Official GameCube Controllers Price Gouging

Has anyone else noticed this? What's the deal with it? Not long ago you could pick up New In Box condition for roughly $30-$40. Now they are about $65-$75. Did the supply really dry up that quick? I'm referring to the Super Smash Bros controllers just to clarify.

 

Anything first party Nintendo, particularly new in box, has a premium. However, I can tell you (from a small game store's perspective), the Smash stuff new or used, flies out the door.

 

GameCube seems to be hitting the surge that n64 just had and snes before that. As the fanbase of each console ages and starts earning disposable income, prices will jump up. Just the normal cycle. But yeah, it sucks.

 

Much cheaper if you have a way to get them from Japan

 

People are stockpiling them.
These controllers were never cheap. Even during the Smash Bros adaptor release.

 

Competitive smash, especially melee, demands good controllers with specific manufacturing defects that allow for more consistent play in some aspects. People are buying controllers by the load either to mod them, custom paint them and resell them, or players are just looking for the specific 1% of controllers that allow for more consistent technique execution.

It's a really big thing and resellers are definitely benefiting from the insanely high demand. There are companies that buy brand new Japanese white and smash 4 controllers to strip and custom paint them to sell on websites and at tournaments, and there are controller modders that take order ques that are dozens of people long, taking months to ship their backlogs.

This is a big reason why things like smashbox are being tested as a controller alternative and in-game mods are being experimented with to circumvent the need to hunt for a 'perfect' controller.

Not to mention, Nintendo stopped manufacturing new smash 4 controllers and the demand is as high as ever.

 

Definitely. Any time I ever go to used shops (The Exchange, Buy Backs, etc.) their FP Nintendo is pretty high. It's almost to the point where they're priced just as high as when they were released.

 

It's not a Gamecube thing. Those consoles and games are still dirt cheap. This is all Smash Bros. related.

 

Dirt cheap? Gamecube games are more expensive than they used to be. Some are pretty expensive. Only the super common ones that nobody wants are actually "cheap".

 

Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine, Mario Party 4-7, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Especially the 2-disc Day One Edition) are all priced pretty high from what I've seen. Super Mario Strikers, Mario Power Tennis and other similar sports titles don't carry the same weight, but relatively mainline Mario games seem to be pretty high.

 

Brand new official controllers that are smash branded. I'm not shocked at all and even wonder why it took so long and why I can still find them from time to time. I expected them to be as bad to get as the gcn controller adapter was (I had one preordered from japan and still had to wait for a second delayed shipment to get mine).

 

- woop necromancy

Alright so you guys are right, this is pretty much all Smash related, mostly melee. There's a thing called backdash, which is an exploit that lets you run in the other direction instantly, but only a handful of controllers can do it consistently due to an electrical defect with the potentiometers (which I believe is caused by static electricity) They call it the controller lottery, and it causes melee players to buy a tremendous amount of controllers in the hope of finding a "defective" one. It's a shame because most players don't really know how controllers work and they just adopt this controller lottery myth, as it is a defect.

While that's the bulk of the issue, there's also the normal shortage. Gamecube controllers were produced all the way from 2001 to 2012, with the White 2008 (Japan) and Platinum (US) all the way to the end. Then again from 2014 to 2016 alongside Smash 4. But now, just like the span between 2012 and 2014, no new controllers are being produced. At first the Sm4sh controllers raised in price, and the rest followed shortly after. And with the rise in popularity of Melee in recent years, well everyone is trying to stock up on controllers. There is also the case of resellers and custom artists and modders, but there's not much we can do if the demand is there.

This is a bit absurd considering millions of controllers have been produced, but that's where we at. As a collector, melee player, controller technician and modder this is insanely frustrating for me, mostly as the artificial shortage is mostly caused by ignorance.

But I see the prices going down a little bit with the announcement of Smash 5 for some reasons, so that's a good thing.

 

I want to be a controller technician.

 

Oh yeah! Depending on where you go, some of these games are going for more money than they were brand new at retail. I know Super Smash Melee is going for $50-$60 Online at GameStop. (not that Gamestop is a good price guide) The games are so old and they’re still selling for the same or more

 

Blame the Meele Players.

When Smash for Switch comes out prepare for another nightmare.

 

I really like the gamecube controllers, but it’s getting abnoxious how they absolutely HAVE to have a GameCube controller for each iteration of smash. Well... maybe there will be a switch gamecube controller that I’ll never get my hands on.

 

I picked up one of the smash bros controllers that came with the wii u version of smash for $2.86 at my local thrift store recently. thing was in perfect shape. I almost passed on it because I figured I didn't need another gamecube controller.

 

Gamecube Joycons

 

Sounds interesting. Sounds like it’ll sell like hot cakes