If you want a more in-depth analysis of the game, I suggest watching this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSbRq-sMXEY&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLOl4b517qn8jve_YolaxYuADuzzT3EHXP
worth it
eh, “import” VC games have always been more exspensive, so for Europeans this is fairly standard
I’m just SO happy to own a complete copy of the original Earthbound (with the Player’s Guide). It’s one of those purchases I’m SO glad I made back in the day (actually, my parents made it. Since it was a gift).
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It’s a fair price :)
better than $20 or $200, i think people should thank nintendo for even bringing earthbound to wii u vc
Nintendo knows people would pay any price to play the game which is why the price is 10 bucks. I mean it’s just 10 bucks, how much is that compared to finding an affordable copy now?