''Nintendo Selects'' (and its predecessor; ''Player's Choice'') was a
marketing
Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce.
Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...
label
A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...
previously used by
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles.
The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
to promote best-selling
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
s on Nintendo game consoles. ''Nintendo Selects'' titles were sold at a lower
price point
In economics, a price point is a point along the demand curve at which demand for a given product is supposed to stay relatively high. The term "price point" is often used incorrectly to refer to a price.
Characteristics
Introductory microec ...
(usually $19.99 instead of $49.99) than new releases. The program paralleled other budget range software by Sega (
Sega All Stars), Sony (the
Greatest Hits and
Essentials), and Microsoft (
Platinum Hits and
Xbox Classics) to promote
best-selling games on their consoles as well. In Japan, the discount label was introduced in 2015 for various Nintendo 3DS titles as the Happy Price Selection, although South Korea adopted the Nintendo Selects name at an earlier period. The most recent Nintendo Selects titles were released for the Wii U and 3DS and, as of 2025, no Nintendo Switch games have been rebranded as Nintendo Selects.
History
1996–2011: Player's Choice
In
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
and
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, Nintendo introduced the label on May 20, 1996, as "Player's Choice" both for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
and for the
Game Boy
The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
to distinguish titles that had sold over one million copies. Super NES games had the "Super Nintendo Entertainment System" wordmark written in gold (instead of the usual red) on the box, along with a "Player's Choice" seal. European SNES and Game Boy releases were labeled differently in various markets (such as Mario Classics in Spain, Nintendo Classics in UK and Netherlands, and (Super) Classic Series in Germany and France), comparing closer to the European version of the
Classic Series label for the NES games, featuring the same Mario medal. Furthermore, all boxes were overhauled in red except Disney games, which received blue boxes. North American
NTSC
NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170.
In 1953, a second ...
"Player's Choice" games can be identified on the Nintendo 64 by the yellow background of the N64 logo in the upper right corner of the game box. On the GameCube and Game Boy Advance, games are marked in a yellow box on the top of the case. PAL region Player's Choice games have boxes that are colored silver or platinum with Player's Choice markings on the right hand side of a Nintendo 64 box or on the top of a GameCube box.
The Player's Choice line was introduced for GameCube titles in January 2003. However, the sales barrier for games was decreased from 1 million, down to 450,000 by June 2003 and eventually only 250,000. The first titles were ''
Super Smash Bros. Melee'', ''
Pikmin'', and ''
Luigi's Mansion'', and they each retailed for US$29.99. Later in the year, when six new titles were added, Nintendo split the pricing for different sets of GameCube games, so that some titles would enter in or stay at US$29.99 while others would be reduced immediately to US$19.99.
In April 2006, the "Player's Choice" label was applied to Game Boy Advance games, which sell for $19.99 in the United States.
2011–2019: Nintendo Selects
The Player's Choice label was renamed Nintendo Selects in May 2011. The first Wii games added were ''
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess'', ''
Animal Crossing: City Folk'', ''
Mario Super Sluggers'' and ''
Wii Sports''. The
New Play Control!
is a series of first-party GameCube games ported to the Wii by Nintendo. Games in the ''New Play Control!'' series feature enhancements such as widescreen support, enhanced graphics and the implementation of the Wii's motion controls with th ...
version of ''
Pikmin 2'' debuted in North America as a Nintendo Selects title, alongside New Play Control! ''
Mario Power Tennis''. ''
Mario Party 8'' and ''
Wii Sports Resort'' were added to Nintendo Selects line in 2013 in UK. These launches coincided with the
Wii Mini launch, on March 22. ''
Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', ''
Mario Kart Wii'', ''
Super Mario Galaxy'', ''
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess'' and ''
Wii Sports +
Wii Sports Resort'' were added to the new Nintendo Selects Australian line, priced at AU$49.95 and NZ$59.95 with the release date of November 7, 2013.
As of 2014, recommended retail prices are £19.99 in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, US$19.99 in the United States, CDN$19.99 in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, A$49.95 in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and €29.99 throughout the
Eurozone
The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...
.
In 2015,
Nintendo of Europe began to release Nintendo Selects range of games for the
Nintendo 3DS. The label was then expanded to the Wii U alongside select Wii and Nintendo 3DS titles in Canada, released on March 11, 2016, priced at CA$29.99. A range of Nintendo Selects titles was launched the following month in Europe.
Home console titles
Wii U
Wii
Minna no Susume Selection (for Japan):
* ''
428: Shibuya Scramble''
* ''
Arc Rise Fantasia''
* ''
Dragon Ball Z Sparking! Meteor
''Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi'', released in Japan as , is a series of fighting games developed by Spike (company), Spike based on the Dragon Ball (franchise), ''Dragon Ball'' franchise by Akira Toriyama. The series was published by Bandai Na ...
''
* ''
Family Ski: World Ski & Snowboard''
* ''
Momotaro Dentetsu 16: Moving in Hokkaido!''
* ''
Momotaro Dentetsu 2010: Sengoku Ishin no Hero Daishūgō! No Maki''
* ''
Oboro Muramasa''
* ''
One Piece Unlimited Cruise: Episode 1''
* ''
One Piece Unlimited Cruise: Episode 2''
* ''
Rune Factory Frontier''
* ''
Sengoku Musou 3''
* ''
Tales of Graces''
* ''
Tales of Symphony: Ratatosk No Kishi''
GameCube
* ''
Animal Crossing''
* ''
Burnout''
* ''
Cars''
* ''
Chicken Little''
* ''
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''
* ''
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex''
* ''
Crazy Taxi''
* ''
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2''
* ''
Def Jam Vendetta''
* ''
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai''
* ''
Enter the Matrix''
* ''
Finding Nemo
''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...
''
* ''
F-Zero GX''
* ''
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee''
* ''
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent''
* ''
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets''
* ''
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban''
* ''
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup''
* ''
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life''
* ''
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody''
* ''
The Incredibles
''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American animated superhero film written and directed by Brad Bird. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer ...
''
* ''
James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire''
* ''
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing''
* ''
James Bond 007: Nightfire''
* ''
Kirby Air Ride''
* ''
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker''
* ''
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures''
* ''
Lego Star Wars: The Video Game''
* ''
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy''
* ''
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''
* ''
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''
* ''
Luigi's Mansion''
* ''
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
''
* ''
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour''
* ''
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects''
* ''
Medal of Honor: Frontline''
* ''
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun''
* ''
Mega Man Anniversary Collection''
* ''
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes''
* ''
Metroid Prime''
* ''
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance''
* ''
MVP Baseball 2005''
* ''
Namco Museum''
* ''
Naruto: Clash of Ninja''
* ''
Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2''
* ''
NBA Street Vol. 2''
* ''
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2''
* ''
Need for Speed: Most Wanted''
* ''
Need for Speed: Underground''
* ''
Need for Speed: Underground 2''
* ''
Over the Hedge''
* ''
Pac-Man Fever''
* ''
Pac-Man World 2'' / ''
Pac-Man Vs.''
* ''
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door''
* ''
Pikmin''
* ''
Pikmin 2''
* ''
Pokémon Colosseum''
* ''
Rampage: Total Destruction''
* ''Resident Evil 10th Year Anniversary Collection''
* ''
Resident Evil''
* ''
Resident Evil Zero''
* ''
Resident Evil 4''
* ''
Shadow the Hedgehog
is a character created by the Japanese game developers Takashi Iizuka (game designer), Takashi Iizuka, Shiro Maekawa, and Kazuyuki Hoshino. He is a major character in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. An Anthropomorphism, anthropomorph ...
''
* ''
Shark Tale''
* ''
Shrek 2''
* ''
The Simpsons: Hit & Run''
* ''
The Sims
''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and Video game publisher, published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and is one of the List of best-selling video game fran ...
''
* ''
The Sims Bustin' Out''
* ''
Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut''
* ''
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle''
* ''Sonic Adventure 2-Pack''
* ''
Sonic Gems Collection''
* ''
Sonic Heroes''
* ''Sonic Heroes & Super Monkey Ball Duo Pack''
* ''
Sonic Mega Collection''
* ''
Sonic Riders''
* ''
Soulcalibur II''
* ''
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
''
* ''
Spider-Man 2''
* ''
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom''
* ''
SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants!''
* ''
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie''
* ''
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly''
* ''
Spyro: A Hero's Tail''
* ''
Star Fox Adventures''
* ''
Star Fox: Assault''
* ''
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader''
* ''
Star Wars: The Clone Wars''
* ''
Super Mario Sunshine''
* ''
Super Monkey Ball
''Super Monkey Ball'' is a series of Platformer, platform video games initially developed by Amusement Vision (now Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio) and published by Sega. The series debuted in 2001 with the arcade game ''Monkey Ball'', which was ported to ...
''
* ''
Super Monkey Ball 2''
* ''Super Monkey Ball 2-Pack''
* ''
Super Smash Bros. Melee''
* ''
Tales of Symphonia''
* ''
Tak and the Power of Juju
''Tak and the Power of Juju'' is a 2003 platform game developed by Avalanche Software and published by THQ for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance. The game was released in North America on October 15, 2003 and in Europe on Marc ...
''
* ''
TimeSplitters 2''
* ''
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland''
* ''
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4''
* ''
Tony Hawk's Underground
''Tony Hawk's Underground'' is a 2003 skateboarding video game and the fifth entry in the ''Tony Hawk's'' series, following ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4''. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 ...
''
* ''
Tony Hawk's Underground 2''
* ''
True Crime: Streets of LA''
* ''
Ultimate Spider-Man
''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...
''
* ''
Viewtiful Joe''
* ''
Wario World''
* ''
WWE Day of Reckoning''
* ''
WWE Day of Reckoning 2''
* ''
WWE WrestleMania X8''
* ''
X-Men Legends''
* ''
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom''
PAL-exclusive Player's Choice titles:
* ''
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg''
* ''
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2''
* ''
FIFA Football 2003''
* ''
FIFA Football 2004''
* ''
FIFA Football 2005''
* ''
FIFA 06''
* ''
Mario Kart: Double Dash'' (Australia and New Zealand only)
* ''
Mario Party 4''
* ''
Mario Party 5''
* ''Prince of Persia Pack Limited Edition''
* ''
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time''
* ''
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within''
* ''
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc''
* ''
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike''
* ''
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell'' is a series of stealth action-adventure video games, the first of which was released in 2002, and their tie-in novels that were endorsed by Tom Clancy. The series follows Sam Fisher, a highly trained agent of a ...
''
* ''
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow''
* ''
Worms 3D'' (France)
* ''
Turok: Evolution'' (France, Netherlands)
* ''
XIII'' (France)
Nintendo 64
Due to the use of a more expensive cartridge-based format, all N64 Player's Choice titles retailed for
$39.95 in the United States and
$49.99 in Canada.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Satellaview-exclusive Player's Choice Classic SoundLink games:
* ''
BS Zelda no Densetsu''
あなたが選ぶ名作サウンドリンクゲーム
'. Nintendo.co.jp. Archived 5 June 1997.
*
*
* ''SatellaWalker: Satebô wo Sukui Dase!''
Handheld titles
Nintendo 3DS
Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Color
* ''
Mario Golf''
* ''
Mario Tennis''
* ''
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe''
Game Boy
* ''
The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle'' (January 26, 1998)
* ''
The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2'' (September 3, 1996)
* ''
Donkey Kong'' (September 3, 1996)
* ''
Donkey Kong Land'' (October 1997)
* ''
Donkey Kong Land 2'' (June 15, 1998)
* ''
DuckTales 2'' (March 1998)
* ''
Dr. Mario'' (November 1997)
* ''
F-1 Race'' (September 1, 1998)
* ''
Golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
'' (November 1997)
* ''
James Bond 007'' (March 1998)
* ''
Kirby's Dream Land'' (November 1997)
* ''
Kirby's Dream Land 2
''Kirby's Dream Land 2'' is a 1995 action game, action-platformer, platform game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy video game console, handheld video game console. It was released in Japan on March 21, 1995, ...
'' (September 1, 1998)
* ''
Kirby's Pinball Land'' (November 1996)
* ''
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening'' (December 1996)
* ''
The Little Mermaid'' (October 1997)
* ''
Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge'' (September 3, 1996)
* ''
Mega Man II'' (January 26, 1998)
* ''
Metroid II: Return of Samus'' (February 1997)
* ''
Mickey's Dangerous Chase'' (October 1997)
* ''
Mickey Mouse: Magic Wands!'' (March 1998)
* ''
The Smurfs'' (March 1998)
* ''
Space Invaders
is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed s ...
'' (December 1996)
* ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' (November 1996)
* ''
Street Fighter II'' (September 1, 1998)
* ''
Super Mario Land
is a 1989 platform game developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1, Nintendo R&D1, the same team that designed the Game Boy. It was published by Nintendo as Game Boy#Launch titles, one of the first four games released for the console. I ...
'' (October 1996)
* ''
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins'' (September 3, 1996)
* ''
Super R.C. Pro-Am'' (March 1998)
* ''
Tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
'' (June 15, 1998)
* ''
Tetris'' (December 1996)
* ''
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'' (September 3, 1996)
* ''
Wave Race'' (June 24, 1997)
References
External links
Nintendo SelectsNorth American site
European site
Nintendo.com's list of Player's Choice games for Game Boy Advance and GameCube
{{Budget ranges
Selects
Budget ranges