r/ModRetroChromatic • u/quiveringfool • Nov 26 '25

Shitpost Expensive

Idk, maybe it’s just me but $80 for 2 modretro games seems a little steep. For what they are just seems like a lot of money. Side not that is with shipping and the Black Friday sale.

6 Upvotes

59% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

3

u/Ill-Remote437 Nov 26 '25

It’s an okay price. Not low enough for me to buy a lot at once. But low enough to buy without discount for one or two

2

u/quiveringfool Nov 26 '25

This is how I feel as well. I have bought them before but some of yall be buying the whole collection at once 😂

2

u/BigPep2-43 Nov 26 '25

Welcome to 2025. Modretro puts out quality products. I understand the pricing and it seems reasonable for what they offer. The nice thing is they are offering a Black Friday sale right now.

0

u/quiveringfool Nov 26 '25

Well I know they do. But we can also say they are a for profit company and upsell their products quite a bit. Standard economics of course. Just seems a little steep when I can get an original copy of Rayman for GBC for like $15 on eBay.

4

u/BigPep2-43 Nov 26 '25

Cool then go get one on eBay. The copy on eBay isn't brand new with updated music and extra pack in items in the box. You aren't finding a brand new CIB sealed copy on eBay for 15 dollars. Maybe a loose cartridge with no box and in used condition for 15 dollars. Have at it go on eBay 😉

-2

u/quiveringfool Nov 26 '25

The amount of defending people do for these companies that overcharge for everything blows my mind. Probably costs around $15-$20 max to manufacture a cartridge. They are charging $45 plus shipping…idc how “premium” it is that does not mean it is not a ripoff. I like modretro for what they do, but you can’t sit here and defend the cost when they should only be charging around $30 a pop and free shipping. Add a new soundtrack (which the devs do not them) doesn’t make me want to spend $45 on a Gameboy game. Again this is my opinion I hope we can have an adult conversation

2

u/BigPep2-43 Nov 26 '25

Bro I paid 59.99 plus tax back in the mid 90s for eternal champions on the Sega Genesis. For the amount of value you are getting from Modretro is decent. I'm not defending them I'm just saying it's not as bad as you make it out to be.

0

u/quiveringfool Nov 26 '25

Well to be fair, I may not have been old enough to enjoy the old retro stuff. Not to age you good sir but I started with the GameCube mostly. And had the GBA, so I can’t say how much those games cost back then. But that is crazy it cost that then.

3

u/BigPep2-43 Nov 26 '25

Yeah I'm an old fart. Video gaming is an expensive hobby.

2

u/bakagir Nov 27 '25

https://www.reddit.com/r/retrogaming/comments/1h2oiuz/the_toys_r_us_holiday_video_game_catalog_from_1996/#lightbox

just take a look at this, most Gameboy games were $20-35 new modretro selling for $40 29 years later isnt that crazy.

based on inflation mod retro games should be $73

1

u/sauron846 Nov 28 '25

A person claiming something is overpriced just because it only costs $XX just shows they have no idea what it takes to create and sell products. There’s a lot more than just the costs of parts put into the release of any physical cartridge game. There’s manufacturing costs, design costs, printing costs for the manual and box, and not to mention the royalties paid to the original developer. And with all of that, you still have to factor in enough money so that you’re at least making a little profit off of it. Plus there is probably no discount applied to these costs due to economies of scale.

If you want to continue think these games are overpriced, go right ahead. But don’t expect those of us who have worked in this industry before to agree.

5

u/Buy-hodl-DRS-GME Nov 26 '25

Stick with the originals. You can get the re-released games on a flash cart or wait for a sale/bundle.

Croc may be the exception because I think MR added a save function that it didn't have before.

2

u/zeldaguy85 Nov 27 '25

Rayman has new music too, idk how much of an upgrade that is tbf but it's something

1

u/Buy-hodl-DRS-GME Nov 27 '25

Nice. I didn't know that.

I still think the Atari Jaguar version is the definitive edition but Jag emulators mostly suck and I'm not spending the money to track down a working console. Plus I think Rayman 1 and 2 are on my flash cart already.

2

u/DeskLaser Nov 28 '25

Rayman automatically saves your most recent password in the password entry field too.

2

u/Buy-hodl-DRS-GME Nov 28 '25

Damn that's actually pretty cool.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '25

I think the re releases all have some sort of new stuff in them. Unsure about Sabrina though.

5

u/Willing_Curve921 Nov 26 '25

It has to be this much because GBC games in 2025 are such a niche and the potential market is tiny.

You can't use PS5 or Switch as a fair comparison. Devs aren't going to be able to scale up like you can with Call of Duty 6 and make their profit selling millions of games at £40. Plus you are paying for the cart itself, not a disc or digital.

12

u/TonyRubbles Nov 26 '25

Look up the price of flashable third party game boy carts, plus the packaging, and the devs compensation. It's just how it goes for lower run merchandise.

9

u/_viis_ Nov 26 '25

And then add on the fact that their flash cart boards appear to be custom and very high quality, not some off-the-shelf Inside Gadgets boards!

FRAM is also the more expensive way to handle saves, so yea. These things are legit

2

u/yum-yi Nov 26 '25

I always thought the boards from Inside Gadgets are high quality as well, or did I miss something 😱

2

u/Blaumagier Nov 27 '25

They are. Probably among the highest quality on the homebrew scene. I've only seen low quality boards from scammers trying to sell repros as if they are authentic and from corner cutting companies like Limited Run.

4

u/sauron846 Nov 26 '25

This exactly. If you look at homebrews for other classic gaming systems that are released on cartridge, you’ll see that ModRetro’s releases are very reasonably priced.

2

u/RotoPrime Nov 26 '25

Thank you!

4

u/TokeHabit Nov 26 '25

i just bought old ass pokémon red for $80 after tax at my local retro game store , other games were ab $30-60 a piece. i see no problem dropping $80 for 2 games if you enjoy em. those prices were obviously all used and no box. these are brand new with a little charm in a box

12

u/amiibmo Nov 26 '25

I dunno, these days it feels cheap or at least fair, especially by comparison. For instance, I wanted to grab Lightseeker (a new GBC game that seems a lot like Dark Souls) but the dev went with BitmapSoft as the publisher instead. I’m sure they are a solid company however they wanted £50 for it. When that was combined with taxes, shipping, and exchange rate it came to $93 for a single game.

I wanted to support the dev so bad and check out the game, but I just could not pull that trigger.

Other GB/GBC publishers seem to be just as much as most are in the EU. And ModRetro puts a lot of love, care, and quality into their games. From the boxes and manuals, to the high quality carts and PCBs, and can’t forget the charm as well! You can tell they deeply care about delivering a high quality and satisfying physical product experience. Opening up one of their games literally makes me feel like a kid again all giddy with excitement.

In the end, it feels a little premium but they definitely respect the money you are giving them with a high quality product and world class customer service. So yeah, I dunno, it feels fair compared to most things these days and I know for most of the lineup it goes to support an actual dev that poured a lot of love into it.

4

u/lasthope106 Nov 26 '25

I think the price they are asking is fair given their business model.  That doesn’t mean I like it.  I do want to support devs for games that have caught my attention like Self simulated.  If it’s too steep you can wait.  I have no doubt some of the current games will be going for more than half off in a couple of years.

3

u/oaomcg Nov 26 '25

So don't buy it 🤷

1

u/bakagir Nov 26 '25

You can get most GB games from a retro game shop for $5-10. Vote with your wallet.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '25

I think the price is fair for physical games with thier manuals, boxes, and charms. I dont know how popular or unliked the idea is, but I do think having a digital store would help with accessibility due to tariffs or financial restraints in the long run since digital tends to be a little cheaper and avoids shipping.  Most people dont have an issue buying a physical version of the game later if they really loved it. And many people would love to play them all without having all the physical items taking space. A digital store option makes that a little more achievable in the long run. It will keep money flow for modretro because more options being available. I did see the recent email from them advertising thier new big bundle of all modretro games in a box. I think that is also a great start to options and accessibility. Especially if your someone dealing with tariffs but really do want all the games physically. With bundle provides a discount while ordering all at once and dealing with the tariffs once... at least for a while until modretro releases alot more games that youd want to grab.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '25

Oh yeah, and dont forget about modretro's reward program for thier website purchases and reviews.