We store cookies, you can get more info from our privacy policy.
GCWiiWiiU

Wind Waker HD, Wii Party U Price Point Listed on Amazon

by Neal Ronaghan - July 28, 2013, 2:35 pm EDT
Total comments: 41 Source: http://www.amazon.com/The-Legend-Zelda-nintendo-wi..., http://www.amazon.com/Wii-Party-U/dp/B00DC7FWRE

How much should you expect to pay for Nintendo's October Wii U games?

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is currently listed for $49.99 on Amazon while Wii Party U is listed for $39.99.

While the prices could change between now and both games' October releases, generally Amazon's price listings have been accurate. For example, Game & Wario's $40 price point was revealed on Amazon and other retailers' sites before Nintendo confirmed it.

Wind Waker HD is a remake of the 2003 GameCube classic, and if the price holds, it will actually debut at the same price it did 10 years ago. The original Wii Party, released in 2010, was $50 game when it launched, though it was dropped to $40 six months after launch.

For comparison, Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101, two upcoming Nintendo-published Wii U titles, are set to be priced at $59.99.

Talkback

OblivionJuly 28, 2013

While I'm someone that believes that just because something is older doesn't mean it should be dirt cheap (like how many think that $10 for Earthbound is too much), they should price this at the same level as the HD releases on the other systems, even if this took a bit more work and is their first one ever.


It should go down to $40, at the most. $20 or $30 would be the sweet spot.

broodwarsJuly 28, 2013

Well, I guess I'm not buying Wind Waker HD then.  Nintendo hasn't justified that $50 price point with as little as they are adding to that game, as well as how minimal the HD upgrade appears.  Meanwhile, I can buy Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and Final Fantasies X/X-2 HD this Fall, both containing 2 games for $10 less than Wind Waker HD and both containing substantial new content (and in FF X's case, the HD upgrade is far more impressive). 

If Nintendo were adding the missing dungeons (yes, I know those ended up in Twilight Princess. They could design new dungeons); gut the Triforce quest; and take all the stupid tedium out of sailing, that would be worth the $15.  Instead, they put Miiverse in a bottle, added some minor tweaks to sailing, and dumped bloom lighting on the game. That's just not worth $50 for me, only $10 less then the price of a new game and $10-$20 more than better HD collections.

broodwarsJuly 28, 2013

Edit: "...that would be worth the "$50", not "...that would be worth the "$15".

Kytim89July 28, 2013

If Nintendo offered a $20.00 credit for buying Wind Waker on the eShop then I would buy it because $29.99 is the most that I would pay for a remake regardless of its features.

Retro DeckadesJuly 28, 2013

$50 for The Wind Waker makes sense to me. I'd buy it for that if I didn't already own it.

PogueSquadronJuly 28, 2013

I couldn't justify spending $50 on this. I don't want to say that they didn't put a lot of work into this release, but they didn't put as much work into it as they did the original release....and right now those prices are way too similar (if adjusted for inflation).

AdrockJuly 28, 2013

I paid $50 for the original 10 years ago which I still have. I wasn't going to buy this without a sale anyway. My plan was always to get this on a deal with The Wonderful 101.

azekeJuly 28, 2013

Hopefully european version of Wii Party will also be cheaper. Either way, day one.

Don't really care Wind Waker remake no matter the price. I beat it very recently and in no hurry to buy it again.

KeeblerJuly 29, 2013

My copy has gone missing so im going to pick it up no matter what i really enjoyed all the extra stuff and graphics overhaul on OOT most notable the second screen stuff

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorJuly 29, 2013

Hm.  eBay prices for the GCN version are all over the place.

I see a complete-in-box one that had zero bids for $15.  Meanwhile, I see a disc-only copy that sold for $37.

CericJuly 29, 2013

I say $40 would be the Goldilocks number for Wind Waker HD.  Low enough for most the Curious.  High Enough that Nintendo wouldn't really be leaving money on the table.

I'll pay $50, but we've already established that I'm crazy when it comes to buying games.

I'm not happy about the $50 price point, but it's fucking Wind Waker. I'll get it no matter what. And be mildly disappointed with myself for doing so.

Ian SaneJuly 29, 2013

I don't like Wind Waker's price because if it sells then it will just encourage Nintendo to remake more games and charge $50 for it.  On the GBA and with the NPC Wii games they've demonstrated that if they feel they can get away with recycling old content they will

There is no comparison to EarthBound because $10 is WAY less than what EarthBound went for when it came out.

element187July 29, 2013

The work that went into this is substantial... Its all new art and assets... the backgrounds are new, the world also has shadows/shading and dynamic lighting.... I can't to pick this up, $50 is a steal.

CericJuly 29, 2013

Quote from: element187

The work that went into this is substantial... Its all new art and assets... the backgrounds are new, the world also has shadows/shading and dynamic lighting.... I can't to pick this up, $50 is a steal.

But the market in general has says that amount of work is worth $40.

The market on these forums says it's worth $40. We'll have to wait for October to see what the market in general says it's worth.

In a somewhat related note, I know someone who said he's going to buy a Wii U because of the game. So he thinks it's worth considerably more than $50.

Luigi DudeJuly 29, 2013

I imagine Nintendo is also hoping to appeal to newer Zelda fans as well with this game.  Twilight Princess on the Wii sold more then Wind Waker on the Gamecube.  Even Skyward Sword which came out when Wii sales were dropping hard in 2011, sold more in it's first few months then Wind Waker did in its early months.  Haven't seen any official sales since but I wouldn't be surprised if Skyward Sword is still higher then Wind Waker was at this point in its life as well.

So the Zelda series has gotten more popular since Wind Waker was released so to a lot of people this is basically a new Zelda game they never played before since they never played the original on the Gamecube.  Even if everyone who played the original Gamecube game refuses to buy this, there's still a few million more Zelda fans who didn't and so paying $50 won't seem like it's too expensive since its the same price Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword were for them.

No matter what people say about what's worth $40, it's a Zelda game. People will likely buy it way more than they would buy collections of Jak and Daxter, God of War, etc.

And remember, this is the same company that re-released remakes of Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64 as full-priced 3DS titles. And Star Fox bombed (I think), but OoT 3D sold very well. The only reason Wind Waker won't do the same, as far as I'm concerned, is because of the Wii U's current install base, not the price.


It goes back to a conversation I had with Nintendo employees at a pre-3DS launch event. Younger players likely didn't experience Ocarina of Time, so while the game is well worn to us, it could be brand new to many. Likewise, Wind Waker could be the same way. I was almost 11 when I first played Ocarina of Time. Someone at that same age would have just been born when Wind Waker came out.

Luigi DudeJuly 29, 2013

Quote from: NWR_Neal

And remember, this is the same company that re-released remakes of Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64 as full-priced 3DS titles. And Star Fox bombed (I think), but OoT 3D sold very well. The only reason Wind Waker won't do the same, as far as I'm concerned, is because of the Wii U's current install base, not the price.

Actually Star Fox did pretty good.  Star Fox 64 3D according to NPD leaks did over 400k in America.  Then according to Japanese sales it did over 100k over there.  Nobody has any numbers for Europe, but I'd imagine just doing over 500k with America and Japan still made Nintendo a good profit on the game.

Not good enough to have a new game in the series (that we know of), though. :(
It seems like it might have done just good enough to not flop, but not enough to be a huge hit.

If it had done well enough to give Miyamoto the excuse to make a new one like he clearly wants to, it's recent enough that there's a decent chance we wouldn't know about it yet, given Nintendo's tendency to announce things closer to release.

SarailJuly 29, 2013

I was very excited about getting this game, but at 50 AMERIBUCKS, it's a no-go. As others have said, it doesn't look like much is being added in terms of content - and the HD upgrade really isn't that visually improved. $29 is the sweet spot on this title.

Now if they added in Motion+ sword control...

Ian SaneJuly 29, 2013

There is a weird inconsistency in Nintendo's approach to old content.  On one hand you have the VC which offers accurate reproductions of classic games, sold at a discounted price (at least compared to full retail prices) and marketed as classic releases.  Then you have ports created specifically for new hardware with new graphics and tweaks to the gameplay that are sold at full price or near to it and seem to be marketed in a way similar to that of a new game, with the intention of getting younger gamers to come on board (ie: they need the modern trappings to entice them into playing an old game).  The two approaches seem inconsistent and contradictory.  It also seems to be up to the whims of Nintendo, with no clearly defined objective (besides money).  You never know how Nintendo will re-release a game and on what platform.

I'm a purist that wants old games to be re-released as is.  It isn't like they muck with old movies (George Lucas' insanity being the exception) or albums or books.  No one would ever suggest re-releasing old Beatles albums with remixes and re-recordings that better cater to today's listeners, while leaving the original versions out-of-print but with videogames that seems normal.  Hollywood likes their remakes but they don't shove the original in the vault forever.

The whole approach sends the message that these companies consider their works to be mere disposable product.  Logically there should be a Gamecube VC and Wind Waker should be available on it to today's gamers in its unaltered form.  But then that makes it hard to sell a fancied-up remake for 50 bucks.

I also find it rather ridiculous that the Wii U struggles with jack shit for games and one of Nintendo's top priorities was to assign a team to remake an old game, when they already don't seem to have enough manpower to make enough NEW games for the console.

ShyGuyJuly 29, 2013

Nintendo would be smart to do one of these new "buy something, get a discount on something else" deals with Windwaker HD.

That being said, I will buy this. I borrowed Wind Waker from a friend to play it originally.

Quote from: Ian

The two approaches seem inconsistent and contradictory.  It also seems to be up to the whims of Nintendo, with no clearly defined objective (besides money).  You never know how Nintendo will re-release a game and on what platform.

Inconsistent and contradictory behavior is par for the course for Nintendo. I love them, but that's just how they are. And yes, it's about money. If Nintendo thinks they can get away with charging that, then that's what they're going to do.

Quote:

It isn't like they muck with old movies (George Lucas' insanity being the exception) or albums or books.  No one would ever suggest re-releasing old Beatles albums with remixes and re-recordings that better cater to today's listeners, while leaving the original versions out-of-print but with videogames that seems normal.  Hollywood likes their remakes but they don't shove the original in the vault forever.

This happens all the time. You mentioned The Beatles; they released remastered versions of all their albums a few years back. That's basically what this is, going back and improving the textures and rendering it in HD.

Quote:

I also find it rather ridiculous that the Wii U struggles with jack shit for games and one of Nintendo's top priorities was to assign a team to remake an old game, when they already don't seem to have enough manpower to make enough NEW games for the console.

It's not like they decided to make this a week ago. When they started this they had no way of knowing the trouble the Wii U would be in right now.

Mop it upJuly 29, 2013

Considering I bought Wind Waker back on Player's Choice, there's no way I'd pay more than that for an HD version.

I was surprised that Ocarina of Time 3D sold so well, considering the original version is only $10 on the Wii VC. Wind Waker HD has the advantage that it will be the only option available, outside of the used GCN market anyway.

Ocarina of Time 3D was a pretty significant improvement over the original (how much this one will be remains to be seen) and it also offered a portable form of the game for the first time. Another advantage was that OoT3D came out at a time when there were virtually no other 3DS games coming out. They really should have gotten Wind Waker out a few months earlier for a similar situation.

AdrockJuly 29, 2013

Ocarina of Time 3D also included Master Quest which is something that Nintendo didn't have to do, but was certainly appreciated. If Wind Waker HD has an unlockable remixed quest, that would definitely help justify the price.

broodwarsJuly 29, 2013

I'm fine with this game existing, just not as a fairly unimpressive HD conversion sold for only $10 less than a new game.  Companies going back & tweaking their old games allows us to better keep them relevant for newer generations. Wind Waker was a decent game with some serious flaws, and had those flaws been addressed in this remake, we could have the experience the designers always intended the game to be (but couldn't accomplish due to Nintendo rushing its release).  But as it is, I just don't want to play that Wind Waker experience again enough to warrant a nearly full-price purchase.

TJ SpykeJuly 29, 2013

Quote from: broodwars

Wind Waker was a great game with some minor flaws

Fixed that for you.

broodwarsJuly 29, 2013

Quote from: TJ

Quote from: broodwars

Wind Waker was a great game with some minor flaws

Fixed that for you.

The monotonous, clumsily-implemented sailing and the pointless padding of the Triforce quest (which, sadly, would pave the way for even worse wastes of time in future 3D Zelda games) were not minor flaws.

TJ SpykeJuly 29, 2013

The Triforce hunt was a little boring, but I wouldn't call it a serious flaw. And the sailing was so minor that you have to be nitpicking to have a problem with it. Seriously, it takes all of 5 seconds to change the direction and you don't have to do it that often.

Mop it upJuly 30, 2013

Quote from: Adrock

Ocarina of Time 3D also included Master Quest which is something that Nintendo didn't have to do, but was certainly appreciated. If Wind Waker HD has an unlockable remixed quest, that would definitely help justify the price.

Wind Waker has a second quest but it's barely different, so it'd be cool if they mixed some stuff around in this release. I wonder if they had planned to do more with the second quest but just didn't have the time...

AdrockJuly 30, 2013

Is the second quest where you get to play as Link in his blue Outset Island outfit? Was there more to it? I only completed Wind Waker once since I was in the middle of college when it came out and I just replayed the final boss a bunch of times because it was awesome. I meant something along the lines of a Master Quest for Wind Waker with rearranged dungeons.

nickmitchJuly 30, 2013

Any time characters talked in Hylian, they changed it to English (or whatever language your game was in, I guess). Gave you some hints at the timeline.

TJ SpykeJuly 30, 2013

You also started with the Deluxe PictoBox.

nickmitchJuly 30, 2013

Didn't Ruppees carryover too, or something?

ShyGuyJuly 30, 2013

I found the sailing peaceful.

TJ SpykeJuly 30, 2013

Nope, I don't believe so on the rupees. But I think the Nintendo Gallery does.


ShyGuy, so did I. I think it's why I enjoyed replaying it.

Got a news tip? Send it in!
Advertisement
Advertisement