Just for the Wii - Golden Axe & Ecco the Dolphin - $8 Each

[Melbosa]

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/747/747908p1.html

November 28, 2006 - If accessing the Wii Shop Channel doesn't brick your Wii you'll now find Golden Axe and Ecco The Dolphin available for purchase:

SEGA of America, Inc. today announced the release of Golden Axe and Ecco the Dolphin, two SEGA Genesis classics available now on the Wii Shop Channel for download to play on Wii's Virtual Console. Prices to download the SEGA Genesis titles will start at 800 Wii Points. Wii Points can be purchased online or at retail at an MSRP of $20.00 for 2,000 points.
Golden Axe - Three mighty heroes have a score to settle with the evil Death Adder in this classic action game. As a powerful fighter, a female amazon or a mighty dwarf, you'll fight through Adder's henchman with weapons and magic attacks or ride the fearsome, fire-breathing beasts to your advantage. (1988/? SEGA)

Ecco the Dolphin - Help Ecco the Dolphin find his missing friends by exploring his vast ocean world. You must surface for air and keep an eye out for enemies as you search the depths. Ecco's unique sonar ability will give you helpful information from other sea creatures. (1992/? SEGA)

Good value, or slightly overpriced?

-- Andrew Burnes

[Shayne]

Heavily overpriced

[Thorin]

The Wii 2,000 Points cards are being sold for $25 here in Canada, so 800 points is equal to $10.  Yes, expensive for an old game.  But new games cost $50, $60, $70 on the Wii, the PS3, or the Xbox360.  If you're like me and plunked over a hundred dollars worth of quarters into Golden Axe when it was out in the arcades, $10 doesn't seem so expensive to get that nostalgic feeling.

I think the determination of whether anything is overpriced is subjective - we will only consider it overpriced if we're not willing to pay the set price for the product.  As I said, I'm willing to pay $10 for Golden Axe so I don't consider it overpriced.  As another example, I consider the PS3 to be overpriced at $700, but obviously some people don't think it's overpriced even at $1,500.

So really the question is would you pay $10 for Golden Axe or Ecco the Dolphin?  For me, yes for the one, no for the other.

From the article's comments:

Wow, overpriced, might as well get your temporary nostalgia fix on a free emulator instead.

A good point, except that most of the people in the Wii's target demographic probably won't bother or don't know how to find and install emulation software and ROMs.  Especially if they're a kid and Grandma gives them a 2,000 point card so they're not even spending their own money.

[Shayne]

Exactly right Thorin, if and when I get these cards as gifts I am a lot more liberal with how I use the points, I will grab the odd game here and there and not thing much about it.  Its when I see a game like "Doom" on the 360 going for 800 points that I just don't see the value.  10 years ago i was a great game, now-a-days it is not, not at all.

except that most of the people in the Wii's target demographic probably won't bother or don't know how to find and install emulation software and ROMs.

Not so sure about that. Obviously the target demographic for these types of games is for the older audience.  The audience that I think would be more inclined to seek out alternative ways to get these.  The more modern arcade and vc titles like Geometry Wars actually have value as they are new intellectual property with newer game play mechanics and graphics.

[Mr. Analog]

Wow, overpriced, might as well get your temporary nostalgia fix on a free emulator instead.

A good point, except that most of the people in the Wii's target demographic probably won't bother or don't know how to find and install emulation software and ROMs.  Especially if they're a kid and Grandma gives them a 2,000 point card so they're not even spending their own money.

Not to mention that while emulators like MAME are free, most ROMs are not, in fact most ROMs are illegal copies for use at your own risk. Thankfully most game manufacturers don't care about old properties so it hasn't been worth their while to really go after individual users.

[Shayne]

If being legal was such a big deal sites like Allofmp3 and TPB wouldn't be so popular and garner mass market media attention.  I'm sure they will sell a few Golden Axe, and a few Doom, and a few Smash TV, and I bet that like every other market that demand will effect price in the end.  Perhaps on the Wii $8 for a 10 year old title is the magic number, much like selling cheats for NFS:Carbon on the 360 goes for $60.

[Tom]

Allofmp3 is perfectly legal in its country of origin. Just like p2p music downloading here is.

[Shayne]

Well, its being shut down thanks to pressure by the USA! (also uploading in Canada is still illegal)

[Tom]

Just wait till the music studios are finished taxing all the Music player makers. We'll be one step closer to a flat fee, giving us access to all music. \o/

[Shayne]

I'd spent $8 for this   http://www.gamespot.com/wii/strategy/simcitysnes/review.html?page=1&sid=6162440&part=rss&tag=gs_reviews&subj=6162440

[Tom]

Yeah, I'd probably pick that one up too

[Thorin]

except that most of the people in the Wii's target demographic probably won't bother or don't know how to find and install emulation software and ROMs.

Not so sure about that. Obviously the target demographic for these types of games is for the older audience.  The audience that I think would be more inclined to seek out alternative ways to get these.  The more modern arcade and vc titles like Geometry Wars actually have value as they are new intellectual property with newer game play mechanics and graphics.

I see the target demographic not as old versus young, but as technologically capable versus technologically challenged.  Nintendo has spent a great deal of time making the console as easy to use as possible, which means there should be a *lot* of people buying it who don't even really know how to use a two-handed controller, let alone how to find and install an emulator and ROMs.

Yes, I'll be getting SimCity.  There's a Java version available on the web, but it's not full-featured, just a teaser.  My oldest sat and played it for as long as we let him - an indication that old games can appeal to young and old, as long as they're fun.