Chrono Trigger Original Price

[98PaceCar]

I picked up a CIB copy of CT over the weekend and found the receipt for it in the manual. It shows that Babbages sold it for $84.99. Is this the real price of it new or was that higher than normal?

[diskoboy]

Maybe with tax..

I believe it was $79.99 new. Back during the early 90's "chip shortage" the prices of high-meg cartridge games reached as high as $80, for a brief time.

Thank god the CD-ROM thing caught on..

[98PaceCar]

Hmm, I'm pretty certain it was before tax, but I will have to look at it again and check. Maybe there was a $5 popular game upcharge or something.

Also, what was the actual release date? Maybe it was higher when it first released?

[Oobgarm]

Maybe there was a $5 popular game upcharge or something.

That was common practice amongst specialty retailers at the time. Lasted until Funcoland was dead/consumed, I believe.

[98PaceCar]

Jeesh. That's wild. Never heard of that on video games from a mainstream retailer.

Just for fun, I ran the cost through an inflation calculator. At $84.99 in 1995 dollars, it would cost $111.49 in 2006 dollars. I can handle that for a game that comes with a specialty controller but there's no way I'd pay that for a current release with nothing other than the game.

What's even more surprising to me is that CT has held it's value pretty well. Even factoring in inflation, that seems like a pretty fair price on the open market.

[diskoboy]

Jeesh. That's wild. Never heard of that on video games from a mainstream retailer.

Just for fun, I ran the cost through an inflation calculator. At $84.99 in 1995 dollars, it would cost $111.49 in 2006 dollars. I can handle that for a game that comes with a specialty controller but there's no way I'd pay that for a current release with nothing other than the game.

What's even more surprising to me is that CT has held it's value pretty well. Even factoring in inflation, that seems like a pretty fair price on the open market.

When I worked at Babbages (1999-2001) we had a used copy of CT, in our display case - loose, it was about $149.99. I haven't seen a copy since our store closed down. And I know we never sold it, as far as I remember - I wonder where it went??

[Aussie2B]

I don't really have anything new to add, but I paid $79.99 for it. Ditto for Super Mario RPG. Really, if I had to, I'd pay the same for those two games with no qualms since in pure entertainment value they more than surpassed their prices. Of course, to get them at that price again still sealed, it would be a great deal. :P

[Kitsune Sniper]

Jeesh. That's wild. Never heard of that on video games from a mainstream retailer.

... But Gamestop does it all the time. They sell games with an MSRP of $15 (like Art of Fighting Anthology) for $20. I've never seen them sell any new game for less than that price. Does anyone know if they have?

[norkusa]

Maybe there was a $5 popular game upcharge or something.

Yeah, that's probably it. I remember I paid $79.99 or $89.99 at Babages for Street Fighter II for SNES the week it was releasaed.

[studvicious]

I remember paying $80 for MK3 when it came out for the SNES. Crazy times indeed. :)

[Clong]

Thats wild I didnt know they went for that much. I remember saving up my money when I was younger to get Donkey Kong Country 3 but that was only 59.99 but thats how much new PS3 games sell for now.

[shadowkn55]

I know GameStop charges $5 more for certain games but then throws in a "free" copy of Game Informer.

[98PaceCar]

... But Gamestop does it all the time. They sell games with an MSRP of $15 (like Art of Fighting Anthology) for $20. I've never seen them sell any new game for less than that price. Does anyone know if they have?

I stopped shopping at Gamestop a LONG time ago.

[dougman999]

I remember getting my copy of Super Mario RPG about a couple weeks after it came out for $39.99 from Walmart. Mortal Kombat 3 for SNES did set me back $69.99, however.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

I remember when my wife bought Street Fighter II for the SNES for my step-son. She bought it at Sears and there was no price on it. The older lady working the counter looked at the other games and said, "Well, since the other games are $45, I guess this one is too." Of course, the next time we went back, it was priced at $75.

JY

[heybtbm]

Since nobody seems to be answering the original question...

Chrono Trigger was $54.99 at Target when it was released. I worked in the electronics section at the time and remember it well.

[98PaceCar]

Since nobody seems to be answering the original question...

Chrono Trigger was $54.99 at Target when it was released. I worked in the electronics section at the time and remember it well.

Do you happen to remember the date it was released by chance?

[diskoboy]

According to Wikipedia - it was August 22, 1995 in North America, March 11th 1995 in Japan.

But, of course, that can be taken with a grain of salt, since it's from Wikipedia.

EDIT - Nintendo's website says August 11th in North America..
http://www.nintendo.com/gamemini?gameid=m-Game-0000-677

[98PaceCar]

Thanks. I'll have to pull the receipt out again. I'm really curious if there was a reason it was so high.

[badinsults]

I remember seeing it for around $95 CND at Wal Mart. This was when regular games retailed for about $65-$70. That doesn't include tax.

[Celestial Avenger]

Virtua Racing for the Sega Genesis was $80 for the longest time.

I wanted NBA Jam T.E., but I couldn't justify the $60 price tag. I think NBA Jam was still pushing $50 after T.E. came out!

[sirhansirhan]

The only game I paid that much for new at a regular retailer was $80 for Final Fantasy III at Toys R Us a couple of months after it came out. I bought a used, boxed copy of CT at Blockbuster for $8 not too long after, and I still have it to this day (same with the $80 FFIII; both were wise purchases).

Oddly enough, I bought Earthbound new the day it came out for $28 + tax, after the coupon that was in Nintendo Power.

[98PaceCar]

According to Wikipedia - it was August 22, 1995 in North America, March 11th 1995 in Japan.

But, of course, that can be taken with a grain of salt, since it's from Wikipedia.

EDIT - Nintendo's website says August 11th in North America..
http://www.nintendo.com/gamemini?gameid=m-Game-0000-677

The receipt I have shows it was sold on 8/22/95 and was $84.99.

[Kitsune Sniper]

The only game I paid that much for new at a regular retailer was $80 for Final Fantasy III at Toys R Us a couple of months after it came out. I bought a used, boxed copy of CT at Blockbuster for $8 not too long after, and I still have it to this day (same with the $80 FFIII; both were wise purchases).

Oddly enough, I bought Earthbound new the day it came out for $28 + tax, after the coupon that was in Nintendo Power.

I paid $60 for my copy. Bought it at the then-just opened Toys'R'Us in Calexico, CA.

[Streetball 21]

I remember back in the day getting Tecmo NBA Basketball for the SNES at Babbage's for $69.99. Wow.

[darkhades]

I remember back in the day when Final Fantasy III (VI) was released, it was being sold for $99.99 cdn at my local Zellers store. I am pretty sure Chrono Trigger was around the same price here.

[Mewtwo]

The only game I ever got that was more than $60 from a retailer was at an ExpoMart (in Monroeville, PA). Some game stores had set up shop for this weekend event, and I know my mom ended up getting me Final Fantasy III from there, at $64.99 + tax. I didn't get to ask for anything else for the next month...but as far as I remember, that, plus the next month or two after, was spent locked up in my room with said cartridge, only emerging for food and to use the bathroom.

[Promophile]

The only game that sticks in my mind from childhood that was rediculously expensive was Phantasy Star 4. I really had to beg my parents in order to get it, yet I had no problems getting FF III, Chrono Trigger, or any of the other games mentioned as really expensive here.

[Simply Dave]

I paid $74.99 for Chrono Trigger when it first came out. This was at my local WalMart in Maryland.

[Rob2600]

Maybe with tax..

I believe it was $79.99 new. Back during the early 90's "chip shortage" the prices of high-meg cartridge games reached as high as $80, for a brief time.

Thank god the CD-ROM thing caught on..

Yes, disc-based games are sooo much cheaper than cartridges were. Wait, how much do PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games cost? $60? Okay, so maybe they're not *that* much cheaper... :)

[Kitsune Sniper]

I remember back in the day when Final Fantasy III (VI) was released, it was being sold for $99.99 cdn at my local Zellers store. I am pretty sure Chrono Trigger was around the same price here.

That was what, $89 USD back then? Don't forget you guys get shafted with import taxes, too.


Yes, disc-based games are sooo much cheaper than cartridges were. Wait, how much do PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games cost? $60? Okay, so maybe they're not *that* much cheaper... :)

There's a big difference between costing $70 because of the materials used and costing $70 because of publisher mark up. :P

[Rob2600]

There's a big difference between costing $70 because of the materials used and costing $70 because of publisher mark up. :P

You're right, there is a big difference. Paying $70 for a cartridge that costs $20 to manufacture is bad, but paying $60 for a disc that costs $0.20 to manufacture is far worse!

[Aussie2B]

Manufacturing the physical product is the easy part; you're paying for all the blood, sweat, and tears that go into the game's development. If you want the ratio of manufacturing cost to retail price to grow slimmer, then you're not going to be able to play all these next-gen games where one guy works for weeks, maybe months, on just one polygonal figure.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

If that guy would work for weeks on the gameplay and balance, I wouldn't have a problem, but I don't really care to fund this guys work on super advanced polygon models when they're just going to be slapped into a game that's 99% the same engine as the last game they released and the one before that and before that and so on and they still haven't fixed the bugs or control issues or...made it fun.

Also, I think you must be remembering Chrono Trigger's price wrong, heybtbm. I would be shocked if any store had it at $54.99 any time within the six months or even year of its release. That's way less than it was anywhere else and retail stores didn't do that loss-leading stuff much back then, especially on video games.

I also recall that Virtua Racing on the Genesis was $99 when it first came out. The price on that one may have "dropped" faster though.


...word is bondage...

[Rob2600]

If that guy would work for weeks on the gameplay and balance, I wouldn't have a problem, but I don't really care to fund this guys work on super advanced polygon models when they're just going to be slapped into a game that's 99% the same engine as the last game they released and the one before that and before that and so on and they still haven't fixed the bugs or control issues or...made it fun.

I agree and I have a related question: Why do millions of people pay $50 for each new sports game every year? They're the same games, except with updated rosters. Sometimes there are a few tweaks and minor new features, but is that worth $50 a year per sports game?


I also recall that Virtua Racing on the Genesis was $99 when it first came out.

Yes. The Sega Genesis Phantasy Star games were unusually expensive, too.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

I agree and I have a related question: Why do millions of people pay $50 for each new sports game every year? They're the same games, except with updated rosters. Sometimes there are a few tweaks and minor new features, but is that worth $50 a year per sports game?
Yeah, remember back when the Playstation was about to come out and it had those fancy memory card slots, people were saying that instead of buying a whole new game evey year, there would just be a special memory card you could buy for cheap with updated rosters...what ever happened to that?

I think the same stuff came up again when consoles started connecting to the Internet, too.

But then how would EA make its millions of dollars?


...word is bondage...

[Aussie2B]

If that guy would work for weeks on the gameplay and balance, I wouldn't have a problem, but I don't really care to fund this guys work on super advanced polygon models when they're just going to be slapped into a game that's 99% the same engine as the last game they released and the one before that and before that and so on and they still haven't fixed the bugs or control issues or...made it fun.

Well, that's why I prefer older games. They're cheap, I actually prefer sprite work, and they're every bit as fun (if not more so) than current next-gen titles. However, there's no denying that the guy working for weeks on one polygon has worked his ass off and deserves to be paid for that work. If it's important to someone to have the latest, "greatest" game as soon as it comes out, then he or she really can't whine that the MSRP is so much higher than the cost of simply producing the physical materials. Most publishers aren't exactly filthy rich, and the developers themselves especially aren't, so the cost of the game is largely to cover the development costs, not to make some insane profit.