Gossip Stone: Should Nintendo be Releasing Remakes at Regular Game Prices?

We’re two weeks away from the release of Twilight Princess HD for the Wii U and I’m extremely excited to finally get my hands on it. Putting aside my own eagerness, though, I realize that there are some Zelda fans who aren’t as anxious to play the title in HD when the original title is totally acceptable. In fact, I’ve noticed an interesting debate that’s been circulating around the Zelda community since the game’s announcement, and that was whether game remakes like Twilight Princess HD are worth purchasing at a full-game price.

Some think it is because of the the higher resolution and new features one might find in a Zelda game remake. Some don’t due to the fact that, essentially, the game is the same as the original and only looks slightly prettier. I wanted to see more opinions on the matter, so make the jump to see my opinion and put your thoughts in the the comment section!

I’ve personally never had a problem investing my money into the Zelda franchise. I have a job and I tend to set aside money that I can spend and treat myself with; usually its on something Zelda related like a game or merchandise. Not only that, I consider myself a completionist, which I realize isn’t a legitimate thing but I don’t have any other way to describe my collecting habits. If I have something, I have to have all of it, the complete set. When it comes to Zelda, I have to have all the games- which I’m so close, there are just a couple that I haven’t gotten my hands on yet- all the Prima collector’s edition guides, the collector’s edition puzzles, the amiibos… the list goes on and on. It might be a hoarding thing, I don’t know, but when Twilight Princess HD was announced, I knew that I wanted to add it to my collection.

I realize, though, that not everyone in the Zelda fandom is like me. Some fans are younger and don’t have a way to purchase a new game. Some people don’t have a Wii U, or they’re not a completionist freak like I am and are totally satisfied with the original Twilight Princess. Some people might not have liked Twilight Princess the first time around and probably aren’t even that interested in the fact that Nintendo is re-releasing the game in HD. All these things could be said about the previous Zelda remakes as well. Maybe someone never understood all the hype about Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, so why shell out $40 for the 3D versions? A good chunk of the Zelda community hated The Wind Waker when it was first released, so why would they want to buy the Wii U just to play it in HD? All these opinions are possible, and it’s alright if there are fans out there that feel this way. So it makes me wonder if Nintendo is really considering these feelings when they’re pricing Zelda remakes.

I think that the full 3DS title price for Ocarina of Time 3D and Majora’s Mask 3D made a lot of sense. A lot of extra development went into those remakes to make them a significantly better experience whether someone was replaying the games for the 7th or 8th time, or playing it for the first time. Not to mention that acquiring the games otherwise meant that you had to have older Nintendo consoles, which not a lot of people do anymore. The only reason I bought The Wind Waker HD was because it came with the purchase of a Zelda themed Wii U console, which I was mostly buying because I could play Wii games on it and I knew that it was due for a new Zelda title. I consider myself fortunate that I was able to justify having The Wind Waker that came with the Wii U since I was one of those fans who initially hated it. Now it happens to be one of my favorite games. The point, though, is that I would have never convinced myself to purchase it at it’s full price when it was released. Even now, I’d feel hesitant about buying Twilight Princess HD at full price if I wasn’t also getting the bundle with the Wolf Link amiibo, because I already own the original game that is completely adequate.

So, I do have some reservations about Nintendo’s decisions to sell the remakes at full price, though I seem to find ways to justify the price for them and myself. Is that because I’m a wacko completionist? Maybe. I have my own reasons to debate with myself about the subject. But I’d also like to hear what you guys think about it. Should Nintendo cut the prices of remakes, or continue to sell them at full listing prices? Do you not really care and would purchase a Zelda game whether it was $10 or $60? Or are you completely content with the original games that no matter how many remakes Nintendo throws at us, you’ll just save up for the newest Zelda title? As always, feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments below!