Pages

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Super Mario 3D Land: Pre-Ordered


Typically I don't pre-order or purchase on launch day, but I've bit the bullet for Super Mario 3D Land today. I decided to go with Best Buy with an in-store pick-up option to avoid shipping delays.  Needless to say I'm excited about Sunday and while I've watched quite a few videos, read dozens of impressions articles I'm trying to keep away from too many spoilers.


Considering how typical 1st party Nintendo titles go, I can't see there being much of a price drop over the next year and I don't want to wait that long.  I also hate to "reward" them for holding out on prices, but if a game is a real hit they aren't going to lower it.  Just look at Super Mario Kart Wii ($40+ 3.5 years later), Mario Kart DS along with the New Super Mario for DS and Wii.  They aren't exactly sporting bargain bin prices some 3-6 years later. It should be interesting how many gameplay hours I get out of it for a $30-40 retail title vs something like Donkey Kong on VC for $3.99. (sunday purchase)


I was also reading a wired article featured on GoNintendo today and they make some good points.  I hardly ever purchase anything on steam unless it's 50% off or more and it seems to pay to wait for the various GOTY or bundles where DLC is included.


Is anyone else planning to buy Super Mario 3D Land either on launch or at some point?  Also, what are your thoughts on waiting for price drops?

8 comments:

  1. No point in me picking it up w/out a 3ds yet. *grins* I think you're probably making a good call though. Some games you just know will get fast price drops, like annual sports titles or a game with a short storyline and no multiplayer like Force Unleashed. Others though, like the Big N's first-party titles or a game with a robust online community like CoD tend to take a lot longer to drop in price.

    I don't do a lot of pre-orders, but I have to say Amazon has become one of my favorites lately. They often include $10 (or with Madden, a $20) credit on a future game purchase, they do release day shipping for 99 cents (I've never gotten a game later than 5:30 release day, which is awesome since that's when I get home from work) and they sometimes have bonus 'codes' you can plug in to unlock things.

    As much as I appreciate Mario, he's not a must-have title for me most of the time, and probably isn't in my top 5-10 3DS games I'd be looking at myself, but considering what he means to Nintendo it's almost without a doubt that you'll be getting a very well-made game on the platform of choice for Nintendo at the moment, so you probably aren't going wrong here at all. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm just going to pick it up on Sunday from Best Buy. There should be plenty of copies.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Chalgyr: I wish I could find that shipping deal on Amazon. Each time I attempted to order it would only provide the standard shipping options. That pushed delivery back another week unless I wanted to pay out the nose. Are you a Prime member?

    Yeah, I think it's safe to say the game is going to be very polished and worthwhile. I'm more of a Zelda fan, though I have that covered and it will be good to interject some fresh Mario gameplay in the mix.

    @SuperPhillip: Sounds good, look forward to the impressions.

    ReplyDelete
  4. "Considering how typical 1st party Nintendo titles go, I can't see there being much of a price drop over the next year and I don't want to wait that long."

    You know, it's kind of interesting because this has only been the case with the Wii and DS.
    When Nintendo was in last place with the GameCube, they launched the "Player's Choice" games line, which included their games and third parties.
    So...one reason 3DS owners can hope the 3DS has a few more struggles, would be for the very fact it could encourage price drops, which MANY third parties have already done massive price drops on their 3DS games.

    As for waiting on price drops, I know a few companies/games I will not buy when released, because they have ALWAYS dropped $30 within about 6 months of release...and they come from a company that my most recent data post is on.

    As for picking up the game some day, I'm still waiting on you, Chalgyr, SuperPhillip, 8Bit, SOMEBODY to have a 3DS giveaway...what are you all holding out on?

    ReplyDelete
  5. @coffee: Well, I certainly don't wish for more struggles with the 3DS or it's software, but I do have to agree that some price drops after an appropriate time would be welcomed. Even a year or two is fine considering what we're seeing now.

    That is interesting about it only being in this Wii/DS gen as I hadn't really been in tune with prices for many years.

    Not sure about a contest, but maybe we can work out a trade for some coffee. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Incomplete:
    I just wish Nintendo would not have waited so long, from a consumer's stand point, to introduce the Nintendo Selects titles. It seriously appears that as the financial boat was taking on water, Nintendo finally thought, "Hey, perhaps if we discount our games, we can sell more quickly, and make some quick cash!"
    Instead, I think Nintendo should have done it many years ago, not just for their own titles, but also for third parties.

    I'm still waiting to see if/when they actually start allowing 3DS games to be discounted that are 3DSware titles, as I really hope they aren't trying to stick with the "The release price will be its price FOREVER." as they have done with WiiWare titles.

    I definitely don't wish doom and gloom upon Nintendo, but I do wish they would be more open about business decisions. Especially with issues like Nintendo of America refusing to port over Wii games to North America that are already fully developed and translated.

    "Not sure about a contest..."
    Uh huh, I'm keeping my eyes open(with the help of coffee) and watching for your 3DS giveaway...one day, one day!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I preordered mine, just got it on Sunday and loving it. Also good choice with Donkey Kong on the VC.

    ReplyDelete
  8. @Coffee: Hard to argue there and regular sales like the rest of the world does would be nice.

    Zack: How far are you along?

    Some reviews have mentioned it being "short", though I hear there are other characters or modes to play through again for. I played some on release day and Monday, but hadn't picked it up again until this weekend. (been sick and have had tons to do) I think I'm on level 3-3 and have been really liking it. Haven't really been flying through it and at times repeat a level to try and get all three coins.

    It's an interesting game and I'm not sure if I wish I had any experience with the other 3d marios (m64, SMG, etc.) or if it even matters. As reviews will say it feels slow at times and while it will never have the speed of a 2D SMB (mainly smb and smb3, north american smb2 is just different), you can run and there are various instances of speedy movement.

    ReplyDelete