Does (did) the pack-in game matter?

[jhd]

Chains were doing rentals in the NES days, I'm sure of it. I can't speak for the pre-crash systems.

 

I got an Atari 2600 in 1981 and by Sping 1982, a local (independent) video store was renting games at the cost of $7/week. (They did not offer per day rentals.) There was a decent selection of both Atari and third-party titles -- I definitely remember renting Adventure, Cosmic Ark, and Star Raiders (which cost extra because of the controler).

 

I don't think that there were any major chain video stores in the city where I grew up in the early 1980s. I certainly don't recall any (though we did not own a VCR until 1988, so I was not really looking, ether).

[Austin]

Man, in Germany they (video rental shops) ripped apart the Atari VCS boxes and made the box fit into a video case (Thereby destroying one spine completely). I recently bought an ex-video game rental game in a VHS case....HORROR.

 

They did the same thing in the states for post-2600 systems as well.

[atarilovesyou]

Great topic. Of course the pack-in is important, but it's still hit and miss. I couldn't have told you what the pack-in was on the 5200: finding out it was Super Breakout was a surprise, but damn, why pick that one? Odd choice. I dunno, but I bet an arcade perfect Pac Man woulda still done just as well. Anyways.

 

The SMS was a terrible choice: Hang On and that crappy maze game...wtf? But even Nintendo botched early on...I didn't play SMB until a friend bought it: all the systems in the beginning (friends who owned it) had Gyromite or nothing (mine didn't come with a game either). Gyromite was turd. But anyways. People actually bought an NES to play SMB, the same can't be said for many others. They also were smart in picking Tetris for GB. And so on and so forth.

 

Altered Beast was, for me anyways, amazing for the time. I remembered playing it in the arcade, thinking how cool it was, and then to be able to play a very close version at home?...I was floored. Sure, now I think the game stinks. But it was flippin' amazing back then.

 

TG16 had no chance...Keith Courage?...just not enough. That system had great games and really had a lame launch. I really liked Legendary Axe, though. Very cool. I wanted R-Type like nobody's biz: I was stoked for TG16 ever since I read about it in a VG+CGE magazine (PC Engine). It really must be said that if you were of an impressionable age, graphics were THE standard. Great graphics?...great game!...of course I was wrong, and if I was a bit older I could have seen that Altered Beast was a turd but, such is life. I never liked platformers (the popular ones, anyway) anyway so I wasn't sure why Sonic was so great. Mario got dull after a while too, but the buzz about those games were what was so exciting. It's like being part of a popular genre of music: sure, there's the Pearl Jams and Nirvanas (grunge) but there were also a lot of other great bands to listen to alongside them. I was always into those outside-the-box games.

[Austin]

Eh.. I don't think Altered Beast is a turd. It's just a shallow arcade game. A fun, shallow arcade game, simply not ideal for a pack-in thanks to its length.

[+jd_1138]

Eh.. I don't think Altered Beast is a turd. It's just a shallow arcade game. A fun, shallow arcade game, simply not ideal for a pack-in thanks to its length.

 

I am thinking that they initially didn't want Sonic as the pack-in because they knew that most Genesis owners would gladly plunk down $50 for Sonic. So by not including Sonic, they were hoping to make a ton on Sonic sales. But still, I think a better game than Altered Beast could've been included. The move to Sonic was probably the right move because it sold systems and increased the installed base figures.

 

Its rival console, the Super Nintendo, had various pack ins such as Donkey Kong Country, Zelda Link to the Past, Killer Instinct, Super Mario World, etc..

 

Atari included Pac-Man as a pack in for the 2600 in the later years. That was misguided. Pac-Man wasn't a very good game, and probably accounted for a lot of returns of the 2600 back to the store. Combat is a lot more fun. The Atari execs probably were thinking: "Pac-Man is the world's most popular game so let's include it." Pac-Man fans were alienated when they got the 2600 home and played Pac-Man on the 2600.

[CorTat-G]

The red DS came with Mario Kart.

When I got a DS back in '05, I got the red DS/Mario Kart Bundle. It came with stickers(Like Mario's red 'M' emblem), and a Mario Kart DS thumb strap(I Still have that).

[goldenegg]

This topic actually makes me quite sad, as the days of pack-in games are pretty much at an end. Sure, there are various bundles available, but systems tend to be released without a pack-in anymore.

 

While it is nice to be able to choose what game you want, rather than be forced to have a potentially crappy pack-in (Cybermorph anyone?), it's still nice to open a new system and have everything you need to get started in one box. I grew up (like many of you), when pretty much all game consoles would ship with a game. To me, it was always so exciting and I couldn't wait to play that one specific game when I brought the system home, regardless of whether or not I bought more games.

 

I really do believe console manufacturers do themselves a disfavour by not packing in a game which shows off the capabilities of the system. The PS Vita is a perfect example. While Little Deviants is far from being a great game, there's absolutely no reason it shouldn't be included with every Vita. Nintendo understood this with the Wii and it could be argued that Wii Sports was the primary reason for the system's success.

 

Tomorrow I plan to pick up a DSi XL. While I own a good number of NDS games, having owned multiple DS systems over the past ~8 years, it upsets me to know there's no game waiting for me inside the box.

[high voltage]

Cybermorph was an excellent pack-in, Altered Beast was a good pack-in as was SMW. Thing was with SMW it was like PacMan, a game which will sell consoles no matter how average. At least Altered Beast was as others already mentioned, playing the arcade game at home.

 

 

[godslabrat]

This topic actually makes me quite sad, as the days of pack-in games are pretty much at an end. Sure, there are various bundles available, but systems tend to be released without a pack-in anymore.

 

While it is nice to be able to choose what game you want, rather than be forced to have a potentially crappy pack-in (Cybermorph anyone?), it's still nice to open a new system and have everything you need to get started in one box. I grew up (like many of you), when pretty much all game consoles would ship with a game. To me, it was always so exciting and I couldn't wait to play that one specific game when I brought the system home, regardless of whether or not I bought more games.

 

I really do believe console manufacturers do themselves a disfavour by not packing in a game which shows off the capabilities of the system. The PS Vita is a perfect example. While Little Deviants is far from being a great game, there's absolutely no reason it shouldn't be included with every Vita. Nintendo understood this with the Wii and it could be argued that Wii Sports was the primary reason for the system's success.

 

Tomorrow I plan to pick up a DSi XL. While I own a good number of NDS games, having owned multiple DS systems over the past ~8 years, it upsets me to know there's no game waiting for me inside the box.

 

(emphasis mine)

 

I agree with basically everything you say, though in recent years I've come to enjoy picking up the game I want most right out of the gate. I also recognize that not having a pack-in game does result in a lower sticker price (to what degree is open to debate).

 

As far as the Wii goes, though, that was one system that HAD to have a pack-in. The new control scheme really needed to be sold to people, and the proof-of-concept minigames were the perfect way to make people say "Oh! I get it!"

[Turbogfx]

TG16 had no chance...Keith Courage?...just not enough. That system had great games and really had a lame launch. I really liked Legendary Axe, though. Very cool. I wanted R-Type like nobody's biz: I was stoked for TG16 ever since I read about it in a VG+CGE magazine (PC Engine).

 

Very true. I bought a brand new boxed TurboGrafX (European version) about a year ago. That one had Blazing Lazers as a pack-in game. I thought that one is brilliant. Still one of my favorite games on the console to date. That game showcases well what the TGX is good at: SHMUPS! Of course the TGX was released in a time when consoles had "mascottes". Can't call Blazing Lazers a mascotte, can you?

But if having a mascotte as a pack-in game was the goal, they should have put in Bonk's Adventure in my opinion. R-Type would have been kick-ass as well though. Great port of the arcade version for the time!

[high voltage]

Cybermorph was an excellent pack-in

 

 

[Torr]

I am thinking that they initially didn't want Sonic as the pack-in because they knew that most Genesis owners would gladly plunk down $50 for Sonic. So by not including Sonic, they were hoping to make a ton on Sonic sales. But still, I think a better game than Altered Beast could've been included. The move to Sonic was probably the right move because it sold systems and increased the installed base figures.

 

When the Genny was released in 1989, Sonic was still 2 years away, I think THAT'S the reason it wasn't a pack-in.

Plus considering when the Genny launched in Japan there were only 3 games for it, Altered Beast, Space Harrier II and Super Thunderblade. So of those 3 I'd say Altered Beast was the best 'show-off' title. Even by the time the Genny was released in North America there weren't THAT many more games to choose from. SO for the time, I'd say Altered BEast was the best pick. It used all 3 buttons, was a faithful port, it was a SEGA title so they wouldn't have to pay royalties on every system sold with it, and it wasn't frustratingly difficult so as to make people pissed with their first Genesis experience. Plus the fact it was a little TOO easy would inspire people to go buy another game a week or two later.

[+jd_1138]

When the Genny was released in 1989, Sonic was still 2 years away, I think THAT'S the reason it wasn't a pack-in.

Plus considering when the Genny launched in Japan there were only 3 games for it, Altered Beast, Space Harrier II and Super Thunderblade. So of those 3 I'd say Altered Beast was the best 'show-off' title. Even by the time the Genny was released in North America there weren't THAT many more games to choose from. SO for the time, I'd say Altered BEast was the best pick. It used all 3 buttons, was a faithful port, it was a SEGA title so they wouldn't have to pay royalties on every system sold with it, and it wasn't frustratingly difficult so as to make people pissed with their first Genesis experience. Plus the fact it was a little TOO easy would inspire people to go buy another game a week or two later.

 

Oh, I stand corrected. You'd think they would have had more launch titles out for it though. Sega was a little behind the curve in that aspect.