DS Daily: Chrono price point

by Candace Savino { Jul 12th 2008 at 10:30AM }

Let's have another discussion about Chrono Trigger, because it's a sad day when we stop talking about such a wonderful game. Most of you seem to be okay with Square Enix's decision to port the original SNES game to the DS, but just how much are you willing to pay for it?

Normally, Square Enix's DS titles cost $40 (with some exceptions). Yet, we can't see something like this costing as much as say, a totally revamped Final Fantasy IV. If the company had just brought the game to the Wii's Virtual Console, it would only cost $8 (but, it wouldn't have been portable). Then again, if you buy the orignal from eBay, you can expect to pay some big bucks. So, consumer whores (and how!): how much should Chrono Trigger DS retail for? What is a fair pricing scheme?

Tags: chrono-trigger, chrono-trigger-ds, rpg, square-enix

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

McDoobie @ Jul 12th 2008 10:41AM

I would say $35; the port does take some work, but they're also adding other options to the title.

Lord Bowser @ Jul 12th 2008 10:43AM

30 Euros. I know it won't happen but a Bowser can dream.

aj @ Jul 12th 2008 10:48AM

They're probably going to charge too much for it.

And as cool as a DS port of Chrono is, you know this was a rush job to have a big seller for Christmas since all their big-name games are coming out before and after.

You know it'll be 40$, but it ought to come out at 19.99$ to convince people who have already bought it twice to buy it one more time.

aj @ Jul 12th 2008 11:17AM

(But I'll still buy it for 40$, because I'm a nerd with no life, and a consumer whore.)

Lord Bowser @ Jul 12th 2008 11:42AM

It took you half an hour to come to that conclusion? Your posting on a DS board, on a saturday; as am I.

aj @ Jul 12th 2008 12:26PM

It took me half of an hour to realize that I sounded much more pretentious than I meant to sound. And since there is no "edit out the stupid" feature in the comments section here, I thought I'd clarify.

Flagg @ Jul 12th 2008 11:05AM

25 euros (40 dollars).

Matt G. @ Jul 12th 2008 11:06AM

$30-35. It'll make up for the juvenile stupidity that led me to completely overlook this game back in the 90s.

dangdong @ Jul 12th 2008 2:00PM

Absolutely no more than $35. I just can't justify spending more than that on a nearly straight port of a game that I've already purchased twice in the past. I'll probably buy it used at some point. I do that a lot with Square-Enix's games because I just can't justify dropping 40 bucks on a handheld game. Not long ago, that was a pretty standard price for home console games. I got a DS for the convenience and affordability of the games.

Matt G. @ Jul 12th 2008 4:43PM

I hate to break it to you, but as new handheld systems come out, the price of the games increases. The next generation's games will probably cost $35-50 all the time. I'd be really surprised if they didn't.

dangdong @ Jul 13th 2008 3:10PM

When the DS came out, the games were no more than 30, but even since I bought it a couple of years ago, the price has been steadily increasing. I am well aware of the effects of inflation.

Reeve @ Jul 12th 2008 11:51AM

$30, but I wouldn't object to a lower price either.

Ahh, who am I kidding... this is Squeenix we're talking about ;)

Luke @ Jul 12th 2008 12:03PM

$20 is fair, $40 is likely. More than that and they're just bastards.

WalkingCarpet @ Jul 12th 2008 12:03PM

I fully expect this game to retail for 40 bucks just like all of the other big SE titles on the DS. I don't really want to play that much for it though. I'm thinking I'll wait until I can pick it up for around 30 or less used. It does still look like a great title though.

Now FFIV, I would totally pay 40 bucks for.

Roto13 @ Jul 12th 2008 12:16PM

The fact that people charge way more than it's worth on eBay shouldn't even be a factor.

gukid @ Jul 12th 2008 12:28PM

I've noticed a correlation with Nintendos "Most Wanted" list on the virtual console, with what is recently being announced as remakes. Paper Mario on DS, Chrono Trigger on DS, Kirby's Super Star on DS... I wonder if Earthbound will see a DS remake? I sure as hell hope not... (I'm a huge EB fan and purist, don't get me wrong.)

bryanmmc @ Jul 12th 2008 8:15PM

When was Paper Mario for DS announced?

gukid @ Jul 12th 2008 8:55PM

Whoops! I guess it wasn't officially announced at any point... but I assume we'll be hearing something soon?

Lord Bowser @ Jul 13th 2008 5:58AM

No, keep dreaming, kid.

ChangeOfFate @ Jul 12th 2008 12:35PM

It's a direct port (not a remake like FFIV) then $29.99. Anything higher for a ported game from 14 years ago isn't right in my opinion.

Now FFIV, I'm willing to pay for.

~cof

Jetup @ Jul 12th 2008 12:49PM

Chrono Trigger is listed at Gamestop..
It says $39.99 12/1/08
http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=72012

Red @ Jul 12th 2008 2:09PM

That's lame...$40 is way too much for a rushed port job. Still, thanks for digging up the link, now I know to pin my hopes on other games while waiting for the price to drop.

ryan @ Jul 12th 2008 3:11PM

"Official pricing and release dates have not been announced by the publisher. Price and release date listed are estimates only and subject to change. Worry Free Guarantee - if the price decreases between the time you place your preorder and the release date, you�ll receive the lower of the two."

Gewurztraminer says: R.O.B. is the last Cylon! @ Jul 12th 2008 1:24PM

$40 would be a bit much.
$30 would be a bit surprising.
$20 would be what I would pay.

I may not get it though, as I have the PS1 version
(boo for pre-battle load times tho! =p)

chispito @ Jul 12th 2008 2:31PM

$20 would be ideal. $30 I'd consider. But I suspect it will be $40 because Squenix is greedy like that.

Covarr @ Jul 12th 2008 2:48PM

Over $9000

Shuyin @ Jul 12th 2008 3:54PM

It'd probably be 40$, but the price doesn't matter.
Since last i finished CT, i've played countless RPGs on PSX, PS2, PC and NDS and not even one came close to it (well, i enjoyed FFXII). For me, CT is one of the two best RPGs i've ever played (the other being Vagrant Story). In my years of gaming, nothing came close to them. I think i like VS more than CT, but still, one of my 2 favourite RPGs will be ported to a portable console and i'm gonna' get enhanced music plus an extra dungeon....u really think i'd care about the price? :D (i never got the psx edition)

Covarr @ Jul 12th 2008 5:03PM

Never got the PS version means you never got the PS load times that came with it. Something like ten seconds just for entering a battle.

Metayoshi @ Jul 12th 2008 6:47PM

I actually wanted to find the PSX version of CT just to see the cutscenes, but then I found the cutscenes online and stopped caring about it.

Ashley @ Jul 12th 2008 7:07PM

I'd buy it for whatever price, just to relive the very first RPG I ever played (besides Pokemon�is that even an RPG?)

tacoman @ Jul 12th 2008 4:45PM

I paid like $7 for a used SFC version of Chrono Trigger, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the Japanese price point was $50, but it won't stop me from getting it.

ryan @ Jul 12th 2008 8:34PM

What is SFC? Sorry if I'm showing my stupidity.

Cian @ Jul 12th 2008 9:25PM

I think he means Super Famicom. Not sure though.

tacoman @ Jul 12th 2008 10:40PM

Yeah, SFC is Super Famicom, sorry about the confusion.

Metayoshi @ Jul 12th 2008 6:45PM

It probably will be $40, but I'll be getting it either way since I never owned the SNES game.

khyuffie @ Jul 12th 2008 7:31PM

Oh come on, it was $70+ when it came out on Super Nintendo, $40 is a bargain for a portable Chrono Trigger! =/

Cian @ Jul 12th 2008 9:24PM

I would shed all the blood in my body for this game...

Okay not quite...

But being such a fan of the game I would be willing to pay up to $50 even though it's a pretty barebones port. The game is just THAT good.

Although it would be awesome if they released an HD version for XBLA and PSN or something...

Chrono Trigger + HD + Achievments/Trophies = Win

But I'll settle for the ability to play it ANYWHERE.

Bill McCai @ Jul 13th 2008 5:07AM

It just seems lazy to me. They've put in minimal effort with this yet they want to charge more than most games? bah.

ombraweb @ Jul 13th 2008 7:06AM

Here is Canada it is $40 ($39.99). I have already Pre-Ordered it as it is an incredible game and well worth it...

It would have been nice for a full remake though, but I suppose there is still hope.

TJF588 @ Jul 13th 2008 4:01PM

I would say $35.00 (or $34.99, whatever), but a half-10 doesn't seem their style. I'd expect $30.00 unless they're really banking on whatever the DS does for it. I do hope for a cleaned script, though, a la FFVIA.

Terrence Newton @ Jul 13th 2008 8:45PM

i'd be willing to shell out up to $35 since this i believe, will be the best way to (legally) play this game since it's original SNES release. $40 would be date-rape, but.. i'd pay it w/o a second thought if it was my only choice.

Alex Gorzen @ Jul 13th 2008 9:51PM

I bought Chrono Trigger at a pawn shop in Canada a few years ago for 15 dollars Canadian, which at the time was about $10 US. Same with Final Fantasy II (meaning the North American II, not Japanese II). Hooray for memories of random people on the Internet!

Anyway, I'd say they should just sell it for $30, but I doubt that would happen.

aj @ Jul 14th 2008 1:30AM

God, I love pawn shops for video games.

I used to live near this chain pawn shop that had, hands down, the greatest video game selection ever. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was across the street from the mall, and the EB would only give store credit (I used to live in a county whose gambling laws forbade giving cash for games, for some reason. Actually, it's the same story where I am now.)