What console pack-in/bundle games did you treasure, and which did you immediately ignore or discard?
- Thread starter Khanimus
- Start date
Shit this thread reminds me that systems used to come with a killer title and 2 controllers. And sometimes with a light gun or stupid robot depending on which version you bought.
What was the first console to launch with no game and one controller? If it was PS1 and Saturn they didn't even come with memory cards…
What was the first console to launch with no game and one controller? If it was PS1 and Saturn they didn't even come with memory cards…
Game Boy with Tetris, GameCube with Metroid Prime, Wii with Wii Sports would be the big ones.
Others included Xbox One with Gears 4 (played it but not exactly an all time favorite or something I went back to ever), PS4 with Uncharted 4 (same), and PS5 with Astrobot (same). Don't think my PS2, PSP, Vita, 3DS, or 2 PS3s ever came with a pack-in.
Others included Xbox One with Gears 4 (played it but not exactly an all time favorite or something I went back to ever), PS4 with Uncharted 4 (same), and PS5 with Astrobot (same). Don't think my PS2, PSP, Vita, 3DS, or 2 PS3s ever came with a pack-in.
Of the pack-ins I know I got when I first bought a console:
- Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt - it was pretty much just a demo, so not a whole lot of play. I got Super Mario 64 DS with mine anyway, so that saw more play.
- Wii Sports - wasn't really a mainstay, but it did see some play for a while. I was more interested in Zelda and Excite Truck when I got the Wii anyway.
- Super Mario 3D Land - played a lot of this one, and it ended up being one of my favorite Mario games.
- New Super Mario Bros. U - played it once and never touched it again. I care very little for the 2D Mario titles.
Gamestop gave me a hard time saying i had to buy a bundle when Switches were hard to find. I chose BoTW. I had gotten robbed and lost that initial Switch but not the game. It felt so good when i finally beat it because i felt like i overcame that trauma of losing so much of what i collected over the years.
The dual NCAA 2005 & Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge for original Xbox was one my brother and I treasured.
My NES was the R.O.B. bundle, so instead of Super Mario Bros. alongside Duck Hunt I got...Gyromite. That whole setup gathered dust for probably a year or more, until I found out about Mega Man 2. I don't think I ever played or even knew about SMB until after the second one was out. Fortunately there weren't any weird SNES bundles to fool my dad, and I got Super Mario World like everyone else.
I got the Jak & Daxter trilogy with my PS Vita. Those games are hardly playable since they run at like 15 fps. I was very excited for those too because I loved playing the first one at a friend's place.
Best one was probably Mario 64. Played that to death and right up until GCN released.
Best one was probably Mario 64. Played that to death and right up until GCN released.
Wii Sports pack-in was probably the best pack-in of all time in terms of what it did for Wii sales.
My personal favorite was the JSRF/Sega GT pack-in for the original Xbox. Playing JSRF was a transformative experience for me. I loved that game so much and it got me into artists like Guitar Vader and Cibo Matto. Sega GT was fun too. Was actually my first sim-like racing game and it eventually led me to getting into the Gran Turismo games.
But my PS4 also gets an honorable mention. I bought it when they let you pick from one of four digital games to get for free. I picked Destiny 1 and I ended up getting so sucked into it that it (and Destiny 2) were basically the only games I played for like 5 years 😬
My personal favorite was the JSRF/Sega GT pack-in for the original Xbox. Playing JSRF was a transformative experience for me. I loved that game so much and it got me into artists like Guitar Vader and Cibo Matto. Sega GT was fun too. Was actually my first sim-like racing game and it eventually led me to getting into the Gran Turismo games.
But my PS4 also gets an honorable mention. I bought it when they let you pick from one of four digital games to get for free. I picked Destiny 1 and I ended up getting so sucked into it that it (and Destiny 2) were basically the only games I played for like 5 years 😬
I've only had three consoles with a pack-in game. Those were Mario Kart DS, Wii Sports and A Link Between Worlds. All three were absolutely worth it and emblematic titles of their respective systems.
Actually I forgot Nintendo Land! Surprised it's not getting more love in this thread, it's such a fun multiplayer experience.
So 4/4 wins for me.
Actually I forgot Nintendo Land! Surprised it's not getting more love in this thread, it's such a fun multiplayer experience.
So 4/4 wins for me.
Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt with NES was awesome.
Tetris with Gameboy was awesome.
Link to the Past with SNES was initially disappointing, I just wasn't into nonlinear adventure games at the time. I even traded it to my uncle for a Butthole surfers CD. I eventually got it back when he abandoned my aunt and cousins, and was finally old enough to not suck at it. It's one of my favorite games so it's a pack in win, via a circuitous route.
I got the Metroid Hunters demo with my OG DS. I played for an hour and never picked it up again.
Wii Sports was a definite pack in win.
My 3DS XL is the New Super Mario Bros. 2 edition and came with that, definite win.
My Xbox One X came with Fallout 76. I don't like Fallout or MMOs so that was lame. I only put about 30 minutes in on that.
I've had lots of other consoles that didn't come with pack ins.
Tetris with Gameboy was awesome.
Link to the Past with SNES was initially disappointing, I just wasn't into nonlinear adventure games at the time. I even traded it to my uncle for a Butthole surfers CD. I eventually got it back when he abandoned my aunt and cousins, and was finally old enough to not suck at it. It's one of my favorite games so it's a pack in win, via a circuitous route.
I got the Metroid Hunters demo with my OG DS. I played for an hour and never picked it up again.
Wii Sports was a definite pack in win.
My 3DS XL is the New Super Mario Bros. 2 edition and came with that, definite win.
My Xbox One X came with Fallout 76. I don't like Fallout or MMOs so that was lame. I only put about 30 minutes in on that.
I've had lots of other consoles that didn't come with pack ins.
This reminds me of when I went to buy a GameCube in a store in the UK. They had two bundles - a Donkey Konga bundle and a Resident Evil 4 bundle with Metroid Prime 2 included. I wanted the Donkey Konga bundle, I had zero interest in RE or Metroid at the time. The dude in the store started trying to convince me that I should get the RE4/Prime bundle. Eventually, I got it and both games turned me into a fan of both series even though I didn't really like Prime 2 all that much.
Sometime later, I got Donkey Konga and probably played it for all of 10 minutes.
Sometime later, I got Donkey Konga and probably played it for all of 10 minutes.
Mario Kart DS came with my DS and I still play that game occasionally
Skyrim came with my 360 and I'm not even sure I ever put the code in. I had the PC version, so it was useless for me
Skyrim came with my 360 and I'm not even sure I ever put the code in. I had the PC version, so it was useless for me
I got inFamous with my PS3, absolutely loved the game and honestly became a huge fanboy of the franchise because of it.
I never bothered with Nintendo Land when I bought my Wii U. I was only interested in playing Mario Kart 8, which I bought my Wii U for.
Treasure: Super Mario World. Probably no further explanation needed.
Ignore: Final Fantasy XIII. Came bundled with X360, played for like 20 minutes with my SO, and it was the rare game where neither of us wanted to play any more of it at all.
Ignore: Final Fantasy XIII. Came bundled with X360, played for like 20 minutes with my SO, and it was the rare game where neither of us wanted to play any more of it at all.
Those posters were the shit - they even came with games. Double sided, full-color and huuuuuuge
I had the same Xbox 360 bundle as OP, I played both games maybe once each and then never again.
Anyway, some of these I'm not sure if they were actually official bundles or local store deal ones.
- Mega Drive with Jurassic Park. I loved this and played it through to completion many times. I don't think it's an official bundle, as those seemed to include Sonic games as well, I got Sonic 2 later.
- Game Gear with Ninja Gaiden. Also awesome and finished many times. I had so few games on the GG anyway, besides Sonic and Columns.
- Saturn with... a demo disc. I think it had demos for that freaky Baku Baku Animal game, Sega Rally, and a Golden Axe fighting game? Yeah I played those a lot too though. Not sure why this didn't have a real game bundled though, but the demo disc was somehow still good times.
Anyway, some of these I'm not sure if they were actually official bundles or local store deal ones.
- Mega Drive with Jurassic Park. I loved this and played it through to completion many times. I don't think it's an official bundle, as those seemed to include Sonic games as well, I got Sonic 2 later.
- Game Gear with Ninja Gaiden. Also awesome and finished many times. I had so few games on the GG anyway, besides Sonic and Columns.
- Saturn with... a demo disc. I think it had demos for that freaky Baku Baku Animal game, Sega Rally, and a Golden Axe fighting game? Yeah I played those a lot too though. Not sure why this didn't have a real game bundled though, but the demo disc was somehow still good times.
Wii Sports is the GOAT.
I really enjoyed the Zelda Collector's Edition on Gamecube as well.
I don't recall Nintendoland being a Wii U pack-in, I had to buy it separately at least, but that game rocks and is super underrated.
I really enjoyed the Zelda Collector's Edition on Gamecube as well.
I don't recall Nintendoland being a Wii U pack-in, I had to buy it separately at least, but that game rocks and is super underrated.
Nintendoland stayed in rotation the entire time my Wii U was plugged in, one of the secret best games Nintendo put out.
When I got a Gamecube back in the day, it was through some deal that let us get our choice of games alongside it. We picked Sonic Adventure 2 Battle and Smash Bros. Played far more of both than anything else on the console, although Animal Crossing came close.
Meanwhile my PS5 came with Miles Morales (with the remastered Spiderman) and Call of Duty Cold War and the only reason I opened the first was to claim the Spiderman Remaster to my account just so I didn't have to worry about the code expiring. I opened the second because a friend wanted to see how it looked on PS5. I'll probably never play any of them on my own honestly, not my thing whatsoever. Still have both but.... yeah they just take up space.
Edit: Totally forgot I also got the white PS Vita with Assassin's Creed. Never touched it once and got PS All Stars instead and played that way too much.
When I got a Gamecube back in the day, it was through some deal that let us get our choice of games alongside it. We picked Sonic Adventure 2 Battle and Smash Bros. Played far more of both than anything else on the console, although Animal Crossing came close.
Meanwhile my PS5 came with Miles Morales (with the remastered Spiderman) and Call of Duty Cold War and the only reason I opened the first was to claim the Spiderman Remaster to my account just so I didn't have to worry about the code expiring. I opened the second because a friend wanted to see how it looked on PS5. I'll probably never play any of them on my own honestly, not my thing whatsoever. Still have both but.... yeah they just take up space.
Edit: Totally forgot I also got the white PS Vita with Assassin's Creed. Never touched it once and got PS All Stars instead and played that way too much.
Mine, too. And I still haven't played it. Got it day one. So that's probably the worst.
I don't usually get console/game bundles but the best one was probably the N64/Mario 64 bundle because at hte time it felt like I was at the pinnacle of gaming.
donkey kong country 2 + SNES blew my mind as a 5 year old (it was around the time N64 launched, so it was a late budget pack-in around christmas 95/96 maybe).
sonic adventure + dreamcast was a big deal as a sonic fan growing up, but i ended up hating the game lol (killer whale level still rips tho).
i got the destiny PS4 when bloodborne came out in 2015, and then never played destiny till like 2017, a few months before destiny 2 came out i think. i liked it though! but i played it so much that i still haven't played destiny 2.
and astrobot was a great little demo for the hardware of the PS5.
i think those are the only pack-ins i remember. so, mostly positive.
sonic adventure + dreamcast was a big deal as a sonic fan growing up, but i ended up hating the game lol (killer whale level still rips tho).
i got the destiny PS4 when bloodborne came out in 2015, and then never played destiny till like 2017, a few months before destiny 2 came out i think. i liked it though! but i played it so much that i still haven't played destiny 2.
and astrobot was a great little demo for the hardware of the PS5.
i think those are the only pack-ins i remember. so, mostly positive.