After being out of stock for an extended period of time, GameStop recently re-stocked both Xenoblade Chronicles and Metroid Prime Trilogy. However, if gamers wanted to get their hands on either title, they were going to have to fork over a decent chunk of change. This week though, apparently the cries of gamers were heard and GameStop has decided to drop the price of each title. Slightly drop the price, that is.
The well received RPG title Xenoblade Chronicles will now retail for $80 instead of $90. Likewise, the 2009 compilation Metroid Prime Trilogy will carry a price of $70 instead of $75. Each title still costs a premium, but a price cut is a price cut I suppose.
GameStop is no stranger to charging higher prices for harder to find games. Rare titles such as Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure could be found at specific stores, but were generally all marked up. Marvel vs Capcom 2 alone could cost upwards of $80. This is just how the market can be at times, and there’s not much that we can do about it.
It’s not easy to fault GameStop here, especially once you consider that they are the sole distributor of Xenoblade Chronicles. While I don’t necessarily think that the company is giving gamers a great deal, blaming them is not as cut and dry as people seem to think it is. Metroid Prime Trilogy had been discontinued by Nintendo since 2010 and if gamers wanted to get their hands on the compilation, they were forced to brave the waters of eBay and the Amazon Marketplace.
Similarly, Xenoblade Chronicles could have been easily purchases when it was originally released. Since it was distributing the game, GameStop reminded gamers that if they wanted to get the title, all they had to do was reserve it. Even if you didn’t reserve it, people could still find the title for several months following its release. I know I found my copy of the game later on in the year.
Sure, it’s annoying that GameStop can charge a markup on certain titles. But considering that your other options for acquiring each title would require you to spend $100+ on secondhand markets, the prices charged by GameStop aren’t the worst thing in the world.
What say you readers? Are these prices still too high for Xenoblade Chronicles and Metroid Prime Trilogy?