Topic: So how do we feel about the base price of first party games?

@Jhena
Honestly that whole wall of text was just pedantic waffle. The thread is about the standard price of games going up, we agree there's good reason for them to go up. You pointing to specific examples where one title was priced higher or lower doesn't change the fact that on the whole game prices has to go higher

In terms of pricing of games on the PS5? Ok, I'll bite. You say that Mario Kart World is overpriced while PS5 games are good value while being "a generation ahead". Well ok then. I don't know German pricing but let's talk Australian pricing. So I pay $110-120AU for a game on Switch 2, on Switch games were $80-90AU. Let's look at how much some new PS5 games cost in Australia: $110AU, $100AU, $140AU. There are even super deluxe editions for $200AU which I'm ignoring here. Are there cheaper games on PS5? Sure. Some titles are closer to $70AU but.... that's also true on Switch 2

You could make the arguement that Switch 2 games are slightly more expensive here than PS5 games. Especially if you do comparisons to equivalent titles. But those equivalent titles on PS5 are a couple of years old now eg Street Fighter 6 is around $5 more on Switch 2 than PS5. For new games it's much of a muchness

Of course thses prices are still significantly higher than they were on Switch. No question. But I don't think the higher price is unjustified or coming from nowhere. And I certainly wouldn't describe it as a scam

@skywake
We both agree, that gaming prices have to go up at some point. Everything becomes more expensive and games are often more ambitious, than they were before. But I still see no real answer, why it has to be such a drastic increase now. All you mentioned to me were things which always happened prior.

I respect, that you would not describe it as scam.

Here in the UK I've already seen heavy discounting of third party games for Switch 2 probably strongly related to being on game key cards. This is rather annoying to me as generally I buy very little or no third party multi-platform titles on Nintendo consoles and just buy first party or exclusive titles and the first party titles are clearly holding their value much more and often costing more. I seem to remember in the past perhaps Nintendo 64 you had first party exclusive titles being more reasonable but third party titles like Turok were really expensive but the cost of cartridges for third party publishers/developers was very high so they were forced to increase their pricing especially as Turok was a big game. I actually prefer this scenario for how I game on Nintendo consoles.

It is what it is though. It all depends on your commitment to the Switch 2 as a platform. Some people will be happy to pay high prices and some will be more reluctant. As I'm mainly a PC gamer I see that as my primary platform and the value of games there can be incredible because there are billions of pc gamers so development costs are shared much wider across retail prices. It's a much more competitive landscape too. At the end of the day though games are priced as the publishers want them to be priced and you have to make a decision if that is acceptable to you and if that makes the hardware purchase justifiable. This will relate to your disposable income or just how much you want to spend on gaming. Nothing we write here will change game pricing of first party titles. I would say the pricing is too high for first party titles for me. However I tend to come in later when there are secondhand offers, bundles etc. Secondhand bundles typically have the best value and I will keep an eye on ebay auctions. My Switch Lite cost me 64 pounds, my OLED Switch a recent purchase just under 100 pounds. Some of my Switch cartridge games came with a purchase of a standard Switch model in the past which was about 125 pounds. I absolutely love my Switch Lite and that is my primary Switch console though.

My point is even if Switch 2 pricing is unacceptable to you just wait for offers, discount codes, auctions etc to keep pricing low. I've never bought a single new Switch cartridge game or any Nintendo digital content at all. I think one of the micro SD cards in one of my Switches is just 16GB as its mainly just adding to the main memory for game saves and the few free things you can get from Nintendo that are worth playing. Some of the free content is micro transaction online games which are multi-platform and free to use online with PC and Android. So no point paying for a Nintendo online subscription.

@Jhena
It's all good, man, we're just talking about games, not life and death lol

@rallydefault
Yes, I agree, it is just entertainment. I hope you have a great weekend.

@BonzoBanana Retailers are making things somewhat more manageable, still expensive but Argos and Currys had a deal where if you bought the console you could get physical DK for £55 meanwhile Amazon reduced the standalone physical prices of MK and DK to £64 and £60 respectively (RRP physical prices were £75 and £67).

Legends Z-A you can use the trick where you buy physical Switch 1 version for £43 and if you want the Switch 2 upgrade you can get it off the eshop.

There is ALWAYS a way to save on game and hardware prices. Always.

Whether it’s loyalty/membership deals at places you shop all the time, buying gently used from game stores or eBay, Amazon, trading in old stuff you know you won’t play anymore, or just being patient for routine sales… if you’re paying full price for games or hardware, you’re either being impatient or you’re not concerned with spending the extra money.

I don’t know the last time I bought a game or console at full price. That includes my Switch 2 and its games so far.

When I was a kid games for the Spectrum were £2 most of the time, with premium titles very very really hitting £14.99..

From there to Megadrive/SNES it shot up where nearly all games were £40, what a blooming Scam, surly they should be £2 till the end of time......

Prices for the games in Canada I’m not too happy about, I bought DK for $99 but MKW is $109.99 and TOTK Switch 2 Edition is $114.99

From the real life: A guy that sell hi tech and videogames at Mediaworld told me that the prices are incredibly high on switch 2 games, and that switch 1 games cost was very much lower. I see It’s not a small increase between switch 1 and switch 2 games (let’s say 5 euro), no no, it’s much more, and the perception in there even for the seller, is something out of the common proportions. Today, both, the client and the seller, if they see 90 euro for Mario kart or 80 for DK they may think the same about the Nintendo prices: the appeal is lowered when watching the retail prices. The moment I took in my hand a 90 euro Mario kart at mediaworld to check the price, I can’t forget what I felt. I put it back on the shaft with care, not willing to ruin whatever has become in my mind after this transformation.

Nintendo, couldn’t you have been satisfied with a small price increase? Did you really have to go that far?

I remember those days but it was games like Elite that I played most and that was £14.99 but still enjoyed many £1.99 and £2.99 budget games. Truth be told in the PC space such low pricing is still a thing. I saw an offer for a Switch game for £12.99 on a deals site and thought that looked good but I checked what it would cost on steam and it was $2.99 for a key which is maybe £2.60 and the steam version looked like 2 generations beyond the Switch version with far superior graphics and features. That is the trouble really as probably 70-80% of my steam library was less than 5 pounds I would guess and my epic library has not cost me a penny. I just do the free game thing every Thursday or Friday plus all the bonus games at Christmas. It's a lot of filler but there are good titles in there like Fallout, GTA V, Bioshock collection etc that cost nothing. In fact a lot of those games on Epic that I got free do have Switch versions and the Switch versions are generally a little bit inferior overall despite being less ambitious games and while many are still relatively cheap on Switch some are actually closer to 20 pounds or more.

While Nintendo software pricing can be a bit of a shock for PC gamers especially for more minor titles the real issue for me is Steam games seem to be yours to keep long term. All the games I bought on steam are still available to play and I've been with steam a long time. That is not my experience for Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft or even Android. In fact Android might be one of the worse as some older gamers are not compatible with modern Android operating systems so just won't appear in your library anymore. It just feels to me if you buy a game on Steam its actually yours long term. Steam also make efforts to help you run older PC games on modern hardware. I love the way steam does digital rights management compared to other providers. It is always my preference to buy games off Steam really.

@BonzoBanana
Just wanted to tell you, that I really enjoy reading your posts. I think I can understand now, why pc gaming is so popular.

Remember you can't unplug your PC and expect to go gaming on the go without no place to plug in.

I mean... laptops exist.

If you want a hot lap then sure by any means you can BBQ on it and do some weight training.

Who actually puts their laptop on their lap? Tables exist.

Also, if you want something truly comparable, handheld gaming PCs exist. They weren't very user friendly back when the Switch came out in 2017, but you can weigh up the pros and cons of the latest ones versus the Switch 2 and it's a comparison that could go either way.

I'm the same, apart from the initial try of MKW and the later dabbling with DKB I haven't touched mine either, I'm wondering whether to sell it on or just wait until we have some proper games for it and as far as game prices go, don't get me started on that one.

@OmnitronVariant
Why did you even buy a Switch 2 in the first place? lol

You sound like a PC gamer, which is awesome, but yea... why spend so much money to buy a console you knew you would only use for first-party games, and you knew the schedule of first-party releases just like the rest of us? It's always been one or two first-party releases every month or two for like... ever... so why act so surprised right now that it's just been MK World and Bonanza for the first two months? (If you don't wanna count Welcome Tour... which I don't blame you haha)

As it happens, it is truly unique. The price hurt me to pay, but the game is Nintendo creativity and polish at it's best so I don't regret buying it.

Note that I didn't buy Mario Kart so Bananza is effectively my first Switch 2 exclusive. For me, I don't have a deck or a gaming PC, so the value of Switch 2 is high for the mix of first and third party.