Cube: "Best Seller" vs. "Players Choice"

[Jasoco]

I made an observation yesterday. I noticed we got some copies of Smash Bros. brand new, recently, that DIDN'T have the yellow "Players Choice" banner, rather instead, it has the gold starburst "Best Seller" on it...

 

But a few weeks ago, we had some copies that didn't have the "Best Seller" bursts, instead had the yellow "Players Choice" banner...

 

Now I'm confused. Why would they remove the yellow banner and go for just the star? Also, why do some games have both? Is Nintendo just trying to confuse us? I know people were talking about the star a while ago, but just noticing that they removed the yellow makes me wonder. Because I thought the star was invented after Smash became a PC game.

 

I'm all confused.

[sega saturn x]

Nintendo also put that best seller star on games that just came out. I have no idea why they are changing the yellow banner to the star but i think the star is alot less ugly then that bright banner.

[dinovelvet]

Why would they remove the yellow banner and go for just the star? Also, why do some games have both? Is Nintendo just trying to confuse us? I know people were talking about the star a while ago, but just noticing that they removed the yellow makes me wonder. Because I thought the star was invented after Smash became a PC game.

I'm all confused.

 

They're just making sure people know what it is. "Player's choice" probably doesn't mean much to parents shopping for games for the kids, but slapping BEST SELLER on the front will catch the eye a bit more.

[msaeger]

I will never under stand why they waste the time and money making a new cover for games they are selling cheaper.

[Xot]

I will never under stand why they waste the time and money making a new cover for games they are selling cheaper.

 

That's easy. To the uneducated, you look at Game A and Game B next to each other. Game A is $19.99 and Game B is $39.99. Their conclusion? Game A must be cheaper because it sucks. Slap on a "Greatest Hits" type banner and now the perception is eradicated.

 

Granted, there are many reasons why games are priced differently in reality, but perception is always more important that reality, it seems.

[figgler]

They had the best seller tag on Pikmin 2 also, and I bought mine the day it came out. Go figure.

 

A slightly more disturbing observation I've made recently is that my copy at least of Metroid Prime 2 does not have the Official Nintendo Seal on the front at all. It's on the back (small), but nowhere else.

Call it brainwashing from childhood, but to this day I still look for the seal on all Nintendo products I buy and I'd hate to see it phased out if that's what they are aiming toward

[msaeger]

I get what you're saying but they could just slap a sticker on the box instead of printing a new cover.

[Room 34]

That's easy. To the uneducated, you look at Game A and Game B next to each other. Game A is $19.99 and Game B is $39.99. Their conclusion? Game A must be cheaper because it sucks. Slap on a "Greatest Hits" type banner and now the perception is eradicated.

Interesting point. The collector in me had assumed it had something to do with distinguishing early runs from later to make the earlier ones more valuable...

 

...which is ridiculous, of course, since the game manufacturers would have NO concern for that at all, and in fact it's probably just the reverse... they do this for the reasons you say, and that fact is what makes the original runs more valuable.

[figgler]

Does anyone else think it's rather, um, interesting I guess that the GB / GBA is the only major system since the SNES that hasn't issued some sort of Player's Choice or Greatest Hits type software? There's noi alternative packaging, no rereleases really either

 

In my view this has always made GameBoy collecting rather tough, as you had better buy your games when they are first released, since they aren't at all likely to be reissued

[shep]

The Gameboy had reissues. Tetris, Mario Land and a few others.

[Rhindle The Red]

The "Best Seller" tag is apparently being used to distinguish best selling *series* (not titles), since (as has been pointed out) it's being placed on games that have just come out (Paper Mario, etc.).

 

The "Player's Choice" is an official program of Nintendo and other publisher's can use it if their title has sold 1,000,000 copies worldwide and they want to drop the price to one of the price points ($19.99 & $29.99).

 

I think the "Player's Choice" program was discontinued for the GBC/GBA due to the tendency for Game Boy titles to lose their sales numbers after a year or two. Console titles can still generate good sales, but Game Boy games are too expensive to re-manufacture given the relatively few copies that would sell.

 

I hate the GCN 'Player's Choice' colors, myself. I don't understand why they didn't stick with gold, instead of changing to yellow (which *isn't the same thing at all). As it is, only the XBOX 'Platinum Hits' series looks good since the PlayStation 2 'Greatest Hits' red cases also look awful (though not as bad as those green PlayStation ones ).

[figgler]

Glad you're back, Rhindle!

[Jasoco]

Welcome back, Rhindle. And you're wrong.

 

The Cube's yellow banner looks much better than the PS2's maroon banner which STILL looks better than the Xbox's shitty playinum crappy bordered cases. I am ashamed to have that Max Payne on my shelf. But the game is so good, I can't dump it.

[nights]

game cube kicks ass

[mechanized]

XBox really shows its hand with that Platinum Series crap. They were trying to cash in on all the lamer parts of 'urban' flavor, bling-bling and iced out grills and all. There's also a rather interesting series of Platinum movies out there, and at least half of them stink of being heavily armed for a target audience.

 

McDonald's - 365 Black, yo.

 

Be wary of companies targeting specific audiences, because either they have expressly excluded your 'demographic' or they've taken an exceptional interest in your 'demographic's money; from there, just pay attention, admire stereotypes, stereohypes, and how they perceive the owners of those wallets into which they want their fingers.

 

McDonald's - celebrating Black History Month 365 Days a Year.

[Rhindle The Red]

Glad you're back, Rhindle!

Welcome back, Rhindle.

Where've I been?

 

 

And you're wrong.  

 

The Cube's yellow banner looks much better than the PS2's maroon banner which STILL looks better than the Xbox's shitty playinum crappy bordered cases.

Well, *I* think they look fine. Platinum as a color at least has some kind of connection to "best seller" status, unlike Red, Green or Yellow. (What is this, Pokemon?)

 

I kind of get what you mean about the XBOX cases. The 'platinum' ones do stick out a lot more, but if the point is, in essence, to celebrate a title, I think it *should*. If you like the yellow GameCube border, fine. I just think gold would have looked so much better.

 

I don't know what the hell 'mechanized' is waffling on about...

[Jasoco]

I think Gold would have been tacky. I like the nice yellow they use. It's not 100% yello, it has a tad bit of red. Whenever I need to use yellow in Photoshop for a UI, I always pick an "off yellow" that's a slight bit orange instead of plain old 0,255,255.

[JB]

They had the best seller tag on Pikmin 2 also, and I bought mine the day it came out.  Go figure.

 

A slightly more disturbing observation I've made recently is that my copy at least of Metroid Prime 2 does not have the Official Nintendo Seal on the front at all.  It's on the back (small), but nowhere else.  

Call it brainwashing from childhood, but to this day I still look for the seal on all Nintendo products I buy and I'd hate to see it phased out if that's what they are aiming toward

That's funny, really. I always ignored the seal at best.

At worst I rolled my eyes at their insistence that it proved the product was a good one.

 

 

I think that's the thing. The majority of people don't give a crap, so make it a tad less obtrusive.

[Clock]

I can't really comment on the others but the North American Xbox Platignum series looks well presented. However here in Europe the Xbox Classics range is so butt ugly and cheap looking it's a little bit embarrising buying them.

 

I don't understand why they make such an obvious move to show the games off as budget titles, it would work just as well if they made them look posh and celebrated their previous success. As long as they all share similar presentation, the buying piublic will instantly recognise the range. Bah! I'm probably just being a snob.