I don't think the prices are remotely justified. However, despite that, I do agree that this is one of Nintendo's strongest eras.
In terms of pricing, if Baldur's Gate 3 can be profitable selling for $60, then there's no reason Mario Kart World, an objectively cheaper game to produce, needs to be $80.
Nevertheless, the Switch 2 is a significant upgrade over the original. Overall, I think this is Nintendo's best console and ecosystem since the N64.
Civil and objective discussion isn't allowed here? Why am I banned from posting?
If you told me Switch 1? Definitely, and it's hard to argue it's not. Almost every major IP has some type of high quality, major new IP (only glaring omissions being Mario Kart and DK) that pushes the envelope. A lot of long time dreams were realized this generation (finally merging handheld and console, finally making open world games, Pokemon on console for the first time, Kirby going 3D, Metroid Dread actually releasing as a real game).
But Switch 2? It's certainly off to a rocky start. High prices and less games than expected is making this a poor value proposition so far. Right now I would say you're better off sticking with Switch 1. Ultimately I don't think it'll be the best because the Switch rarely let up, but with the right turnaround it could end up being good in the end. Maybe it can become what the 3DS was to the DS, that's probably its best case scenario.
Also, raising the price of new games is one thing, but not discounting any of their old games starts to seem greedy and anti-consumer. As a random comparison, you can buy Halo 5 for $20 from the Microsoft Store, while Nintendo still wants the full $60 for Mario Kart 8. That's not justifiable.
Civil and objective discussion isn't allowed here? Why am I banned from posting?
@Jay86
Thats cause nobody is still buying Halo 5. Whereas MarioKart 8 is still selling. It's not welfare. We're not owed lower prices over time. Just because Game A lowers price doesn't mean everyone is entitled to Game B at a similar discount.
Free market forces determine price (macroeconomics 101). But even if the game wasn't selling, they still have every right to ask whatever they want for their own games. Of course, you have the right to not buy if you subjectively feel it's not worth it. That's fine.
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
@JaxonH I agree with you here. Whilst it definitely is a bit 'money grabby', I can totally see why MK8 is still the price it is.
If Nintendo was my business, and MK8 was still selling as well as it is, there seems no logical reason to erode margins significantly.
Where I do wish N would step up though is the drip feeding of the Gamecube games and also some more N64 games via NSO. They already have our subs and money here, and probably stand to gain even more new subs, if they would just bump up the volume of games
I really don't think the Switch 2 will ever be an emulation beast even if hacked and modded. It's CPU resources are very low. As Virtuos stated its marginally faster than PS4 in CPU resources somewhere between PS4 and PS4 Pro. The passmark cpu score for 8xARM A78 ats 1Ghz is about 1900 and this should put a ceiling on emulation of around Gamecube/Wii level. In contrast the Steamdeck for example is at 9000 passmark CPU score. Also currently the Switch 2 OS is using 2 of the ARM A78 cores but hopefully in the future with a more optimised operating system this can be reduced to 1. Emulation really benefits from higher performance CPU systems. Games like Cyberpunk and Outlaws scale back the CPU resources needed on Switch 2 to work well. Also we don't even know the full effect of the Switch 2's ARM A78 cores being fabricated on a mainly 10Nm fabrication process when they were designed for a better fabrication process like 7Nm or even better. So they may not work as well as A78 cores on better fabrication. My point is Switch 2 CPU resources are very low. Yes they are over 3x that of the original Switch which is a huge upgrade but still quite low.
This Ryzen mini pc I'm using now which cost me £130 is based on a Ryzen 7 5700U APU and the CPU score for this is 18000 passmark score, over 9x the power of the Switch 2 in CPU terms. It has about 2Tf of GPU performance but no way as good as the Nvidia graphics hardware of the Switch 2. However in CPU terms the Switch 2 is incredibly weak.
It's worth doing your own research about what ARM A78s are capable of because there is so much misleading information given by people. Remember Nintendo have limited them to 1Ghz they are not comparable to A78s on systems with active cooling that might run them as high as 3.5-5Ghz. It was the same situation with the original Switch they were clocked down to 1Ghz (A57?) but the chipset was easily capable of running them at 2Ghz or a little bit more. People with Mariko modded Switches often ran their Switches at much higher speed so they could play TOTK or BOTW at 60fps. Such Switches would have a passmark cpu score between 1100-1400 rather than the standard Switch result of 600.
@FishyS I was talking about traditional consoles - I consider PC to be it's own thing.
Sure, you can emulate loads of games, but that's not how I partake in this hobby. My point was simply that Nintendo is in a great era - and for folks who are not excited about the SW2, that's fine. It's still hard to argue that we're not in a great era of being Nintendo fans. Maybe it will change over the course of the SW2 lifecycle, but I doubt it. I do not think the SW2 will match the SW1 level of success, but I wouldn't be surprised if it does big numbers. The SW1 had many factors working in its favor. All I'm looking at is Nintendo's current library (SW1 & 2 games included) and that it's the fastest selling console of all time. Right now, things are looking great.
@FishyS I'm an optimist . At the end of the day, I love gaming, and I don't need to dwell on the negatives. They do exist, and if I don't like it, I don't support it (with my wallet).
Thats cause nobody is still buying Halo 5. Whereas MarioKart 8 is still selling. It's not welfare. We're not owed lower prices over time. Just because Game A lowers price doesn't mean everyone is entitled to Game B at a similar discount.
Free market forces determine price (macroeconomics 101). But even if the game wasn't selling, they still have every right to ask whatever they want for their own games. Of course, you have the right to not buy if you subjectively feel it's not worth it. That's fine.
You're not wrong, but I still hate this logic. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still sells, but that's not actually true of most of their games, and I will repeatedly point out how stupid it is that they would rather no one buy any more copies of their B-tier games ever then have even one substantial discount. It's annoying as a fan, its greed that is good for neither us nor them.
It's too early into this era to be able to tell, but I'm hopeful that yeah, this will be Nintendo's greatest era. Or at-least, second greatest era to the early years of the Switch 1.
Mario Kart World, Pokémon Legends Z-A, Splatoon Rangers, Galaxy 1+2, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, Rhythm Heaven Groove, Kirby Air Riders, Pokémon Pokopia, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book
These are all just first-party games coming (or already released) on the Switch 2 that I personally love/am excited for. And I really don't think my wallet has felt this scared of an upcoming game lineup since the early days of the Switch 1. Who knows what other third party releases we'll get, I'm sure in a year or two we'll see even more games coming to the Switch 2 that people online today are insisting won't be possible at all, I'm very confident in that!
I think at-least 70% of all people saying the Switch 2 isn't powerful for x game are those who are quite biased about Nintendo in general, like those who shamed Mario Kart World for being €80, then turned a blind eye to Sonic Crossworlds being €70 base + €30 Season Pass. The whole anger over Nintendo's pricing is most likely another factor to people downplaying the power of a console they don't own. Personally, while the €10 increase does slightly bother me, I love Nintendo, so I'll buy the games anyway. I totally get why other people are more upset about it than I am, though.
Honestly, the ONLY thing that properly upsets me about this new era of Nintendo we're entering, is Game Key Cards. They're the complete opposite of what a 'physical game' is meant to be, and I refuse to purchase any Game Key Card game.
@JaxonH All of that goes without saying. There are obviously people out there who are willing to buy yesterday's technology at today's price, and that's perfectly fine. But there's also nothing wrong with comparing their pricing strategy against the competition. With that said, here are further examples:
Bloodborne $20 or free with PPE
Uncharted 4 free with PPE
Ratchet and Clank $20, currently on sale for $10
Killzone Shadow Fall $20 or free with PPE
The Last Guardian $20 or free with PPE
Gears of War 4 $20 or free with Game Pass
All Xbox exclusives are free with Game Pass
No one wants to buy any of those games anymore? Don't forget, it's not just Mario Kart that's still full price, it's Mario Party Superstars, Smash, and virtually everything else. Also keep in mind that Smash and Superstars both play horribly online with Switch 2, yet they still refuse to discount or fix either game. So in some cases, it's full price for games that barely work. In my experience, Superstars doesn't work at all; it constantly crashes online. But I digress..
Of course, on PC we see regular discounts on older games:
Xcom 2 is currently $3
Divinity Original Sin is currently $8
Civ 6 is currently $6
We're simply not offered that luxury on the Switch. This isn't something that can be debated. Particularly, Nintendo doesn't have anything truly comparable to Game Pass or Playstation Plus Extra. Who wouldn't like to have the option of paying a monthly fee in exchange for access to older Switch titles?
All of that being said, Nintendo's pricing strategy is not as consumer-friendly as the competition’s. Does it have to be? No. By your logic, Nintendo also doesn’t have to offer ray tracing, 4K, or anything else provided by the competition. But it’s usually a good idea to present a competitive product at a competitive price. One of the things that makes free-market capitalism so great is that it constantly forces companies to one-up each other. This typically results in consumers getting the best product at the best price. However, this can be muddied by brand loyalty.
Let’s also not lose sight of the original context. OP stated that Nintendo’s pricing is justified. “Justified,” to me, implies some sort of need. For instance, I can certainly understand the need to price Mario Kart World at $80. Increased production costs or the need to offset the cost of manufacturing systems are both potentially valid justifications for raising the price of new games. However, I struggle to come up with a need or justification for Mario Kart 8 still being $60, other than it simply being a money grab. Fine, again, no one is disputing whether Nintendo can do what they want. But if the question is whether their pricing is justified, I don’t think it is.
The value of these older games is a separate argument and purely a matter of opinion. Ratchet and Clank, to many, is still a $60 game, yet Sony sells it for $20 anyway. So if some people don't think the value of old Switch games has diminished, that’s great, but it doesn't alter my argument. I'm also not telling anyone how they should feel about older games. Instead, I’m trying to stick to objective points: their pricing is not in line with the competition's, it's not as consumer-friendly, and I struggle to find the justification (need).
@Jay86 one note on 3rd party prices - I bought the XCOM 2 Switch Collection for $4.99, The Outer Worlds is currently on sale for $7.49, NieR Automata for $15.99...there are great deals to be had on 3rd party games...the 1st party games maintain their price, but the majority of my games I've picked up have been for massive discounts.
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Topic: Am i wrong for thinking that Nintendo is in one of its best eras right now?
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