Topic: Is The Switch 2 Worth It???

I do think Nintendo may absorb extra costs when it comes to the European market unless they want to abandon it as a major format in that territory. It is already far too expensive and more expensive than other markets and sales have not been great. In Japan they are probably selling at a break even price. Last time I worked out the currency conversion it was less than £240 there for the basic pack. They may have to push up the price a bit in Japan. US is Nintendo's biggest market and it's selling well at a price point point between Europe and Japan despite the higher tariffs. I feel like they could be under some pressure to increase prices in the USA but I feel it will be a smaller increase or maybe they will add value rather than just increase prices. I.e. 2 digital games included with the console.

Looking at November sales the 5 year old PS5 is selling over 4x the rate of Switch 2s in Europe and even in the USA the PS5 has sold over 50% more than Switch 2. The Switch 2 is a new console with compatibility with an old console and surely Nintendo would have expected to do better with many Switch 1 owners upgrading at a higher rate? There is tons of Switch 2 stock in the UK and heavy discounting of games and hardware. However being in Europe that is where my perspective is based more specifically the UK. No one is going to be surprised if the perspective of someone in the US is more positive but still I was not expecting the PS5 to do so much better but we are seeing it seems the great migration of Xbox users to PS5 it seems on top of normal sales both in Europe and the USA.

I'm not really emotionally attached to any console brand. I don't have a PS5 and probably never will have but still I'm interested in their commercial success or failure and how they are doing. I'm a PC, Switch, retro and android gamer. I'm not trying to be negative or positive about Switch 2 overall just seeing the positive and negative aspects of the console as it happens. There is always both good and bad with any console story. I'm always trying to be factual at all times and happy to correct errors in my viewpoint or adjustments as I would call them. I said the Switch 2 would be a hard sell in Europe at the pricing in Europe and it has been, it has not achieved the sales success of Japan or the USA. I said the pricing in Japan was fantastic for the console and software and it would be a huge success there and it is. I was more vague on the USA due to not knowing about the effect of the tariffs etc or knowing that market very well.

@BonzoBanana
PS5 sold really well during Black Friday here in the U.S. because Sony aggressively discounted it.

@BonzoBanana The way I look at it is it's very normal for PS5 to outsell Switch 2 this holiday considering the circumstances. GTA6 is approaching, multiple mainstream games this year did not come to PS4, some mainstream live service games are dropping PS4 support early next year, big price drop, etc. The thing that's unusual is it has taken so long for the crossgen PS4/PS5 window to end.

I could easily see PS5 outselling Switch 2 next holiday too if GTA6 isn't delayed again as I have no doubts that Sony will have GTA6 PS5 hardware bundles like they had for GTAV and RDR2 on PS3/PS4 and PS4 respectively. Somewhere in the range of £290 - £320 for PS5 digital + download code for GTA6 would be my guess.

But that's not a problem, it can be both true for PS5 to outsell Switch 2 and the Switch 2 to still be doing well.

For me, it’s a no. Still nothing exclusive I’m desperate to play on it.

And the game prices are unjustifiable… when you can afford something, but still don’t think it’s worth the price, there’s an issue. $100 for galaxy 1&2? $1000 for 15 year old games? No. And I’m not paying $100 for a single new game either.

Just pure principle of the thing for me… especially when they all seem to be key cards, so I don’t even own the software.

.. but once there’s a new Zelda and Mario on there, no doubt I’ll get one then..

@BonzoBanana

Looking at November sales the 5 year old PS5 is selling over 4x the rate of Switch 2s in Europe and even in the USA the PS5 has sold over 50% more than Switch 2.

This is exactly what I was talking about earlier with drawing conclusions from single data points rather than a trend.

Switch blew away PS4 by 40 million units over its lifespan. And yet, did you know the PS4 outsold Switch its first November? Did you know NS2 performed just as well as NS1 its first November? And Switch 2 is outselling Switch, so... think about that.

It's expected for PS5 to outperform Switch 2 right now. Years 3-5 are typically peak years. Having said that, even if it wasn't expected, it was still only a single month as a result of $100-150 orange clearance sticker discounts. So drawing any kind of long-term conclusion that NS2 is in trouble from it is... odd.

Here's the data backing up my claim that PS5 is hugging its peak years, while Switch 2 isn't (and yet NS2 is still outselling it overall)

And here's 2017 data showing Switch 1 was behind the PS4 practically all year, including November. Not that history repeats, but it does rhyme. Trust me on this, the system has nothing to worry about. But don't take my word for it- listen to the Switch 1 data.

Switch 2 is literally following in the same footsteps of Switch 1. And we all know how that turned out.

On the topic of potential price increases for the Switch 2, I think it would be in Nintendo's best interest to avoid increasing the price of the system. Purchasing a Switch 2 is basically a "gateway purchase" into the new Nintendo purchasing ecosystem. Without a system, there is no need for consumers to buy games or accessories. For that reason, rather than raise the price of the Switch 2 itself, Nintendo will likely subsidize the system for additional costs brought upon by the market by increasing the prices of other products and services. Personally, I am anticipating an NSO price increase by the end of 2026.

@Clammy
Whoa - where do you live that the Galaxy package is 100 bucks?!

Canada. Bananza is 100 Canadian dollars also.

Canadian and Australian Dollars consistently confuse conversations, as most are accustomed to pricing in U.S. Dollars.

We might need to either agree to everyone referring to prices in USD, or simply denoting which country's currency is being referenced (USD, CAD or AUD)

yes

@JaxonH @FishyS
Yea, it would be helpful. Whenever I talk price, I always make sure to mention I’m talking about the U.S.

I'll usually quote Australian prices in dollarydoos.

Still, it is mostly just Americans failing to realize that other countries exist and have their own currencies, which isn't much of a problem in the rest of the world.

Who cares? I’m just saying I think the games and hardware are overpriced, and theres little on it which screams “MUST HAVE” to me. Sure, I’d like to play Prime 4, and Bonanza, but for $60 on a system I’ve bought for other games.

My time is limited. As Is space, no point buying something to gather dust

@Matt_Barber
… there are other countries?!

@rallydefault @Matt_Barber
I don't think it's so much Americans failing to realize there's other countries as it is a conditioning of America being the focus in many discussions, so the natural assumption is USD. Which to be fair, I typically assume unless stated otherwise, or context dictates otherwise (obviously a $99.99 game isn't in the US, but it still leaves the question open of whether it's Canada or Australia, or some other dollar-denominated country). Most aren't familiar enough with pricing in countries they don't live in, especially with all the changes brought about recently in games' MSRP.

It gets even more confusing with Europe, where MSRP is rarely the listed price.

It's only really confusing for the (mainly 3) countries on these forums which use the the term 'dollars' for their currencies. But... most people stick their countries in their profiles so it's not really confusing even then.

I would argue it's also slightly confusing (or at least misleading) in the US where MSRP is often the listed price but not usually the price we actually pay, depending on region.

Well, and for what it’s worth, the U.S. is Nintendo’s biggest market, and we’ve discussed how other markets may suffer a bit for them to avoid driving things up too much over here.

Not the biggest factor by a long shot, but I would wager it’s part of their calculations and strategies.

@rallydefault
Was that you that mentioned the pricing of other consoles in relation to NS2, pointing out how it will be the cheapest option moving forward? I think that was you.

Consider the following:

• $500 digital-only PS5
• $550 PS5
• $750 digital-only PS5 Pro
• $400 digital-only Xbox Series S
• $600 digital-only Xbox Series X
• $650 Xbox Series X
• $550 Steamdeck OLED
• $450 Nintendo Switch 2

Now. With the next generation Xbox being a PC, that's irrelevant to the console market beyond enthusiasts. Xbox is out. Steam Machine will also be a PC, irrelevant to the console market beyond enthusiasts. Steamdeck 2, same thing. Valve is out.

That leaves Sony. Assuming they release 2 models- a PS6 and a PS6 Portable, the question is how much will they cost? I can't see it being $750. They'll drop the price of the Pro to $600 permanently I think, and the PS6 will be $649.99, digital-only. The hybrid handheld I expect to be $499.99 digital-only. I could be off here, but that's what I expect.

• $650 digital-only PS6
• $500 digital-only PS6 Portable

Now. The PS6 Portable will be the most closely priced to the NS2, and will offer similar hardware features. However. The prices mean most won't opt for both a PS6 and a PS6 Portable. For most, it'll be an "either or" proposition. Meaning, it likely won't draw in that many new customers, but rather, siphon off sales from the PS6 console. The fact it's likely going to be digital-only will be a sticking point for the key-card hating enthusiasts who are Nintendo fans, meaning the largest potential audience it could draw from will be handicapped from the jump. And those who don't care about physical, many likely own PS consoles also and would have otherwise purchased the PS6 console, so it's just swapping sales from the right hand to the left.

Now.

I am curious if that format will prove popular enough for Sony to eventually phase out the console with PS7, or if they'll continue a dual approach. I would hope they adopt the hybrid fully like Nintendo, but they have a bad habit of not fully backing secondary hardware. It would, however, benefit from 3rd party games optimizing for NS2 anyways. But without compelling 1st party, and more 3rd party coming to NS2 than ever before, combined with Nintendo's exclusive lineup, how appealing will it really be?

I could see them developing all their 1st party for the handheld also. But their Steam sales indicate there isn't much mass appeal beyond those who are already PS fans. And since I doubt it'll have detachable controllers with tabletop mode, we're talking a device that's strictly a handheld with an optional dock purchase similar to Steamdeck.

I see that as the most compelling potential alternative to NS2, though I personally would never choose such a device over NS2. And with prices for hardware higher than ever, Idk how many would buy both a NS2 and PS6P. I think most casual gamers who are into PS prefer the home console experience with as much graphical fidelity as possible, and won't want a next-gen PS that's weaker than their base PS5.

So, really the alternatives to NS2 thin out pretty fast. If Nintendo can continue to offer Mario Kart bundles each Christmas and discount them to $450 that'll be a hard purchase to resist for many, I think. Especially as the library fills out with Gen10 Pokemon, new Fire Emblem, new Splatoon, new 3D Mario, new Smash Bros, etc.

Another factor that confuses the dialog: taxes. Or more precisely, whether a given country uses a VAT that comes "included" in the price, versus a Sales Tax that isn't. At least some of the inevitable "games are ridiculously cheap in the US" outcry comes from apples-to-oranges comparisons where the foreign price includes VAT lumped in, while the US price conveniently or accidentally leaves out sales tax.

Lesson for everyone whose not a US resident: US retail prices don't include taxes. Why? Because sales tax varies by state and even municipality, and thus can't be a part of a standardized retail listing. However much you might be used to one standardized tax rate applied across your entire country, that is not how its done in the US, or even how it ever could be done.

@metaphysician
That's true. And some states, like Montana, have no sales tax.

In Wisconsin where I live, it's 5.5% for state sales tax. Basically $5 on every $100 spent. Or to be exact, $3.84 on a $70 game.