The Super Nintendo Essays is a series of posts detailing my history with and passion for the SNES. It had a profound effect on my life as a gamer, and I wanted to share some of my most memorable stories about it with you!
Despite my disdain for the current $80 price point for new games in Canada, it’s a bargain compared to what I was contending with in the 90s. The additional cost of cartridges, combined with the wonky Canadian dollar, made new titles cost upwards of $100 in the early-to-mid 90s. Above is a screenshot of a Toys R Us flyer that I’m presuming is from the holiday season of 1995, where Mortal Kombat 3 is priced as a new title. Assuming that, the likes of Batman Forever would actually cost $140.92 CAD today.
I would struggle to pay those kinds of prices today. In 1995, when I was an elementary school student who wasn’t even getting an allowance at that point, new games were almost entirely out of the question. Because of this, I got most of my games used and was active in trading games away.
At that point, I didn’t care about the lack of a box, or the lack of an instruction manual. I didn’t care about how much stores marked up used games to make a profit. I just wanted to play games at the lowest prices possible. Having joined this console generation fairly late, I got a number of great games on the cheap as used titles.
The one that sticks out to me the most was Super Street Fighter II. Coming in at a whopping $99.99 new, I ended up scoring a used copy of the game for $30 from Jumbo Video. Considering how much I played that game, $30 was a steal.
My downfall was that I wasn’t overly connected to the scene. I had only started reading magazines, and didn’t have a frame of reference for what was good or bad. As such, I wasted my money on a few duds. My worst mistake has to be Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. That game was a dumpster fire. One of the many times in my life that I would get suckered into buying games because of their IP.
I would continue trading in games during the Nintendo 64 days, but really shied away from it during the Gamecube era. The conditions of discs really became a factor and I was ready to pay a premium to ensure that my copy would work. Also by then, I started working and could afford to keep up with new releases.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SEbKQWyE9Y
Though the system is long since dead, the last used SNES game I bought was within the last year. At either Toronto Comicon this year or Fan Expo last year, I spent $20 on a used copy of Weaponlord. This under-the-radar fighter was one I enjoyed when I rented it and it’s actually quite ahead of its time mechanically.
It would take a lot for me to buy a used copy of any modern or disc-based game, but for the SNES in particular, it’s part of the experience. Especially now, decades after the fact, where almost everything you come across is used. Unfortunately, sometimes I still wish for 1995 prices, seeing how much some of these prices have gone up in an era where SNES games are highly valued collectibles.
Check out previous posts in the Super NES Essays series!
In Third Person 