To my understanding, Nintendo actively opposed doing so.
But when Nintendo was “competing” with Sega/Sony, brick and mortar stores had a LOT more power. EBGames/Gamestop could basically do whatever they wanted because moving the Nintendo shelves to be behind the Sony shelves would lead to noticeable sales changes. So it was a lot more common for Toys R Us to run their own sales to move merchandise.
But in the past twenty years or so, Nintendo have actively shitlisted anyone who puts a discount on their games. Amazon famously got shitlisted at least three or four times which led to a lot of weirdness in terms of what “editions” of a given game was available for purchase.
All my physical Switch games (which is most of them) I got used at GameStop because they were all about 50-70% cheaper than buying new or through Nintendo’s store. Even TOTK which I got maybe 3 months or so after release was only $35 used. Games that were even older were mostly $10-20.
So it was a lot more common for Toys R Us to run their own sales to move merchandise
Ah, I remember that. I used to buy most of my GBA and Sega Gamegear games at Toys R Us, and most games went for $20 or less, and I think I got some deals around $5-10 for older games. This was a long time ago, so I don’t recall specifics, but I do remember Toys R Us being the place to go for video games.
They don’t reduce the retail price, but they do go on sales periodically, but rarely more than 30% or so. Link’s Awakening (2019) and Breath of the Wild (2017) still retail for $60. A good sale might bring it down to $40 (probably more like $50), and used on eBay go for $35-45.
For PC games of similar age and initial launch price, you’d probably spend like $10-20. Yes, you can technically get a discount, but it’s not going to be that much.
Sorry, a game that’s been out for years shouldn’t be $60. Start discounting these older games like they used to do.
Did Nintendo ever really discount their games?
To my understanding, Nintendo actively opposed doing so.
But when Nintendo was “competing” with Sega/Sony, brick and mortar stores had a LOT more power. EBGames/Gamestop could basically do whatever they wanted because moving the Nintendo shelves to be behind the Sony shelves would lead to noticeable sales changes. So it was a lot more common for Toys R Us to run their own sales to move merchandise.
But in the past twenty years or so, Nintendo have actively shitlisted anyone who puts a discount on their games. Amazon famously got shitlisted at least three or four times which led to a lot of weirdness in terms of what “editions” of a given game was available for purchase.
All my physical Switch games (which is most of them) I got used at GameStop because they were all about 50-70% cheaper than buying new or through Nintendo’s store. Even TOTK which I got maybe 3 months or so after release was only $35 used. Games that were even older were mostly $10-20.
And gamestop paid the original buyer of that something like 5 dollars so they could sell it back to you at 7x the price.
Utilizing stores like gamestop can be beneficial to a consumer but the entire business model is built on exploiting children and idiots.
Ah, I remember that. I used to buy most of my GBA and Sega Gamegear games at Toys R Us, and most games went for $20 or less, and I think I got some deals around $5-10 for older games. This was a long time ago, so I don’t recall specifics, but I do remember Toys R Us being the place to go for video games.
They run discounts all the time. So do places like Target. This myth of Nintendo never lowering prices of games is insane.
They don’t reduce the retail price, but they do go on sales periodically, but rarely more than 30% or so. Link’s Awakening (2019) and Breath of the Wild (2017) still retail for $60. A good sale might bring it down to $40 (probably more like $50), and used on eBay go for $35-45.
For PC games of similar age and initial launch price, you’d probably spend like $10-20. Yes, you can technically get a discount, but it’s not going to be that much.