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

@rallydefault Plus TotK Switch 2 edition. Other Switch 2 editions also but I don't really count the others since they include true DLC.

Plus most countries add tax beforehand instead of after so the new 'standard' price for games like Bananza is often closer to (the equivalent of) $80 rather than $70.

@OmnitronVariant
Ok, lets go back to the thread topic then. In your literal first post in this thread and on this site you said that you have a Steam Deck and would rather play games on that because they run better on Deck. I have a Deck, this is not the case. Yes, you can turn the dials up to 11 in handheld mode on Deck in portable mode and eek out a performance victory but Switch 2 has DLSS, which closes the gap in my experience, and additionally can boost much further when docked. So I don't agree with this statement. Deck has it's advantages sure, but being better hardware than Switch 2 is not one of them, it's just straight up wrong to say this

Secondly, the comparison here is on price. Street Fighter 6 I purchased on Steam during a sale at the end of last year for $50AU. As it happens it's currently on sale on Steam again for $47AU. The regular price though? $62.95AU. Which is what it's currently selling for on Switch 2 and, one assumes, it will at some point go on sale there also. You mentioned specifically Fantasy Life i, on Steam it's $91AU while on Switch 2 it's (gasp) $94.58AU, a whole $3.63AU more to be exact, the price they're charging for the Switch 2 upgrade. I wouldn't class this as a slam dunk victory for what you're saying here

Lastly, you then went on to say that "MKW feels extremely undercooked and phoned in" and that "DKB might be a polished Nintendo game but just like the console and MKW it’s highly iterative". And I'm just sitting here thinking what on earth are you smoking here. I mean sure, is Mario Kart World the best and most revolutionary Mario Kart ever released? Maybe not. I'd probably give it like.... an 8.5? It's Mario Kart, what can I say. But DK is probably a 9 or 9.5. Of course sure, it's art, it's subjective. But I feel at this point you're just.... straight up incorrect and just trying to get a rise out of people

I'm not even defending Nintendo's pricing policy here, hell in my posts above I've said as much. All I've been saying to "defend" Nintendo here is that you could do a hell of a lot worse in terms of game per dollar than buying DK. And for Switch 2 generally, first party pricing excluded, the pricing is pretty much in-line with every other platform in any case. Value in gaming is more a question of finding decent deals on games you actually want to play more than the RRP structure of platforms and how fast you can fill your collection

also, while I'm here

argumentum ad logicam

clears throat Ignoring the arguments...It's just a fact that games are gonna go up in price regardless. Anyways...for me...I save a bit of money going used and Ebay is a great place for that. I can find a game for less than the price I would see elsewhere. Like Walmart.

Granted...I recently bought a PS4 slim fo about $113 but that's for the sake of having a durable Blu-ray player on hand.

But for me...the best way to save money is to just be flexible. Plus, use eBay if possible. Nobody has to but if you're looking for a game but don't want to break the bank...well...there you go. Though my advice tends to lean towards the simple logic.

Discussion closed folks, pack up your feelings and go out into the world and vote with your wallet!

But fun aside, gaming is dirt cheap today. Backlogs are huge, deep deep sales of thousands of games are constant (we're just out of a big sales event and there are still over 1.300 games on sale on the European Nintendo eShop) and you only pay premium (base price) because of your day one FOMO. It's on you. Even Nintendo 1st party games get discounts eventually.

As for Switch 2 games: I paid like 30 Euros for MKW in the bundle and it will be played until the end of Switch 2 which is still far far off. DKB is fantastic value for money, already in my top 10 best and longest played Switch games (of about 250 titles). And I don't chain myself to either physical or digital, it's about the games themselves. So for digital, which should be cheaper anyways, it's only 10 Euros more from Switch 1 base price. At the same time you find more of N‘s first party games on sale or used as a physical version, so it makes sense to mix it up accordingly.

If you like a system and the games that are on it you can get a lot of mileage out of it for reasonable money. And if there are too few games for you yet and not enough on sale: it's brand new, just two months old. Honestly, what do you expect? Why did you buy at launch?

@FishyS
Yea, TotK, true, forgot about that one. But man, if any game was ever “worth” 80 bucks, that would be the one lol

@OmnitronVariant
What is a reasonable price for you and why? How do you even determine that for games you haven’t even played? You are an enigma wrapped in philo dough lol

@OmnitronVariant
Yea, the Steam refund is nice. I've used it a few times. I try not to hedge on it, though.

Well, you seem pretty set in your ways, but dang - you really are missing out on Bonanza. It's a spectacular game, will probably end up being one of the best of the generation.

I wasn't the one who made the comments I was responding to. You made them, I'm simply replying to them. The topic is how do we feel about the price of first party Nintendo games. I said already I don't like paying more. I agree I don't like Nintendo's refund structure

But my argument is that their pricing isn't really that out of line with other platforms. That third party games don't really get a Switch 2 tax. And that value in gaming is more a function of being smart with how you spend than what the sticker price is

I wouldn't class a game that engaged me enough that I not only finished it but wanted to keep playing post credits as "derivative". And even if it was who cares if it draws me in like that. DK is sitting at 91 on Metacritic, so 9s and 10s, I'd say that's about right. If a 9/10 isn't worth this price then nothing is. And a whole lot of games sell for this price

And some are cheaper on the eShop while others don't exist on Steam. Not sure what your argument is here. Same deal with the some games don't have Switch 2 editions or the Switch 2 edition isn't well written. In some instances Deck will be the better, cheaper or only place to play it, in others the Switch 2 will be the better, cheaper or only place

But Switch 2 is the better piece of hardware and, notably, is where the Nintendo published games live. Im not selling my Deck to be clear, it has a place, for example PC is still perplexingly still the only way for me to play Bayonetta in 4K. But like for like, all things being equal, games are better on Switch 2. And you're not paying more for this

Of course they're not always equal, Switch 2 is still new and we need to wait for ports and enhanced versions. Some of which will never come. On PC you can just force the higher settings, to the detriment of performance of you want. But still, there are already several games where we already have decent versions on Switch 2. Street Fighter 6 for example, I wish I had just waited for the Switch 2 version but now I'm stuck with the inferior Deck experience

So I'm perplexed by your insistence that Deck is somehow the trump card for this discussion on game pricing and value. It's almost as if you are still stuck in the Deck vs Switch contest and are incapable of re-evaluating your views

My wallet says my backlog is so large I don't need any more games, but my heart wants the 2 upcoming Kirby games as well as like 20 upcoming indies and third party games. And whatever Mario 40th game we get. 🤔 And maybe Pokemon. And the new Splatoon spinoff. And Rhythm Heaven. And the 265 older games in my wishlist 😆

I'll say one thing for Nintendo's game pricing; it's doing a very good job of offsetting any FOMO that I might be having from not having a Switch 2.

Seriously, a generational price hike is only to be expected but, where for most countries it's only been about 15-20%, it's working out at more like 40% in Australia, which sucks really badly. For example, Xenoblade X DE cost me $68 in March, but as of now I'd be paying $98 for DKB, after shopping around for the best launch discount. That's one hell of a hike for two releases four months apart, and DKB isn't even in the highest price tier for the Switch 2.

I just can't see myself getting a lot of games at that price, and while a lot of PC releases cost around that a launch, I can usually get a big discount on them by waiting a few months, and maybe pay a quarter the price in a couple of years. Most of what I've played this year came on GamePass, the Humble Bundle or as a freebie on the Epic Store, for what it's worth.

Nintendo just don't do those kind of discounts and they've been steadily closing off most of the other ways you might pick up a bargain, like gold points and vouchers, too. If I'm not going to buy something a launch, I probably won't ever, and it's not terribly conducive to getting me to step outside my comfort zone either.

@Matt_Barber
Yeah, they do be more expensive. I just don't quite understand the dooming and suggestions that the grasses are greener on other platforms. And I certainly don't agree with the wild takes like "BotW plays better on Switch OLED" or "DK Bananza is a derivative game" cope takes @OmnitronVariant is pushing

It's expensive, the price hike hurts, and I'll be getting less software as a result. But in a relative sense I don't think the Switch 2 is a "bad value" platform. My hope is that we see some mid-budget games to fill that space, I would hope that Kirby Air Ride is closer to around the $80AU range

@FishyS Oh yes, the Kirbys! The Star-Crossed World upgrade is already pre-ordered and Air Riders sits firmly on my wishlist since it's been announced. I never played the original which many say is rather mid, but I cannot imagine Sakurai cooking up anything less than spectacular. Then there is Prime 4, and yes the potential of a Mario 40th surprise or Splatoon Raiders – which is a 'maybe' for me as I'm not into the main series, but as an adventure game it might be great – and also Indies like Well Dweller or The Eternal Life of Goldman. What the heart wants it wants. 😉

And yes, my wallet knows i like my games.

So to come back to prices, the increase is certainly felt, but first party releases are stretched out far enough (especially as some I have no interest in e.g. Hyrule Warriors, Splatoon mainline) to not hurt too badly in the greater scheme of things. Including all my first parties Deku Deals still says I paid less than 50% off of base price on average per game.

I feel the impact of increased prices far more when shopping for groceries and everyday stuff. I also think there is a transference going on, of peoples' overall frustration turning onto a big enough and clear cut target like Nintendo. It's seeping into your hobby and the price per item is just higher and more visible. But people don't turn on the many small, but more significant cuts. I don't see people having endless discussions about stuff like Kerrygold butter being double in price from just a few years ago. But maybe I just don't lurk around Kerrygold forums all that much … 😆

Yes I have a weak Celeron laptop I paid 50 pounds for it. It is a HP stream with 11" 720p screen. The battery lasts up to 18 hours (on economy settings, 70% brightness and browsing) but still offers a good 4-5 hours gaming but of course its not powerful, its only got 4GB of memory and the GPU performance is less than Switch 1 in portable mode, its about 120 Gflops. In CPU performance its probably 3-4x more powerful than Switch. It's based on a Celeron N4120. It runs loads of PC games well just you are restricted to older AAA titles or less demanding modern games i.e. indie games. I tried running Fallout 4 on it with a low resolution, low detail and it is too slow maybe 10-12 fps. Skyrim probably represents the most ambitious game it can play well. It can emulate at full speed up to Gamecube with some wii games at full speed but most below. It still plays 99% of PC games just not the big ambitious titles from the last 4-8 years.

There are lots of PC options for playing games on the move but a laptop is not a handheld device it needs to be set down somewhere and a joypad attached but I went for a walk and setup my laptop on a picnic table for a while and gamed in the past for about 1 1/2hrs before moving on.

I do also kinda wonder how the demographics of this whine skew. Because for me as a mortgage holding, full time worker not only do I not have the time to play ALL the games but an extra $30 for a game every few months is a rounding error. Even crazier, this year because interest rates are going down lets just say the improvement in my cashflow this year easily covers the price of a game

To be clear, I still budget for it and I'll still buy less games if games get more expensive as a result. But it's kinda hard to understand the complete meltdown from some over this. I would assume that a High School student who works after school at KFC a couple of days a week would feel a bit differently

Yes, we should prioritize what is most important to us! And good grief you really need extra for traveling these days. Price increases are much more substantial across the board in travel (flights, accomodation, food at restaurants and in general) compared to games/gaming, although harder to track because there is more movement and spread across the separate items.

I started (playing Nintendo) with the Game Boy too back in 1989, but for me it's still the same company and Switch/Switch 2 feels closer to the Nintendo from back then than like say the Wii era (which I skipped entirely because all the gimmikery did not appeal to me). I don't want to devalue it or talk you out of your experience/perception, but looking back on something is always also mixing it up with your whole experience of life at the time. That's nostalgia, which often centers around experiences from childhood and early adulthood because that time has usually been so much more carefree. That carefreeness then often gets conflated with the things we've done, played, watched, listened to during that time. That's also why people often get disillusioned with things in later life. So this might not be (entirely) on Nintendo, all in all they are still the same company as back then. Game Boy also was a premium toy and many of their first party titles were not exactly glittering gold.

Yes, absolutely. Overall sentiment seems to have changed quite significantly too to the time when I started playing games. It's hard to deny, that over the past decades we have been trained to expect everything to be available to us instantly and cheaply (or for "free" -> attention economy). Nintendo largely prioritizing quality (finished and complete games on release) while protecting their intellectual property (instead of chasing after quick engagement) and having a certain integrity / conservatism in regards to pricing (not devaluing their games by frequent and steep sales, raising their prices in relation to overall cost increases while keeping their talent around instead of chasing them out the door after a project is finished) runs counter to this. I don't think they do everything perfectly, but I respect and overall like what they are doing.

And to circle back to demographics: me and many of my peers (during school and uni days) sometimes really had to scrape to keep playing games. Which sometimes meant selling stuff off to get something new or simply being patient and waiting to snag something up used or on sale. Or borrowing/lending games – which Nintendo introduced on a system level this generation and which it seems hardly anyone mentions.

Which brings me to, hey @OmnitronVariant: Sorry to drag you into this again, but why not just borrow DKB from your friend for an evening or two and get some first hand experience? It's easier than ever and you won't have to pay anything or go through a refund process … or endlessly circling discussions on NL. The game has a very visceral feel to it, which you do not get from just watching it.

I don’t know how many people have this option but I know that in some towns the local libraries have switch games for rent with your library card of course just like how you check out books.

For those in the UK, because this will mean nothing outside it, but I just found out that you can earn Nectar points on the Nintendo shop purchases (digital and physical). You would need to use the Nectar link from your account each time though, so remember that!

You can get 6 points per pound for Software purchases, which is actually decent. By comparison, Sainsburys gives 1 point per pound and E-bay gives 2 points per pound.

https://www.nectar.com/brands/192368

That is a hefty wedge of Nectar points you can, in turn, use against the cost of a game in Argos/Currys/Ebay etc. I got my Switch 2 for just 62 pounds thanks to all the points I had saved up, which were mostly from regular shopping at Sainsbury's.

A fairly good gold coin replacement for those that use this. Not quite as generous, and sadly does not extend to 3rd party titles I would think, but better than nothing.

I don't mind the high prices of S2 games as Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza have been pretty decent. Both games have had me coming back to play more and more, though I must reluctantly admit I am getting a bit "bored" of them now, MKW is still loads of fun to play online in Knockout mode and in DKB I'm still grinding trying to get ALL bananas.

High game prices are the reason why I always buy physical, that way if I don't like the game or complete it and then get a bit bored with it as it has nothing more to really offer, then I can sell it on, get about 90% of my money back and use the money to buy another game. I just can't bring myself to spend £50-£80 on a e-shop game in case I don't like it and I'm stuck with it with no way to get money back, so I always buy physical.

Most recently I paid £60 for Kirby Star Crossed World, it was a lot of fun but I found it too easy and kind of short, I finished the whole game inside a week, now it doesn't really have much replay to offer me so I'm selling it and saving the money probably for Kirby Air Riders.

Cost isn't really an issue for physical titles because as I've said you can always get your money back, its digital prices that are the problem, I feel they should be a lot cheaper than physical.

I think the ideal price. Should be 19.99 or less for most games the only games that should be higher are the ones that are higher quality like the Mario’s and Zelda’s and maybe Pokémon.

I agree. Could we actually aim for 10 dollars? And then maybe like 30 for stuff like Tears. Maybe.