Topic: Well are you going to buy one at launch?

I’m just going to rant for a minute, because I do want to get the Switch 2 though not really excited about Mario Kart. It’s really games like Hitman, Cyberpunk etc which I like to play. But other than the day pre-orders went live in the uk, which I missed, I haven’t seen any other batches come up. I know most of Vietnam stock is going to the U.S. and I believe most consoles are made there so I’m kinda hoping we aren’t being shafted. Anyway, that’s me ranting for now. Probably do more rants as weeks go on.

I’m leaning towards yes, but on the fence only because the launch isn’t strong for me personally, as I don’t care about Mario Kart. I’d need confirmation of MP4 release date and a couple heavy third party games to be pushed for a day one purchase. The launch year itself looks strong though, so it’s a matter of time for me regardless.

yuppp i am. i honestly do not mind the price, even though it got a large eyeroll from me. like, with the specs and the base idea of the switch (handheld and TV?) i think people are forgetting how much nintendo really put into this. it does seem like they are very reluctant to move on from their switch 1, but i think itll work out in the end. i think theres a lot we dont know abt the games that could justify the price too. and of course, i cannot resist the temptation of finally playing prime 4 120fps on a nice-to-hold console. NOT SKIPPING 😛😛😛 and also backwards compatibility rly helps.

@Dogorilla
But what I’m saying is that the prices do seem to reflect the content. DKC Returns and Mansion 2 offer dozens and dozens of hours of gameplay, easily, and even more for completionists.

And the dev time thing always amuses me. How do we know how much time and effort it took? All we can do is look at the game and judge, which is roughly similar to looking at a bird and guessing how fast it’s really going.

@rallydefault Yeah, dev time is mostly just guesswork, but I think it's a fair bet that Metroid Prime Remastered took at least as many resources as DKC Returns HD and Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, and yet it's cheaper. I do agree Donkey Kong has a good amount of content, but a better example would be stuff like Kirby Star Allies and the Mario sports games costing the same amount as Mario Odyssey and the Fire Emblem and Xenoblade games. Obviously everyone will get a different amount of value out of a game (some people might list ARMS as an example of a game lacking in content, but I've played it for 80 hours and not got 100%), but it's clear that the amount of content in a $60 Nintendo game can differ wildly.

So I guess my point is, like skywake said, the answer to 'Why is the Metroid Prime remaster cheaper than the Donkey Kong/Luigi one?' is 'Because more people will buy Donkey Kong/Luigi' - or in other words, to maximise profits. Which means if you ask 'Why is Mario Kart World $80?', the obvious answer to a lot of people will be 'Because Nintendo knows people will buy it anyway' - or in other words, to maximise profits. Nintendo might want us to believe it's because of the amount of content in it or how expensive it was to make, but the evidence from their own pricing history doesn't support that.

And to be clear, I'm not necessarily saying Mario Kart World isn't worth the asking price. We can't know if it is until we've played it, and I could easily see myself getting plenty of value out of it when I do eventually get it. Same for Donkey Kong Bananza. I'm just saying I can understand why people are sceptical of Nintendo's statement that Switch 2 games are being priced according to their amount of content/value.

Not enough exclusives I care about to win me over at the moment.
Mario Kart World is neat, but at the end of the day it's still Mario Kart, which I am not crazy about.
Metroid Prime 4 is more my speed, but it's going to be cross gen so I can pick that up on Switch 1. (Plus I still want to play Metroid Prime 2+3 first)
Hyrule Warriors is meh in my opinion. Wake me up when the real Zelda drops.
Donkey Kong Bananza looks amazing, but that's the only exclusive that has really turned my head, which doesn't really justify the console for me.

I've got more than enough to tide me over between 3DS, SteamDeck, and Switch.

@Dogorilla
Youre not wrong. I just don't get why some people act so surprised by it.

All businesses have a goal of maximizing profits. Not running a charity. Metroid Prime Remastered cost less because it's less popular, ergo, a lower quantity demanded at $60. So they can either make less revenue from selling fewer copies at that price, or lower the price to increase quantity demanded. They still make less due to a lower revenue on each copy sold, and it's probably a tie for total revenue overall regardless of which way they go, but the lower price helps get it into more peoples' hands and strengthen the Metroid brand, which it needed.

Its all demand curves (supply isnt an issue unless overproduced), quantity demanded at various price points and finding the exact price for each game with the maximum revenue from R = PxQ_d. They estimate those demand curve equations to then construct the Total Revenue equations, then use basic calculus to find the maximum revenue setting the derivative equal to 0 and solving. Macroeconomics 101.

Since Quantity Demanded, Q_d, is a function of Price, P, then...

dR/dP = Q_d + P(dQ_d/dP)

Set equal to zero and solve...

Q_d + P(dQ_d/dP) = 0

The solution is the price you set. It's just mathematics.

@Jam777
I'm seriously asking you. Why? It's a great game. It's a great game with tons of content and replay value. Visuals were spruced up. So why is it worth less? Just because of its age?

@Dogorilla
I don't know why people on this board can't understand this: Metroid is not a huge franchise for Nintendo. Not the same as Donkey Kong or Luigi's Mansion. They knew they wouldn't sell as many Prime Remastered, especially if they put a higher price on it.

@Poco_Lypso The only reason 3rd party games "cost more" on Switch and Switch 2 is because they're usually late ports that have been available for a while on other platforms, and thus have received sales and price drops. If you're willing to wait a bit the price on Switch will drop and fall in line with the other platforms.

New games launching day and date (such as Borderlands 4) will cost the same across all platforms.

@JaxonH That's true, but people don't like feeling ripped off. Especially in an age where you can get indie games with dozens of hours of content for a fraction of the price of a AAA game, it comes across as cynical when major publishers are charging more for games just to make more money. And as you say, that's business, it's almost inherently cynical. But I can understand people being annoyed by it.

As I've said before, personally I can't justify buying a new console right now when the games for it are so much pricier than I'm used to, and that's what most people's complaints boil down to really. I think this may turn out to be one occasion where Nintendo's maths has failed them and they'll end up losing sales because people aren't willing to pay $80 for games, but maybe I'm wrong. It'll be interesting to see how the Switch 2 does over the next few years!

@rallydefault Yeah, that's what I said.

@Dogorilla
Excellent, we are in agreement lol

Although you are definitely correct, it's also true that the donkey kong brand has shrunk during the Switch era and the Metroid brand has grown. And people have short memories... I had to remind someone on these forums recently that Donkey Kong isn't some small niche franchise and that not all that long ago it sold almost as much as Zelda. On Switch, Tropical Breeze sold 50% more than Metroid Dread which is more but not massively more. However, Luigi's Mansion 3 sold more than thrice Tropical Breeze. I realize Prime Remastered didn't sell too well, but we haven't seen dkc returns HD sales yet so I can't compare those two.

Of course, both franchises are about to get a boost... I'm guessing Metroid will get a medium boost in terms of popularity and DK will get a massive one, but you never know.

@FishyS
Come on, man - when you're talking 3 or 4 million, 50% more means a lot lol

Like, another 1.5-2 million a lot.

So you pretty much demonstrated the point. Even with only Tropical Freeze representing the DK brand until very recently on the Switch, a remaster from the Wii U outsold a brand-new 2D Metroid game. That tells the whole story right there.

Obviously. But the same wasn't true for other transitions where they then sold remasters at full retail. The Wii U could read Wii discs yet we still were sold Twilight Princess HD at full retail for people who had the original disc for example

Also as someone who DID have a Wii U and most of its big games it didn't matter the technical issues. The value proposition of all those Wii U ports on Switch was still wonky. Some of them I double dipped on (Kart, 3D World, Bayonetta) others were a tough ask (New SMB U, Wonderful 101, Captain Toad). If they had all been either free patches, naturally BC or a small fee? I would've probably moved them all over

My point wasn't to talk about the technical hows and whys. My point was the raw value proposition for rebuying games. All of these games are worth the asking price if you are new to the game. Period. Where it falls apart is for people who want to revisit where full retail is a big ask. The pricing structure of Switch 2 Enhanced Editions largely solves that. I do think some of these games should probably have a discounted base price at this point, but the broad structure is good

I did say I agreed with you so you don't have to try to prove me wrong. My only real point was that DK during the Switch era was a lot smaller than it has been sometimes in history and Metroid has been at it's peak. The two are a lot closer than they used to be. However Bananza may blow that trend out of the water, we'll see.

@FishyS
I know, but I'm stressing how big that gap is. It's crazy when you think about it: Tropical Freeze, a Wii U remaster that caught the usual amount of flak for being a "low-effort" remaster (don't need to get started on that lol), still handily outsold the first original big Metroid game in a long time. A return to 2D Metroid, at that! It's crazy.

Saying 'just a remaster/port' when talking about Wii U to Switch seems like a moot point. So were several of the top selling Switch games. Fundamentally only a tiny fraction of Switch owners ever owned a Wii U. You made a similar 'new to you' argument about a Wii port, but here Tropical Breeze was new to almost all Switch owners.

What I meant about the franchises growing or shrinking is that, given how big and entrenched of a franchise DK is, it did comparatively poorly on Switch so far. The only DK game on Switch for ages (a game which is one of the highest rated donkey kong country games) sold less than several previous donkey kong country games. Far from the least, but this is on the powerhouse which is the Switch.

Metroid dread on the other hand sold the most any Metroid game has ever sold (as has happened with a lot of franchises on Switch).

So sure, DK still sells well, but I would argue it has underperformed by Switch standards.

I just realized we are totally in the wrong thread for this discussion... whoops. Although it does relate to all the complaints by people saying 'why DK as a launch window game, we want Mario'. I think surprisingly many people (maybe especially younger ones?) don't seem to realize DK is a big franchise.

@rallydefault There was the big "Are 2D games worth $60?" debate when Metroid Dread was announced.

@FishyS
Oh yea, I'm all-in on those ports. I bought Tropical Freeze again even though I already had it on Wii U, and at full price. And I'd do it again if I had to - it's an awesome game, and I know I'd get another 30ish hours out of it, so that's money well spent in my opinion. I don't know if you think you're "catching" me in something there? lol

But that's exactly what I'm saying. DK at its lowest point still outsells Metroid at its highest point. End of story.

@Grumblevolcano
Ugh. I don't know where you stand on all these pricing issues, but that is seriously one of the dumbest things I've heard. 2D games are typically my favorites, and I tend to get more playtime out of 2D games. People are spoiled and have no concept of actual value. Or maybe I should say no concept of other people's concepts lol

And Nintendo is working to keep it that way. I think if not for Bananza and the Mario movie, the upward Metroid Trend might have passed the downward DK trend. Well... assuming Prime 4 does well which isn't guaranteed but certainly has a chance.