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What console pack-in/bundle games did you treasure, and which did you immediately ignore or discard?
- Thread starter Khanimus
- Start date
I guess the Halo Wars collection that came with my Xbox One, but only because I'm going through the series in release order and have only played up to halfway through Halo 2 lol.
Also I didn't not like it, but the Guitar Hero DS game that came with the cool limited edition DS Lite didn't get much playtime because it was cramp central lol. I would've played it more for sure though if it didn't physically hurt to play.
Other than that, I can't think of any pack in games I didn't put a decent amount of time into.
Also I didn't not like it, but the Guitar Hero DS game that came with the cool limited edition DS Lite didn't get much playtime because it was cramp central lol. I would've played it more for sure though if it didn't physically hurt to play.
Other than that, I can't think of any pack in games I didn't put a decent amount of time into.
From what I've gotten
Greats;
NES - Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt
SNES - Super Mario World
GB - Tetris
Wii - Wii Sports
PS4 - Destiny + Uncharted Collection remastered
PS5 - AstroBot
Good;
PS1 - Ridge Racer
Sega Saturn - Virtua Fighter
Not so great;
Sega Mega drive - Altered Beast
Overall they've been quite good :)
Greats;
NES - Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt
SNES - Super Mario World
GB - Tetris
Wii - Wii Sports
PS4 - Destiny + Uncharted Collection remastered
PS5 - AstroBot
Good;
PS1 - Ridge Racer
Sega Saturn - Virtua Fighter
Not so great;
Sega Mega drive - Altered Beast
Overall they've been quite good :)
My Xbox 360 Arcade came with the greatest pack-in game (well there were other titles on disc but..) ever bar Wii Sports as far as I'm concerned: Pac-Man Championship Edition.
My PAL PS2 came with GTA 3 (already had a modded JPN-Ntsc model tho) but I can't remember if it was an official pack-in/bundle or just store-made.
Megadrive had the AWFUL Altered Beasts port.
Obviously the Marios for SFC and N64 (tho my SFC also came with F-Zero and Super G'nG (best launch lineup ever).
Wii with Wii Sports, probably my most played pack-in game ever.
PS3 with MGS4 (loved it at the time).
PS4 with KZ:SF (mediocre) and Resogun (great!).
My PAL PS2 came with GTA 3 (already had a modded JPN-Ntsc model tho) but I can't remember if it was an official pack-in/bundle or just store-made.
Megadrive had the AWFUL Altered Beasts port.
Obviously the Marios for SFC and N64 (tho my SFC also came with F-Zero and Super G'nG (best launch lineup ever).
Wii with Wii Sports, probably my most played pack-in game ever.
PS3 with MGS4 (loved it at the time).
PS4 with KZ:SF (mediocre) and Resogun (great!).
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I got a Call of Duty game with my PS4 Slim and I keep forgetting I have it still in the wrapping.
The Mario Kart Double Dash Gamecube bundle came with that and the Legend of Zelda Collector's disc. So between Double Dash, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, I was in a good place. I don't even recall having MM crash for me, although I might have either forgot that or got lucky.
I got an OG Xbox with the Jet Set Radio Future / Sega GT 2002 double-sided disc pack-in. I probably spent more time playing those two games than anything else on the console. I loved them sooooooo much.
I got this for christmas. Was the happiest child on earth. Man I miss JSRF.....SEGA PORT THIS TO CURRENT HARDWARE PLZ.
Sega totally did the thing thing to swap out Altered Beast for Sonic with the Megadrive.
I guess Nintendo did much the same earlier with swapping out Gyromite/R.O.B. Etc for SMB/Duck Hunt.
I guess Nintendo did much the same earlier with swapping out Gyromite/R.O.B. Etc for SMB/Duck Hunt.
Treasure:
NES with Power Pad and the SMB/Duck hunt/World Class Track Meet
SNES with Super Mario World
Genesis with Sonic 2
Saturn with Virtua Fighter 2/Virtua Cop/Daytona USA
Trash:
Sega CD with Sewer Shark
TG-16 with Keith Courage in Alpha Zones
NES with Power Pad and the SMB/Duck hunt/World Class Track Meet
SNES with Super Mario World
Genesis with Sonic 2
Saturn with Virtua Fighter 2/Virtua Cop/Daytona USA
Trash:
Sega CD with Sewer Shark
TG-16 with Keith Courage in Alpha Zones
Pack in I still love to this day - Super Mario Bros on the NES.
Pack ins I discarded immediately - Wii Sports and Nintendo Land (Wii and Wii U respectively)
Pack ins I discarded immediately - Wii Sports and Nintendo Land (Wii and Wii U respectively)
Combat was one of the greatest pack in games ever. Got a good bit of mileage out of that one.
Super Mario Bros and Tetris are the GOATs
Altered Beast was ok. These days I couldn't be bothered for more then a few minutes
Keith Courage was ok
Super Mario Bros and Tetris are the GOATs
Altered Beast was ok. These days I couldn't be bothered for more then a few minutes
Keith Courage was ok
SNES - Donkey Kong Country was great, I still play this game from time to time
PS1 - Interactive CD Sampler #5 was a great intro to demo disks, and Parappa, Blast Chamber, Cool Borders, and Armored Core, it was a blast.
GBC - No Pack in
N64 - No pack in, bought used
Gamecube - Super Mario Sunshine is my favourite 3D Mario Game
Xbox - Mechassault! The game to mod the console!
PS2 - Bought used
GBA - No pack in
Wii - Wii Sports is forever great
DS - No Pack in, SM64DS same day though
DS Lite - Mario Kart DS!
PSP - Patapon was pretty cool
360 - bought used selling my Wii for it
PS3 - Came with Killzone, never touched it
Vita - Killzone sucked lol
Xbox One - Sunset Overdrive! Fantastic game
3DS - Super Mario 3D land was OK, not my favourite though
PS4 - Came with Uncharted Collection, didn't like the games on PS3, so I never touched it, gave it to a friend in wrapping still 2 years later
Switch - No pack in, got BotW same day though
PS5 - No pack in, got Miles Morales same day though.
PS1 - Interactive CD Sampler #5 was a great intro to demo disks, and Parappa, Blast Chamber, Cool Borders, and Armored Core, it was a blast.
GBC - No Pack in
N64 - No pack in, bought used
Gamecube - Super Mario Sunshine is my favourite 3D Mario Game
Xbox - Mechassault! The game to mod the console!
PS2 - Bought used
GBA - No pack in
Wii - Wii Sports is forever great
DS - No Pack in, SM64DS same day though
DS Lite - Mario Kart DS!
PSP - Patapon was pretty cool
360 - bought used selling my Wii for it
PS3 - Came with Killzone, never touched it
Vita - Killzone sucked lol
Xbox One - Sunset Overdrive! Fantastic game
3DS - Super Mario 3D land was OK, not my favourite though
PS4 - Came with Uncharted Collection, didn't like the games on PS3, so I never touched it, gave it to a friend in wrapping still 2 years later
Switch - No pack in, got BotW same day though
PS5 - No pack in, got Miles Morales same day though.
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The best pack-in bundle for me was for Saturn in 1996 with Sega Rally, Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop, and Daytona USA.
SMB/Duck Hunt was amazing. And even though I initially wished it would have had a platformer instead of a racing game, I loved Hang On/Safari Hunt/Snail Maze on SMS. The most impressive light gun and racing games on the home market at the time were together. Tetris on Game Boy was awesome, the perfect single game pack in. Combat on VCS is up there, too.
SMB/Duck Hunt was amazing. And even though I initially wished it would have had a platformer instead of a racing game, I loved Hang On/Safari Hunt/Snail Maze on SMS. The most impressive light gun and racing games on the home market at the time were together. Tetris on Game Boy was awesome, the perfect single game pack in. Combat on VCS is up there, too.
All the stuff it came with made it a good deal but I was disappointed in that compilation, mostly because of what they did to Golden Axe. They got rid of two-player mode, and the new voices sucked. I didn't like the new voices in the other games either but at least they didn't mess with the gameplay. It was cool that the CD+G disc had Jimi Hendrix but I wish it had more content.
I got a PS1 for Christmas back in the day bundled with Gran Turismo 2 that started off a love for cars and Motorsport.
Then in 2009 I think it was, I got a 360 elite that had Forza 3 as a pack in. It also came with GTA IV Episodes from Liberty City but I think that was a retailer add on. Forza 3 was my first taste of Forza after always being a Gran Turismo fan. I'd say Forza is my favourite series now and I've easily put in over a 1000 hours across various games.
So yeah, both pack ins had a big impact on me.
Then in 2009 I think it was, I got a 360 elite that had Forza 3 as a pack in. It also came with GTA IV Episodes from Liberty City but I think that was a retailer add on. Forza 3 was my first taste of Forza after always being a Gran Turismo fan. I'd say Forza is my favourite series now and I've easily put in over a 1000 hours across various games.
So yeah, both pack ins had a big impact on me.
Didn't get any of the big classics but had
Gamecube + Metroid Prime- Not the biggest Metroid fan but a pretty good deal obviously
PSP + Daxter- Did not care for this at all
Vita + Assassin's Creed Liberation- Not the worst thing, but meh
Wii U + NSMBU- Pretty blah
Haven't had the best track record I guess lol
Gamecube + Metroid Prime- Not the biggest Metroid fan but a pretty good deal obviously
PSP + Daxter- Did not care for this at all
Vita + Assassin's Creed Liberation- Not the worst thing, but meh
Wii U + NSMBU- Pretty blah
Haven't had the best track record I guess lol
I had the cart Golden Axe and I can't even tell you if I even remember playing the Sega CD version from that disc lol
it is not without its charms. i think if the underground/mech stages had better thematic variety, the game would be more fondly remembered.
Besides my SNES pack-in of Super Mario Allstars + Mario World, this is my answer. I loved the OG Xbox and racing games of that era, Sega GT 2002 is an incredible one of those. I remember uploading music to my Xbox and then racing to some DMX and Luda. This thread really takes me back 😂😂I got an OG Xbox with the Jet Set Radio Future / Sega GT 2002 double-sided disc pack-in. I probably spent more time playing those two games than anything else on the console. I loved them sooooooo much.
Yeah, I like Keith Courage (and Altered Beast) despite their flaws. I was fine getting those as pack ins. Given what was out in Japan, NEC did have more options available to them than Sega did for the NA launch but maybe they hoped all the early adopters would buy Legendary Axe and R-Type separately anyway.
I'm pretty sure that there was a butting of heads over what the pack-in was to be for the TG-16 and R-Type was wanted to be the pack-in for North America by some of the US execs.
I got an OG Xbox with the Jet Set Radio Future / Sega GT 2002 double-sided disc pack-in. I probably spent more time playing those two games than anything else on the console. I loved them sooooooo much.
That's a great bundle
I have gotten joy out of every pack-in game I have ever received. All the Mario titles are killer. Astro is excellent. Hell, I even loved Keith Courage. Pack-in games are awesome.
I guess the only one that didn't do it for me was Wii sports. Super fun at first, for sure, but then I realized just how inaccurate a lot of the games are and the appeal started to fade quickly.
I guess the only one that didn't do it for me was Wii sports. Super fun at first, for sure, but then I realized just how inaccurate a lot of the games are and the appeal started to fade quickly.
There's a lot of praise for that JSRF Xbox bundle but that's the one that disappointed me the most. JSR is one of my favourite games of all time and I hated all the design changes in the sequel (it was a very common sentiment on message boards at the time, too, but not so much anymore).
The best pack in game I have is the Super Mario All Stars + Mario World on the SNES.
Never had one worth discarding, though my NES pack in was Super Mario Bros + Duck Hunt on the same cartridge, and duck hunt never got much play.
Never had one worth discarding, though my NES pack in was Super Mario Bros + Duck Hunt on the same cartridge, and duck hunt never got much play.
Treasure: Zelda Collector's Edition (GameCube), Astro's Playroom (PS5), Wii Sports (Wii)
Discard: World Driver Championship (N64), New Super Mario Bros U + Luigi U (Wii U), NBA 2K18 (Xbox One)
My dumbass should've gotten that Wind Waker HD bundle on Wii U instead but noooo, I didn't like digital games for whatever reason.
Discard: World Driver Championship (N64), New Super Mario Bros U + Luigi U (Wii U), NBA 2K18 (Xbox One)
My dumbass should've gotten that Wind Waker HD bundle on Wii U instead but noooo, I didn't like digital games for whatever reason.
Astrobot on PS5 was fantastic, I didn't know much about it going in and loved it.
When I bought my gameboy Tetris was the only game I had for months. Loved it, th music and alternate tracks were so good too.One of the greatest there ever has been or ever will be
Sonic on the Genesis with a rebate form for Sonic 2 was my entire introduction to gaming and I'll never forget it.
On this note, I bought my Game Gear in late 1991 with Columns. A short while later, I noticed they were offering Sonic as a freebie if you sent in the UPC code from the GG's box. I was worried that I was too late or that maybe Sega of America wouldn't ship it to Canada but it arrived.
Yep, still best game to show off Dual Sense controller options and my kids' favorite game on PS5.
Streets of Rage 2 with my first Genesis was such an incredible pack in.
It kind of blew my mind though that years into the Genesis' lifespan there were STILL units being bundled with Sonic 1. When they updated the console design they started including Sonic 2 I believe.
It kind of blew my mind though that years into the Genesis' lifespan there were STILL units being bundled with Sonic 1. When they updated the console design they started including Sonic 2 I believe.
Never understood the love for Astro's Playroom. It's a fun 3 hours or so and the old game references are cute and as a freebie for buying a console, it's a nice bonus, but from a gameplay perspective, it's a pretty barebones 3D platformer. It's more of a really good tech demo to show off the PS5 controller than anything else.
Nintendo Land is a far better pack-in than folks are giving it credit for. It was never going to be a system seller in the way Wii Sports was, but the asynchronous multiplayer aspect made it an enjoyable game for Christmas Day and other family gatherings.
OP
OP
There were like 3 good minigames in the entirety of Nintendoland, all based around the same concept.
But as it so happens, it's a very entertaining concept. Mario Chase, the Animal Crossing one, and Luigi's Mansion.
if it were a fully fleshed out game, i could definitely see how it would be in the discussion.
+1 on Super Mario World/All Stars being best pack-in (I technically had to mail in for my free copy of All Stars and had SMW cartridge in the box).The best pack in game I have is the Super Mario All Stars + Mario World on the SNES.
Never had one worth discarding, though my NES pack in was Super Mario Bros + Duck Hunt on the same cartridge, and duck hunt never got much play.
My 360 came with Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Forza Motorsport 2. This was the core bundle Microsoft did in the holiday of 2007, a year prior to when they started the Lego Indiana Jones / Kung Fu Panda bundle. Ultimate Alliance was the first game I played through on the 360, I had already played through part of the Wii version at my friend's house and knew I liked it well enough, and all of the other games I got were going to be longer commitments, so I figured I'd start with that. Forza 2 on the other hand, I played once, hated the way it felt, and put the disc back in my collection, never to be touched for years.
That is, until maybe over three years later, when I was on vacation with my younger cousin's family, and I brought my 360 and basically my entire collection. He looked through it and saw Forza 2. I can't remember why we decided to play it, I think because we had already gone through every other game for possible easy achievements. Well, what I completely forgot is that my cousin was a Gran Turismo 3 fiend back in the PS2 days, and he basically fell in love with Forza. Nearly a decade later and playing it was a moment where he fell in love with sim racers all over again. We "took turns" playing it, which basically meant I'd play it for a few minutes, do poorly, then hand the controller to him and watch him play for hours. When we came back from vacation, I just gave him my Forza disc, but kept the box for Marvel, which I still have. To be fair he gave me other free games he got through family friends so it wasn't something where I was just giving him a game for free with nothing in return.
That is, until maybe over three years later, when I was on vacation with my younger cousin's family, and I brought my 360 and basically my entire collection. He looked through it and saw Forza 2. I can't remember why we decided to play it, I think because we had already gone through every other game for possible easy achievements. Well, what I completely forgot is that my cousin was a Gran Turismo 3 fiend back in the PS2 days, and he basically fell in love with Forza. Nearly a decade later and playing it was a moment where he fell in love with sim racers all over again. We "took turns" playing it, which basically meant I'd play it for a few minutes, do poorly, then hand the controller to him and watch him play for hours. When we came back from vacation, I just gave him my Forza disc, but kept the box for Marvel, which I still have. To be fair he gave me other free games he got through family friends so it wasn't something where I was just giving him a game for free with nothing in return.
I'm not even sure what consoles I've played HAD pack-in games, though I remember buying one or two in retailer bundles.
PS2 - Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec. Gran Turismo was the reason I bought the PS2 so yeah, I definitely played it.
Wii - Wii Sports. I mean, duh, of course I played it.
PS3 - Technically none, but it was in a bundle with Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, which I greatly enjoyed.
360 - no pack-in game.
3DS - no pack-in game that I remember, unless you count the 3DS Ambassador games that I got shortly after purchase (I bought the console at the lower price AND got the Ambassador goodies, win-win!)
Vita - Welcome Park I guess? does that even count as a game?
And then everything after that I think was just console-only, no pack-in game, except the PS5 and The Playroom (which, again, great).
So actually I guess I had pretty good luck with pack-ins.
PS2 - Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec. Gran Turismo was the reason I bought the PS2 so yeah, I definitely played it.
Wii - Wii Sports. I mean, duh, of course I played it.
PS3 - Technically none, but it was in a bundle with Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, which I greatly enjoyed.
360 - no pack-in game.
3DS - no pack-in game that I remember, unless you count the 3DS Ambassador games that I got shortly after purchase (I bought the console at the lower price AND got the Ambassador goodies, win-win!)
Vita - Welcome Park I guess? does that even count as a game?
And then everything after that I think was just console-only, no pack-in game, except the PS5 and The Playroom (which, again, great).
So actually I guess I had pretty good luck with pack-ins.
I had this as well. JSRF was definitely the stand-out of the 2 but Sega GT 2002, from what I remember, wasn't too bad.I got an OG Xbox with the Jet Set Radio Future / Sega GT 2002 double-sided disc pack-in. I probably spent more time playing those two games than anything else on the console. I loved them sooooooo much.
Conversely, I purposely bought a DS Lite that came with Cooking Mama 3 because I knew I could trade the game in for a decent price.
We played the hell out of these probably played vf2 the most but Daytona and virtua cop were both great as well
I got an OG Xbox with the Jet Set Radio Future / Sega GT 2002 double-sided disc pack-in. I probably spent more time playing those two games than anything else on the console. I loved them sooooooo much.
Second this. Two of my favorite games on Xbox. Only played them because they came with the console, otherwise, they weren't on my radar. I credit JSRF for me giving games that aren't my normal style a shot. Still one of the GOAT soundtracks.
My favorite, but I realize for many that the original SMB and Wii Sports will probably challenge it. I got the Saturn also with the VF2 Virtua Cop and Daytona, but I didnt play much Virtua cop because I never got the lightgun and hated it on controller, so its probably the one I would discard.