[quote name='chargeup45']
People will pony up the $5 because 1. its Nintendo games and 2. people love buying stuff like this because it seems like a tiny purchase at the time. [/QUOTE]
For one game that they know, like folks chiming in for rarities like SMRPG or Mother (assuming those get released to the VC). But my guess is that people aren't as crazy to experiment with $5 as you think. I'm not sure exactly what the "golden price" that encourages consumers to buy old video games on a whim, but I think Nintendo needs to look closely at the way iTunes does things with mp3s or other game developers do with old game collections and not look at Xbox Marketplace.
[quote name='chargeup45']
I'm as much a fan of compilations as the next guy, but really, how many of the dozen games available on some of these compilation discs are worth it?. . .No way... the reason those compilations are costing $30 is because that's likely the max anyone's willing to pay, and since selling them is pure profit, the developer is okay with this.
[/QUOTE]
Here's list for the coming Sega Genesis Collection, according to
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/10/surprise-sega-genesis-collection-coming/
[quote name='Joystiq']Planned for release sometime this fall -- we were told November before -- this virtual time machine will have the following games: Alex Kidd: The Enchanted Castle, Altered Beast, Bonanza Bros, Columns, Comix Zone, Decap Attack, Ecco the Dolphin, Ecco: The Tides of Time, Ecco Jr., Eternal Champions, Flicky, Gain Ground, Golden Axe, Golden Axe II, Golden Axe III, Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III, Phantasy Star IV, Ristar, Shadow Dancer: Secret of Shinobi, Shinobi III, Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Super Thunderblade, Sword of Vermillion, Vectorman, Vectorman 2, Virtua Fighter 2
There are also these unlockable games available on the PS2 only: Zaxxon, Tac/Scan, and Zektor. There will be "wireless multiplayer" on the PSP, but we're not sure to what extent.[/QUOTE]
I'm guessing that just about everyone interested in keeping old 16-bit games on hand could come up with a minimum of 6 games from the above. So in Nintendo's pricing structure, you get those 6 games for $30. Sega's releasing the above collection for $20 MSRP.
http://www.sega.com/corporate/corporate.php?item=pr_20041102b
$30 for 6 games versus $20 for those 6 and a shitload more. Take your pick. Why would anybody buy Genesis games over the VC if they have a PS2/PSP? Nintendo could compete with the pricing, but nah, REGGIE SEZ CASH GRAB, YALL.
[quote name='chargeup45']Likewise, I don't know anyone who'd pay more than $10 for a N64 game, so therefore $10 is the max.[/QUOTE]
I have a feeling Nintendo's pricing research went something like yours.
Nintendo Veep: I really need to finish this up and figure out how much we'll charge for the VC games.
Janitor: Well, I know a dude that said he'd pay $8 max.
NVP: Sweet, I'm done. Feel like takeout?