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Hideo Kojima’s games are not only featured hundreds of times by the creator’s name, but are also known for loading licensed content. This can be in the form of iconic music or even video clips linking the game to real history, a clever way of storytelling often used in the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Granted, licensed content often has agreement expiration dates, which affected a lot of older Metal Gear Solid from last year.
among many Other versions for different systems, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, were rolled off the 3DS eShop last November. It disappeared on November 8 last year – Konami cited “snippets of historical archives” as the problem, promising it was a temporary measure, despite checking this morning that the game was still missing on the EU eShop. It’s unclear if Konami plans to replace the in-game lenses, negotiate lens renewals, or simply do nothing and hope no one notices.
Either way, doublexp.com looked at the impact of delisting on the pricing of the physical version on the auction site.it’s not fully overprinted earlier, especially in North America, but the initial impact (according to the price chart) is minimal, and a small group of people who follow the game may expect a digital re-emergence. After all, when there’s a downloadable version of the game available it usually drops the price of standard used cartridges.
Prices for physical editions (or even just bulk cartridges) have dropped from late February At least Doubled, in line with Nintendo’s announcement to close the 3DS and Wii U eShop stores. It shows the market is aware that unless Konami comes back online by March 2023, the download version could be gone forever. It does vary by region – in the UK it shows that you can still get bulk cartridges at low prices as demand grows. On an item comparable to the US, however, the floor price is significantly higher as sellers try to profit from the game’s inevitable scarcity.
Regardless, it’s an interesting little case study showing that the closure of the 3DS (and Wii U) eShop not only affects downloadable games, but has a potential knock-on effect on the used physical market.
