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Scalpers' delight: Wii price surges to $500-600 on ebay, amazon marketplace
- Thread starter gkryhewy
- Start date
Mamesj said:
Eh, I get annoyed when people waste money. And food. I really hate seeing people throw out food.
To your video game point, I did paint a broad stroke. Obviously, that's not entirely true. My point is that the Wii is selling for $600 because of image. We can list great games until we're blue in the face, but it's selling like hotcakes because it has been deemed "The Hot Thing." Do you really think people are paying $600 for Mario and Fire Emblem? I don't.
Vieo said:
People easily swayed by marketing.
Sgt. Killjoy
Member
oh geez ps3s are cheaper on ebay now. redic.
Gigglepoo said:
I think you're painting with a very broad brush here. I'm sure there's a fair number of Wii-seekers who just want the New (Year-Old) Hotness, but a lot of people want it because they tried it out at a friend's or family member's and really liked it. Tagging everyone who's buying (or overpaying for) the Wii as a member of the great sheeple herd is kind of ridiculous, IMO.
DeaconKnowledge
Member
AstroLad said:
Gameday was revolutionary at the time (I can't even fathom playing a football game without Icon passing) but did it reflect in Gameday's sales? From what I remember, Gameday really took off the year after the PS1 launch.
And honestly, the PS2's first year was just horrible in comparison. It was TTT, Ridge Racer and SSX for months before the good titles started showing up in droves. The PS3 wasn't the only system where I heard "Wait for Metal Gear Solid" for months at a time.
Mamesj said:I'm sure Nintendo knows this better than anyone, judging by the "most consoles shipped" graph...your proposition of banning ebay sales can lick my nuts
What are you saying? I'm just saying that--all things being equal--I'd rather Nintendo, the manufacturer and developer, pocket the surplus than a bunch of middlemen. I don't really see that as a particularly contentious position to anyone but professional middlemen.
Petrae
Member
Talamius said:DD2 was a far superior game to the mediocre 1 (and is still one of my favorite PSX games). Gameday's popularity really took off with '97 and peaked with '98. Tekken 2 was right at the end of year 1 (late August) so there was still a wait. The only one I'd give you
is Resident Evil, forgot that one. My bad
I respect your opinion regarding Destruction Derby versus its sequel-- but, at the time, there really was nothing like Destruction Derby... mediocre or not. The first game was more about damage than racing, whereas the sequel tended to even the importance of the two factors (and some of the jumps were sick).
I am surprised that you decided to write off Jumping Flash!, which was a pretty unique experience for the time (3D platforming and shooting). Warhawk was also a damned good game, as long as you overlook the criminally cheesy FMV sequences between stages.
I do see the underlying point that you're making. To get a gem like Super Mario Galaxy within the first year of the Wii's release-- plus really good games like Twilight Princess and Metroid Prime 3-- that actually makes the Wii's first year a solid one in terms of software, and there's still years to come.
Gigglepoo said:
depends on who you mean by "people." the gift buyers who are paying this much aren't, maybe the people who are receiving the systems want them for those games. I don't know about "image" though. A lot of folks who said the Ipod was all image also proposed that MP3 cds in a portable discman was just as good. I think what happens is people play Wii sports and the viral effect takes over. The system is still viewed as something primarily for kids and a few one-off parents/grannies.
food wasting is annoying, I'll give you that
Gigglepoo said:
Because it wasn't as hot. Now its much more out there and everybody heard of it. The demand has grown since launch. Wiisports and games like it are the perfect Wiiseller. People play it a couple of times, have the time of there life and decide to buy one as well. More people wanting to buy means prices are higher.
DeaconKnowledge
Member
Gigglepoo said:
Because it wasn't the holiday season.
Wii has been deemed by a few outlets as this year's "It" thing. On that basis yes I agree that people are buying it for image. But let's not delude ourselves into thinking that the Wii is successful in spite of its game library. The games are the reason the damn thing's the "it" thing in the first place.
AstroLad said:
well, all things aren't equal. I'm saying Nintendo is shipping and selling as much as possible. They can't keep up with demand, so this is what happens.
on a side note, I'd like to know how you define professional middlemen. To me, that's Best Buy and Circuit City as well as Ebay seller #1 and Ebay seller #2.
ksamedi said:
Exactly. The quality hasn't appreciatively increased in the past month but the price tag has. I believe that is because the Wii has been dubbed "Hotness" and people need to have the hottest thing around.
However, the main reason it has sold consistently well for the past year is because it's fun. "Fun" was only worth $250 last month, though.
DeaconKnowledge said:
I never said that. My beef is with over zealous consumers, not the Wii.
Zombie James
Banned
Talamius said:
Yea, let's pretend that the PS2 had nothing to play for a year. Let's ignore these titles that were released after launch but before October '01:
Onimusha
ATV Offroad Fury
Silent Hill 2
Twisted Metal: Black
ICO
Escape from Monkey Island
Gran Turismo 3
Red Faction
Zone of the Enders
Dark Cloud
Resident Evil Code: Veronica X
Tokyo Xtreme Racer
:|
megashock5
Member
Fallout-NL said:
You don't have to imagine, I'm right here - and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
There are far more games I want for Wii than 360 or PS3. And it has nothing to do with being a "casual" or whatever - I've been gaming since Odyssey2 and have mulitple systems in various rooms of my house. It's called a preference, most people have one.
Outcast2004
Banned
Well this kinda sucks for me. I sold mine too soon it seems.
Only got the $425 I asked for for my lot. Ah well, I'll keep the clear conscience.
Only got the $425 I asked for for my lot. Ah well, I'll keep the clear conscience.
Gigglepoo said:
Well, I think it has more to do with more people that spread the word about the Wii, like a virus. The more people get infected, the faster the virus will spread. I think a lot of people tried it and liked it but were waiting for the Winter to buy the Wii as gifts or for them selves. If you decide to buy something, its hard to wait it out for 2 months.
TheRipDizz
Banned
Eh. Look at the bid history of that thing. If I were selling it, I'd be highly skepticle I was actually going to get paid that much until I saw the money in my PayPal account. Noob bidders fucking suck and the highest established bidder only went into the four hundreds.gkrykewy said:
Mamesj said:
Oh, I'd rather not get into Definition Wars. Suffice it to say that Nintendo sell to retail outlets at fixed prices and those outlets get some marginal profit from them as well as the better margins associated with games and peripherals for those systems. They're not really what I would throw into the profit-capturing group I would describe (except when they do shit like forced bundles, of course). Don't get me wrong, I'm no defender of retail outlets that have consistently done their best to keep digital distribution pricing unreasonably elevated.
Rather, I am referring to the guys who use any means necessary to get a console from outlets where those consoles would otherwise be available to end consumers) so that they can capture that excess profit. It's no secret that I'm not as Wii-crazy as some (though I do own a Wii, which makes me pretty great), but if people think the Wii is an amazing product (be it for the controls, the games, whatever) and they really would pay in excess of what Nintendo is charging for it, I'd rather Nintendo get at least some of that excess benefit--this is what I mean by all things equal. They're the ones that poured the money into R&D, and the ones that have developed games like Wii Sports and SMG, and bet a lot on a novel, seemingly insane, control system, so more power and money to them.
TheRipDizz
Banned
Standards.radjago said:
CrushDance
Banned
Do you think they need to?radjago said:
Point of the matter is simple.
Wii fans: We're going to win. Microsoft and Sony are doing the "same old, same old" and have nothing for everyone.=BULLSHIT
360 fans: Who cares, we're stuck comfortably in second and sales are still good for the 360. Not to mention our game library beats all the rest.
PS3 fans: Wait till 2008.
And you know what's common between all of these systems? EVERYONE WANTS GAMES. Yet some people are to dense to admit that X game won't be on their favourite system and have to bring it up all the time.
I don't get this "race to the finish" mentality that so many of you guys have. If the Wii is selling well it's because of its IMAGE+Games, who here will say with a straight face that the Wii is only selling because of the games?
It's something new that we haven't seen before and it works very well at what it's meant to do. Simple as that.
Are you saying ethical standards or quality standards?TheRipDizz said:Standards.
I'm not saying they should abandon their current target audience, but Microsoft is clearly trying to target the Wii demographic with the Arcade SKU, and Sony has already had success with the PS2 there. Who says Sony and Microsoft can't produce a peripheral and games of the same quality as Nintendo?Gigglepoo said:
DeaconKnowledge
Member
radjago said:
Not for lack of trying (On MS' part anyway)
DeaconKnowledge
Member
radjago said:
He's saying that neither Microsoft nor Sony would lower themselves to such depths for something so measly as profit. They exist solely to appease the hardcore gamers of the world with products that may not be profitable, but gain them respoect amongst the internet gaming populace.
Respekt knuckles.
Gigglepoo said:
Are you implying that Microsoft would have done it had the Wii not existed? Because i'd bet a large sum of money that that's why this bundle exists.
Sony at least has the precedent of doing things like this before the Wii ever existed, considering it was a system intended for everybody and not just the super hardcore.
CrushDance
Banned
Either way you're wrong and you know it. Only Nintendo has quality standards? Where did the seal go? Only Nintendo has ethical standards? Where did CD based games for the N64 go?radjago said:
Please. It's called business and trying to push your product, don't bring "x company is stupid" into this.
Nintendo is a company run by people. People inherently make mistakes. Nintendo has made mistakes of their own.DeaconKnowledge said:
I don't care about these console wars really, since almost all games give me motion sickness. But the thought that one company is superior and perfect is very weak.
Why are you pushing that Deacon? You're smarter than that.
I went to a new Toys'R'Us in my town last night and saw 7 Wiis sitting there in the display counter. I walked around for 15 minutes, came back to check, and there were only 2 left in the display counter with 3 people in line buying Wiis. I ended up purchasing the last console on a whim, and as I was in line another guy came around asking for a Wii.. It was absolutely insane.
The question now.. should I eBay it ASAP, or wait a couple weeks? It would make a great gift, but none of my friends or family really play videogames.
The question now.. should I eBay it ASAP, or wait a couple weeks? It would make a great gift, but none of my friends or family really play videogames.