DS Prices

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

What's a good deal for a DS? The prices I've seen around here vary wildly (as low as $90 and as high as $250). I'm half thinking of getting one with my latest pay cheque, just to try out FFXIIRW, Pokemon, and some of the old GBA games, but I'd want to really lowball someone, since I wouldn't have much use for it other than those games.

[Flamin Skull]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

What's a good deal for a DS? The prices I've seen around here vary wildly (as low as $90 and as high as $250). I'm half thinking of getting one with my latest pay cheque, just to try out FFXIIRW, Pokemon, and some of the old GBA games, but I'd want to really lowball someone, since I wouldn't have much use for it other than those games.

How far are you from the US? because the only prices I see here are $129.99 plus tax (.0825% in california) for a brand new DS Lite...
on the subject of prices I noticed I have been buying ALOT more GBA/DS games because GBA carts are plenty and cheap here, and DS games are from 19.99 to 39.99 (I have seen some 43.99 games here and there mostly for PH) So at the moment my wii is on the back burner because I'm spending my money on retro games and DS/GBA games.it sure feels good to be walking out of a gamestop with several bargains than just one wii game that I'll end up not playing at all for 50 dollars.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

In America, all DS systems are $129.99/$119.99 and games are $20.00-$40.00. With the Avg new game being $35.00, but a few new games, mostly Square games, being $40.00. GBA games can be anywhere from $5.00-35.00 depending on how rare they are or how little a store thinks someone wants them. The avg I see GBA titles go for used is about $12.00. The only new GBA games anyone has are the very last games released like Final Fantasy VI, a lot of Disney stuff and all the Pokemon titles, etc.

As for my opinion, you should look for a lot of older titles of what was on the DS. Some of the best stuff that was on th DS came out in its first year like Kirby's Canvas Curse, Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow, WarioWare Touched, etc. All super hard to find titles.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

I'm in Canada, and I'm mostly talking about used systems because I want to get one really cheap if I can. It's good to know they're around $130-140 new, because that means I should definitely be able to get one in good shape for under $100.

I'm not really big into platformers (or most other kinds of portable games), so I'd mainly just be getting it to check out the GBA Fire Emblem games, maybe a couple of the old Square remakes, and then possibly even selling it again when I'm done.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

I'm in Canada, and I'm mostly talking about used systems because I want to get one really cheap if I can. It's good to know they're around $130-140 new, because that means I should definitely be able to get one in good shape for under $100.

I'm not really big into platformers (or most other kinds of portable games), so I'd mainly just be getting it to check out the GBA Fire Emblem games, maybe a couple of the old Square remakes, and then possibly even selling it again when I'm done.

One title. Dragon Quest Monsters. Of course any other Dragon Quest title is a good title, but the people at Square are dragging their feet with the other Dragon Quest DS titles and not bringing them to America.

However, I think you should also expand your horizons and see the other great titles on the DS. The ones I mentioned already are some of the best on the system (agreed by fans and reviewers alike amazingly). Of course then there's Advance Wars, SRPG games I haven't tried but many people rave about. I only played the GBA ones and, while I don't like them as much as the Fire Emblem games, they're made by the same people and of the same genre. The latest one is suppose to be very gritty and different from the first three which are very peppy and almost whimsical and like playing Paper Mario meets a 50's John Wayne WWII movie. But don't be fooled, they're all very hard.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

I've played through most of the first Advance Wars, but didn't care for it much. But I certainly have no shortage of games, with my VC titles, Brawl, still incomplete Wii and GCN games, upcoming Wii games, and WiiWare, so if I do add a DS to the arsenal most of the games will be on the backburner of portable convenience.

First step is getting one at a decent price.

[Flamin Skull]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

I've played through most of the first Advance Wars, but didn't care for it much. But I certainly have no shortage of games, with my VC titles, Brawl, still incomplete Wii and GCN games, upcoming Wii games, and WiiWare, so if I do add a DS to the arsenal most of the games will be on the backburner of portable convenience.

First step is getting one at a decent price.

Yeah that's totally true, since I've gotten my DS I havent been playing my other consoles much! Not even for BRAWL! I have never experienced buying so many games in such a short period of time... now My problem is I have too many games and too little time to play them with school and my family obligiations...

[pdRydia]

Originally Posted by Flamin Skull

... now My problem is I have too many games and too little time to play them with school and my family obligiations...

...Problem?

As for the original topic, IMO the best possible deal you can get on game hardware is buying it off a friend who wants to sell it into a game store. Find out what the game store will give to them and pay them that instead. If you're feeling particularly generous, you can also treat them to a "screw the middleman" celebratory lunch at their favourite restaurant. This is how we got our 360 at <$200.

Lacking such a convenient set-up, you can try co-workers, forumers, and various interneters who want to offload their hardware. In such a case, however, you'll generally need to offer more than what a game store would--but you'll still usually get a better deal than buying it off the store.

[Flamin Skull]

Yeah I offer them cash which gamestops does not do... I have actually been buying all my retro consoles off friends...
speaking of gamestops, another one opened up closeby to my house and now theres 4 gamestops basically on the same street all in a 2 mile range theyre becoming like starbucks now (at least in the San Francisco bay area)

[pdRydia]

Originally Posted by Flamin Skull

speaking of gamestops, another one opened up closeby to my house and now theres 4 gamestops basically on the same street all in a 2 mile range theyre becoming like starbucks now (at least in the San Francisco bay area)

We've got three EBs we go to regularly--two are in the same mall and used to have different names (Gamestop v EB) but decided to give up that game after a while. Now the main difference between the two is that one smells moldy and has most of the used games and games from past-gen consoles, while the other has the better selection of current-gen games.

The other EB, outside of the mall, is my favorite. It keeps a fantastic selection of used GBA and DS games and usually price them lower than the mall EBs. They also stay on the shelf for frikkin' ever. I watched Kirby's Canvas Curse sat on the shelf for weeks--it may still be there as far as I know. Long after FF6A and Picross had disappeared from every other store in the area, I found them at that EB--actually, they have a ton of the GBA FFs, just sittin' around. Now I know where all the area's GBA FFs have gone...

Of course, they also are trying to sell their (huge) backlog of used Gamecubes at $30 a piece. The mall EBs got rid of all theirs at $5 a piece in the matter of a few days. But then, in the mall, space is a lot more expensive.