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General / Re: February 2021 - Recently Added to Collection/Recently Purchased New
« on: March 01, 2021, 04:22:56 pm »
I feel like this month for me has wrapped up the end of an era for collecting new still sealed Nintendo 3DS games at clearance prices from big box stores. I've driven to at least a dozen Wal-Mart Supercenters around my area this month and grabbed what were essentially any of those stores' last remaining 3DS stock, both to round out my personal collection and to grab multiple copies of games going for dirt cheap to hold onto.
Most of these stores still have a fair number of copies of games like Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario Kart 7, Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome Amiibo, Pokemon UltraSun/UltraMoon, all of which are still being sold for their full retail price. The Nintendo Selects reprints of Ocarina of Time 3D and Majora's Mask 3D were also very common, but over the course of this month I've seen both of those titles, especially OoT, beginning to disappear from the shelves. As much as I'd like to buy up every copy of said games, at $19.99 a pop (and $32.99 for Pokemon, booooo), I just don't have that kind of money to spend right now to buy those extra copies.
I did have the money however to grab multiple copies of some titles that were heavily marked down. Seeing as how I look back at the times I could have done this, say, with the dozens of new copies I saw of Drill Dozer on the GBA going for $4.99 each at a Target in 2008, I found this to be my chance to potentially "cash out big" 15-20 years from now when these titles will be sought after from collectors. I know it's gonna be a very, very long wait until that day comes, but I'm sorry that I neglected buying anything for the 3DS all these years and wasn't able to magically stumble upon cheap copies of Xenoblade Chronicles and Radiant Historia!
Fire Emblem Awakening ($39.99 used at GameStop, the only 3DS game I bought this month that isn't new and unopened)
2x Dragon Warrior VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past ($32.84 each)
Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome Amiibo ($19.99)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D ($19.99)
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call Limited Edition w/ CD ($14.99)
2x Bravely Second: End Layer ($14.99 each)
Star Fox 64 3D ($9.00)
Super Smash Bros. 3DS ($5.00)
Super Mario Maker 3DS ($5.00)
9x Yo-Kai Watch ($5.00 each)
Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits ($1.00)
2x Yo-Kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls ($1.00 each)
4x Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. ($1.00 each)
Of course I'll continue to look for good deals on 3DS games online probably for years to come, but snagging these titles for cheap and new before they disappear from big box stores forever felt like this was one of the last times I'd be hunting for clearance Nintendo titles in person. Physical copies are on the way out, or least most titles won't be produced in huge numbers anymore and will only be available to purchase physically mail-order or online. I anticipate that the *last* time I or anybody will be able to go in-person hunting for reduced price new physical Nintendo games will be when all the Switch stock gets phased out from these same stores in 2-3 years from now.
Most of these stores still have a fair number of copies of games like Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario Kart 7, Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome Amiibo, Pokemon UltraSun/UltraMoon, all of which are still being sold for their full retail price. The Nintendo Selects reprints of Ocarina of Time 3D and Majora's Mask 3D were also very common, but over the course of this month I've seen both of those titles, especially OoT, beginning to disappear from the shelves. As much as I'd like to buy up every copy of said games, at $19.99 a pop (and $32.99 for Pokemon, booooo), I just don't have that kind of money to spend right now to buy those extra copies.
I did have the money however to grab multiple copies of some titles that were heavily marked down. Seeing as how I look back at the times I could have done this, say, with the dozens of new copies I saw of Drill Dozer on the GBA going for $4.99 each at a Target in 2008, I found this to be my chance to potentially "cash out big" 15-20 years from now when these titles will be sought after from collectors. I know it's gonna be a very, very long wait until that day comes, but I'm sorry that I neglected buying anything for the 3DS all these years and wasn't able to magically stumble upon cheap copies of Xenoblade Chronicles and Radiant Historia!
Fire Emblem Awakening ($39.99 used at GameStop, the only 3DS game I bought this month that isn't new and unopened)
2x Dragon Warrior VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past ($32.84 each)
Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome Amiibo ($19.99)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D ($19.99)
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call Limited Edition w/ CD ($14.99)
2x Bravely Second: End Layer ($14.99 each)
Star Fox 64 3D ($9.00)
Super Smash Bros. 3DS ($5.00)
Super Mario Maker 3DS ($5.00)
9x Yo-Kai Watch ($5.00 each)
Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits ($1.00)
2x Yo-Kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls ($1.00 each)
4x Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. ($1.00 each)
Of course I'll continue to look for good deals on 3DS games online probably for years to come, but snagging these titles for cheap and new before they disappear from big box stores forever felt like this was one of the last times I'd be hunting for clearance Nintendo titles in person. Physical copies are on the way out, or least most titles won't be produced in huge numbers anymore and will only be available to purchase physically mail-order or online. I anticipate that the *last* time I or anybody will be able to go in-person hunting for reduced price new physical Nintendo games will be when all the Switch stock gets phased out from these same stores in 2-3 years from now.
