L.A. Noire Is The Latest Game To Fall Foul Of The Dreaded "Switch Tax"

Will still get it. It's third party support. Nintendo fans need to put their money where their mouth is.

I press "B" for Doubt.

The downside of cartridges unfortunately. The sooner we're rid of the physical/digital price parity the better.

if it's because of the larger than normal cartridge capacity, then the digital download version should be cheaper.

I wanted to go back and replay L.A. Noire at some point and this re-release seems like as good occasion as any. Still, I'm torn now between Switch version and Xbox version. Features exclusive to Switch sound really cool and they fit the design of the game, but then again having a sizeable graphical upgrade on Xbox is tempting as well. The price might also play a big part in decision making.

Anyone got any actual gameplay footage of this game? The advert maybe all in game footage, but all of it is FMV

I don`t care about the 10,~ still buy it day one. Nintendo Fans should support such games.

Pay more for no installation time. Plug and play.

However, if the digital version is same price then it is a rip-off( 🖕), nothing to do with cartridge cost.

I'm pretty keen on this - I'd far rather play LA Noire for the first time than revisit the Grand Theft Auto franchise. The portability is a great draw, too. As I have no interest in being tied to the TV, the Switch tax is just a necessary evil.

"could arguably be seen as the "definitive" versions of the game,"

You've done that just to wind me up, right? Cos I was being pedantic about the use of Definitive in the Rayman review...

Switch version has exclusive features, so the other ones are missing out and can't by definiton be called Definitive...

I was so happy when they announced that the Switch is a cartridge based system, if this is the "price" we pay for it, then I'm fine with that. Maybe it will get better in the future, when prices go down on those cartridges.

Eh, the die-hard cart collectors don't care. They're used to spending exorbitant amounts on something that'll gather dust for decades.

Hopefully the switch cartridge costs will come down in the near future.

I wonder if the additional cost is actual proper input/material cost, or if it's the Nintendo of the 80's/90's setting the cartridge price and publishers can only go through Nintendo to manufacture the cartridges.

Either way, you can't blame the publishers for their pricing.

$50! Whaaaa??? I thought as this was a re-release of an old game it wouldn't be a full price game. probably a stupid thought! I would love this game but if digital is cheaper than I would go for that instead

@Peach64 the sooner we get rid of physical the better.

I'll buy on cart no problem but digital downloads should always be cheaper no mater what system they are on

**bashes head against the wall**
THAT'S NOT SWITCH TAX! THIS WEBSITE IS DRIVING ME MAD!

It's only costing more because cartridges are more expensive to make than DVDs/BlueRays. The bigger the capacity is, the more expensive the cartridge will cost to make.

@lemonjellydude

You should get used to it by now. So many old games were sold at full retail price on Switch. Check out the price on the Eshop, the digital version cost more than the cartridge.

No doubt prices will come down eventually

$40 is bad enough.

Don't really notice the price chance to be honest. Most games cost 50 euro around here

Thank you Nintendo for tour stupid policy.

Funny enough I have yet to pick up the game on any system (even on pc which is my main gaming system) though getting the switch version when I get my switch is tempting. I will see what the fps on it first before I decide if I will get the switch version.

So what. For that extra 10 I get to play it anywhere.

I wonder why, though? I can't imagine the costs of producing a cart rather than a blu-ray being $10 more expensive per item. Perhaps it's just the first time Nintendo fans have had a chance to play the game, so they think people are more likely to pay full price? I don't know.

Either way I'm still going to get it.

Question: Why are there so many ports on Switch?
Answer: Because it's portable.

Question: Why are the games more expensive?
Answer: Because it's portable.

If the Switch version will not have enhanced/remastered graphics then there is not much reason to get in on the console. I'll stick with my copy on PC.

Switch owners need lovin' too. But they gotta pay!

No problem.

Besides that disparity, how can they get away with charging full price for a remaster of a game that's at best an interesting failure and at worst, utterly terrible.

Don't get the hype for this one. The Rockstar brand should not be treated as a seal of quality and remasters are not indicative of 3rd party interest in Switch.

Well that changes things for me. It's worth €20 max as a 6 year old last gen port. €50! Thats a very hard pass from me.

I guess now it won't sell and Rock* will be all like, 'but, why?'

"the Switch version has exclusive features such as motion control, HD Rumble and touch-screen crime-solving"
"Xbox and PlayStation editions have enhanced visuals"

Wait, and which did I just read are "arguably the definitive versions"? ¿:^l

Still buying it.

I'll gladly double dip for t LA noire. The extra ten bucks doesn't bother me.

@Jamotello @Joytendo22 @Nincompoop By that logic all digital games are rip-offs. You're not paying for manufacturing, shipping, storage. You're not paying a middleman, the retailer. Should all digital AAA games be €30 instead of €60? That way the publishers gets about the same from each purchase (probably still more from digital).

The issue with this is that brick-and-mortar stores disappear as soon as digital gets significantly cheaper. But once game lose their retail presence, sales will also go down. How many kids or gamers who don't keep up with the latest news in general walk into a store and buy a game without having heard about it before? All of that disappears. If that results in lower sales, and if we get more micro-transations to make up for the loss in sales, then I'm happy to keep the digital-physical parity alive as long as possible.

Sincerely what I cannot understand is how can it be even 40 on PS4 and Xbox. This should be 20 tops like sonic mania our resident evil revelations. I really want gtav on the switch and would pay 60 for it but I will not buy this one at this price

The game is a load of boring though. Should be £20 max.

The media is better than a disc, so you are simply paying for that. I would hate to have some sort of disc media for switch. I'll rather pay extra

@Joytendo22 Digital being cheaper than physical would ruffle the feathers of retailers like GameStop and the like, and no manufacturer wants that. Surely it's not the only reason, but there's that.

@gaga64 Well, he did say "arguably".

Frustrating, but whatever. I'll always prefer to get a title for a bit more money than not at all.

Never played the original, but I'm familiar with it, and I'm interested. Plus we need to support third party games on the switch, so I'm getting it.

Shopto.net have it up for £39.85

I'll most likely pick this one up. Looks good.

@readyletsgo I guess the price will discourage potential double-dippers, but as someone who has never owned or played the game, I'm okay with it. Switch's hybrid nature is a ticket to experiencing many various games even despite non-gamer-friendly lives and schedules, past gen games included - but I'd be quite a hypocrite if I wished for developers to go out of their way and make old ports only to sell them like old shoes from their closet.

And it frankly bugs me how this customer mentality implies some kind of expiry term and decay process for older games (or older anything in fiction, for that matter). The only legit thing that makes publishers put lower price tags on older games is usual market saturation with newer titles, but that doesn't mean an older game should just "lose value" with time like stale bread. Not to mention more hypocrisy observed in how some folks gleefully put old games on eBay for SEVERAL times the original price years later, and usually the only sufficiently crazy buyers to respond are collectors who might not ever unbox the treasured specimen, let alone play it. :V

@subpopz Lest we forget the N64 tax! I'm quite certain there were games (NFL Blitz, I recall specifically) that were in the range of $65 when I was a kid versus the usual $50 at the time. The nature of the Switch made carts a necessity, and the bigger they are, the more costly. As a consumer, I see the "Switch Tax" as a "play anywhere" tax, and it's one I'm happy to pay. I can see why others might not be, but from there your choices are to wait for a sale, or not buy it at all. The amount of whining about it from all directions is definitely getting tiresome.

Oh, and to be pedantic, carts do indeed still have loading, but it tends to be much faster than optical media and traditional HDDs.

I consider it the portable tax. In the past I would spend $100+ for a home console and portable version for a game, so an extra $10 is not going to kill me. That and it is LA Noire a game I can see myself spending a lot of time with on the go so to me worth it.

@Wexter And for the 98% that just leave it home the entire time, where is our discounted "non-portable version"? It's a home console, as per Nintendo. They'll be held accountable to that.

Oh right, it's on other platforms.

How old is this game? I remember playing it like what? 5 years ago? You could buy xbox 360 version for like 15 EUR sealed.
Truth be told, I wasnt really that impressed with it. Definitely a no no for me.

I'll still buy it, but I get the concern. I will however be preordering it on Amazon Prime to get the 20% off, so really it all comes out in the wash

@Menchi187 Then get it when it's on sale, I mean LA Noire is great but I don't recommend rushing out to get it. At the end of the day if you want to spend the extra $10 or not is up to you and the Switch has a glut of titles out right now so it is not there is a lack of choice.

Fine by me. It is a great game.

@Damo which may say something about said gamers' tastes, but little about "definitive" criterion, let's be honest here. Nothing wrong in liking or preferring better visuals on a personal level, but at the end of the day, games are INTERACTIVE fiction, and we aren't talking a movie remaster here (counterquip me about QTEs and Telltale games if you will, but my point still stands XD).

As for the features, I don't know about XBO, but I call DualShock 4 "Sony's most Nintendoesque controller" for a reason (and as a compliment, yes). It has gyro sensors for motion aiming (which alone, in my experience, tends to be a godsend rather than a gimmick when it comes to shooting), it has rumble, it has a clickable touchpad. You COULD implement similar features on it; which platform is better geared towards them may be a different question, yes.

@Wexter Nah I'll get it on a better platform for the game. Nintendo platforms have been the worst choice for the majority of multiplats for 20 years now.

I think it is annoying, but I understand it. However, when they price the digital version the same, I think that is completely unfair. The reason they do it, is retailers will kick up a fuss if the digital version is cheaper than the retail one. Still, I really want to support third-parties on this system so I will bite the bullet.

I'm sure this is on Steam for like a fiver. Decent game, but I'm not sure I'd pay full price.

Annoying, but them's the breaks. Still surprised this is coming at all, so hopefully it succeeds.

Trolololol!

Well it's Rockstar games, what did you expect? They're famous for overcharging their customers - not just on the Switch.

I remember paying £64.99 for ISS PRO 64....on the N64. While Saturn games and PS1 games were £40 This is not a new thing. Having said that Switch games seem to be holding value a lot more then other platforms so I guess you would get the money back in trade at a later date.

I haven't owned a Nintendo home console since the wii so I might be a bit out of the loop but Im aware of the strange pricing that occurs with some new releases. For example I got minecraft story mode for £20 for the physical but the eshop has it at £39.99 its all very confusing but Im getting used to it and its simple really if something is too expensive then I wont buy it@Nincompoop

@Octane @Jamotello @Joytendo22 @Nincompoop
"How many kids or gamers (...) walk into a store and buy a game without having heard about it before?"

In 1994, I'd say plenty !

Today people are connected and see games on YT/Switch/FB/Twitter every day. So the "blind buy" must have become quite an oddity.

@Damo You're probably right. Up to the user to decide which feature set they prefer. I'm just arguing (for the sake of arguing, probably) that exclusive features make any other version less "definitive".

But you did say "arguably" and put the word definitive in quotation marks, so it's kinda moot anyway.

I'm not losing my mind over $10.

@shani I thought rockstar was famous for free DLC and still updating a game that's 4 years old

Depends on the game. If it's a new game that demands my purchase, I'll tolerate it.

But a port/remaster such as this, particularly when I have an unplayed copy for PS3? No chance will I be considering this at anything like full price.

And ditto everyone else regarding eshop prices being the same price. Mickey taking.

Not a game I'm interested in, so won't pick it up either way.

"We'd imagine this is because L.A. Noire will have to be shipped on a larger-then-normal capacity game card" If this was implemented by NBA 2K18 in order for the entire game to fit in one cartridge, I'm curious as to how much the price increase would be.

@Jamotello Eshop is always more expensive than physical, so I doubt it.

@crackafreeze lol You got the reference.

@nhSnork It's kinda like when Earthbound was finally on the VC. People whined about paying 10 dollars, because "There is no scarcity on digital". Even though getting a SNES and Earthbound that is in working condition costs atleast $200. Granted I am someone who gets old games to collect. I was happy to play Earthbound on a system and not think about hooking up my snes.

This wont bother me. I'll support it if its good.

Eh, whatever. No big deal. Just wait till its used at gamestop while i play other stuff....

Meh. Better than this than having an NBA2K situation where I have to download additional data to my system. They're probably using a higher capacity card.

I would have preferred Capcom take this route with the Revelations duology. Ship both games on cart and just charge an extra $10 or so to cover the extra expense.

Unless we're talking a lot of enhancements, either price is too expensive. It should be $30 on XBO/PS4 and $40 on Switch.

There's no reason why a $60 release from 2011 should be $40+ in 2017. Games like Hellblade and Yakuza Kiwami have a lot more going for them and both launched at $30.

I think they were playing this on South Park once and Stan said it was poo haha

@Peach64 I agree, but as long as game companies are beholden to physical retailers, that won't happen. There's a reason steam prices are pennies on the dollar compared to console game prices.

The real question is, will it be an additional $10 for the physical version AND require an SD card?

Gaming at a premium. Not for me thank you. It's a fiver on PS3 that's why I love that console.

@Octane they are rip-offs. you do state a genuine benefit of the overpriced digital version, but it's an unintentional one. if companies find a way to gut that as well, they totally would.

Shopto and simplygames are my go to for physical purchases now, they never charge what the 'RRP' is.

@Noseyuk545 £39.85 makes the cost equate to $52.65 which is higher than what the article says on $50 for physical.

I think at this point if there really is an added cost for these higher capacity cards Nintendo should stop putting that burden on the devs who are in turn putting that on the players. The Switch is wildly successful at this point and Nintendo isn't selling it at a loss and I'm pretty sure they aren't selling the cards at a loss either, they can afford to make a little less off those cards in order to avoid these problems. That said I'll probably try to pick this up from somewhere that offers discounts for pre-orders/launch weeks. I never played it originally and it seems like it's really interesting.

Maybe if L.A. Noire does well on Switch, Rockstar might consider putting GTA V on. I don't think the Switch would be able to handle the PS4/XB1 versions, but I think it could do the PS3/XB360 versions.

@subpopz lol y'all NDFers crack me up. What are you going to shout next? Fake news?

@Arehexes "Even though getting a SNES and Earthbound that is in working condition"

This very much, too. Older systems can (and eventually will) go out of commission, ceased production means an ever increasing challenge to get a new replacement, backward compatibility seems like an increasingly rarer beast in itself these days... I understand publishers themselves if they do go for lower prices - it may have more to do with steady market saturation where any game will compete with a lot more titles several years down the road than at the time it premiered, - but later ports and remasters are nonetheless many people's chance to get and play an older game on modern, still relatively new, still supported and warranty-serviced hardware with still updated firmware. In many cases, without worrying about optical media's natural wear or used copies' "old battle wounds" either. In cases like Switch or portables, there's also the benefit of playing the game on the go at one's own pace.

So once again, indeed, are we customers QUITE in a position to demand that the industry provide all the aforesaid AND charge but a symbolic "upgrade fee" tip for it, even from gamers who didn't own past-gen consoles or weren't even old enough yet to play video games back when the respective old games first came out? How many of US would want to produce and sell something on conditions like that? I think if this were an omnipresent default mentality, we might have few to no ports/remasters/remakes to begin with. And I've seen many commenters who would probably rejoice at the prospect - before picturing the world where emulation is pretty much the sole barrier between many games and Vaporwareland.

@gatorboi352 if you insist on derisive abbreviations, being an "NDFer" in the internet mob's eyes still sounds more appealing than being an "FWPer".

I'll happily take the better visuals over portability and extra $10 cost.

This Switch tax is a problem, but I can't see any real way for Nintendo to fix it now.

additional $10 for a lesser version. Yes you can play it on the go... but still.

We're back to N64 situation again. Overpriced dated games was a reason why so many gamers switched to PS one at first place.

Well this is the closest game we'll get to a Grand Theft Auto on Switch so might as well get it for the support.

Finding with a lot of third parties I can get elsewhere now because of the Switch tax (and fact that a few are released later) I'll go elsewhere. Was certainly the case with Rime and Yooka Laylee, think it will be here too. Shame the manufacturing costs impact digital too with them having to match what goes on the store shelves, could easily be convinced to download if it was the same as the other consoles that way.

Still buying day 1.

Mediocre game. If Rockstar want to print cash then port the 360/PS3 version of GTA V.

@Joytendo22

Nintendo has a policy of matching the Day 1 digital price of games with the Day 1 retail price. It's to avoid pissing off retailers.

I'd rather not of course, but if it is a game I am interested in, then I have no issue in paying more due to the portability factor.

Same was said for the Wii U and it's off screen play factor (which is how I play my Switch, either docked, or off screen at home so to speak, as it's never left my house and I don't see that changing any time soon). On those rare third party games that we got I was happy to more if needed just purely because I could play it off screen. Same applies here.

@nhSnork God seeing the word "battle wound" reminded me how my PS2 has a borked A/V port. Or the PS3 controller issue I seem to have. Two consoles I own that hardly work now. Classic NES's will get wear and tear from proper use, carts having corroded contacts. Capacitors can blow out, and screens will rot from age (Like my Gameboy). Bit rot is a pain for optical media. Remastering old games for newer systems is no different then remastering a show on bluray for 60 bucks. Cost the same as when it was remastered for dvd when that was the new medium. It gives a way to keep enjoying our favorite things without worrying about failing hardware. But gamers are cheap and petty from what I noticed.

Big whoop.

Considering this is essentially on a handheld it's worth the extra price, but I will wait until I see a comparison video between the ps4 and Switch version before I decide which version.

"We'd imagine this is because L.A. Noire will have to be shipped on a larger-then-normal capacity game card"

Why is a news article "imagining" causes? Why is it not stating factual details rather than guesses and opinions?

Is it to "cost of the gamecard?" the internet has assumed for so long? Is it because it's a premiere release on the platform where the Playstation and XBox code bases already existed and they just the pretty them up? Is it because of the lower install base (by far) meaning supply & demand applies, and the Nintendo audience needs to pay a higher margin to make p for lower volume to make the equation work? Is it purely business that publishers know and it's been proven to work, that the Nintendo audience is more willing to pay a higher price for the same thing much like the Apple audience?

There's a lot of potential reasons for the pricing. That article later today may cover it, but if it does it better not be full of "opinion and observation" and better be full of hard, cold definitive answers from publishers saying "yes the card cost is the reason", and/or cost analysis of the cost differential for the total supply chain of manufacturing to distribution of physical media for the large cards versus discs. And if that difference is $10, my grandmother's a wagon.

@Dakt Haven't they been the same price so far anyways?

For $10 (or less), you can get a used copy of the game on PS3.

@gaga64 Definitive means conclusively the best version, it doesn't mean containing all content. Some people would argue the best looking and running version is the definitive version, other people would argue portable and motion is the definitive version, hence the word "arguably".

@Ralizah Just being curious here, how is it better? The main reason people are against downloading the extra data is because of the extra money involved if you have to buy a memory card. But the extra money on this cartridge is way more. $10 extra per game, compared to around $40 for a SD card that could hold dozens and dozens of games.

50 Dollars/Euros is definitely quite expensive for such an old game, new features or not.

@NEStalgia nicely put.

"Switch Tax" - that expression reeks of "Hey what will generate traffic? This will hit the spot!"

@MegaTen I was just playing Devil's advocate, I don't think they would double dip like that. If they did, that would be very terrible. Chances are slim though.

Playing this in handheld would be awesome, not to mention faster loading times. I already have this on pc so if I'm going to buy it again I'd get it in switch definately!

@BraveFencerZan
Not to mention a brand new Uncharted also just got released at $40. Definitely agree $50 is a bit pricey, but I will be buying it anyway.

@Alundra-1998 Brexit has made exchange rate so bad, had a look at Game and they have it up for £49.99, so at the moment Shopto.net are the cheapest in the UK.

I understand why it's a bit pricier, and I still think it's worth it for the advantages that cartridges provide, but it's extraordinarily irksome nonetheless.

@PorllM sorry, but I disagree. Dictionary definitions of "definitive":
1. (of a conclusion or agreement) done or reached decisively and with authority. (Synonymous with conclusive / final / absolute)
2. (of a book or other text) the most authoritative of its kind. (Synonymous with exhaustive / most complete)
3. (of a postage stamp) for general use and typically of standard design, not special or commemorative.

Of the 3 options, I'd suggest the second best applies to iterations of a video game - I.e. Most complete - as in contains the most of the available features. The Switch version has features the others do not, so they are arguably not "complete". Whether having improved graphics is better or worse than additional control options is a subjective judgement call.

I'm not saying the Switch version is definitive either (though whether the graphical enhancements count as a feature and not just a matter of presentation is up for debate - personally unless it has a higher FPS that noticeably improves the gameplay, I'd say not).

If I had a Switch, I would get this, that's all I know. Yeah, the extra money you have to shell out kind of sucks, but I kind of get why you have to do that. In time, I'm sure the Switch tax will go away.
I have it on PS3, and I enjoyed it (though it was flawed). I would get it again.

@Peach64 Disagree. Digital kills resale and longevity. I'm buying physical whenever possible.

A lot of assumptions with no facts in this article. Still, its 10 bucks more. I think I can afford that. How people join an expensive hobby and then try to be cheap about it is beyond me.

Happy to pay as long as the complete game is available on the cartridge. Portability and the fact that the game is stored on a high capacity memory card is more than worth the $10. We won't (or at least shouldn't) have to endure large patches or tedious installation processes either (unlike the console versions). Here's hoping that a port of GTA V is in the works too (imagine having that beast on the go!).

So sick of the complaining. Most retailers price all versions the same anyway, irrespective of the suggested retail price.

@gaga64 ok you're absolutely right there, I should have said conclusively the most complete version, not conclusively the best, but apart from that, you didn't really disagree with me at all lol. My point was neither could be conclusively argued to be the definitive version, which is exactly what the article said thanks to the word arguably, and seems to be what you're saying as well. Apologies for any confusion

@PorllM It's better in the long term. If LA Noire downloaded 20 GB or so to an SD card, that'd be a little less than 1/6 of the space on a 128 gb card gone, which could've been used for multitudes of other, smaller games. I would run out of space on the card much faster than if it they just used a higher capacity card (as seems to be the case), requiring me to switch SD cards or delete software on my Switch sooner.

Moreover, I prefer games to be complete on cart when I buy them, as it takes less time to download updates than additional data for the base game + updates (which also makes it cheaper on data plans that aren't unlimited).

Also, Amazon Prime and GCU discounts will negate the Switch tax anyway.

Finally, third party games tend to fall drastically in price over time anyway, making this a much cheaper option in the long run for a variety of reasons.

I'm ok with it, as I can take my Switch on the go or play at home, which you can't do with the other two. That gives me added freedom to game more often, which I am willing to pay a premium for. That being said, I'm sure many will not like the extra tax. But the Switch is a brand new system, with added functionality, so I expect a premium price.

Oh well... Pass. Not paying 50 for a straight port of LANoire. Just another Switch game Ill get used down the line.

Im not homeless, so still play mostly at home. Basically paying more for the inferior version at home just to have it on my 2hr commute makes no sense.

Rockstar should do with LA Noire what Tequilla works did with Rime:

1) The game should be $40 digitally
2) The physical version should come with a download code for the soundtrack CD for something like that

It doesn't bother me per se, but does affect my purchasing decision, regardless of whether it's more or less than the competition. At 30-40, it's likely an impulse buy; 50 and over though, makes me start wondering if I really want this game now or wait for later when/if it's on sale.

This doesn't phase me at all. Erm...now I am no economist, but when demand goes up, doesn't price go up?

https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/906053345206566912 this explains a lot

I'm sorry, but if you own an Xbox One (S or X) you're doing yourself a great disservice by purchasing the Switch version. Why wouldn't you want the graphically superior version to truly appreciate the game? Pay $50 so you can cram it onto a tiny screen? I enjoy my Switch, but I don't see how 3rd Party Support can flourish when the experiences of the same game are just so much better on Xbox or PS4.

@Damo I think there will be enhancements on Switch because it's a newer version of the RAGE engine. Plus it's 64bit. Think about how LEGO City and Skyrim benefited.

@olrodlegacy I'm not going to buy a game that wasn't fun the first time it came out.

@Ryu_Niiyama exactly my comment every time someone whines about the cost of gaming.....its an expensive hobby not a life necessity

I was very excited about this game when it first came out and pre-ordered in for 360. While it was OK I eventually found it boring and never even finished it. Considering I already paid $60 for this game once in my life there is no way I would ever pay more than $19.99 on Switch or any other platform. No thanks.

I may get this it depends on the reviews and what I research about the game.I guess In don't mind paying $10 more dollors for the game because I'v never played it and I only own Nintendo consoles for current gaming.

I'd pay the extra if RER2 came on a cart!

@ValhallaOutcast I was referring to the initial price of GTA V. The standard edition already cost 70€.

But regarding your remarks, I'd rather say Rockstar are famous for not providing any DLC for the story mode and letting cheaters destroy their online mode.

I wish NBA 2K18 did this too. I would rather pay an extra $10 to have the complete game on a game cartridge instead of buying a piece of the game on the cartridge only to have to buy the rest into an SD card.

@ValhallaOutcast blanketing an over priced port from a publisher under "its an expensive hobby" would just make us mindless consumers.

Just like people wont pay top dollar for any random comic. 450 dollars for the RX470 or $40 for a plain bottle of Rioja... Every hobby has a limit where an item stops being worth it to a person.

The best/smartest comments in this thread (besides the simply realistic ones that don't get fazed so easily) are the ones actually trying to base their opinion on facts and real data, or the ones who are actually offering explanations (kudos @Wolfgabe) instead of resorting to baseless, entitled whining...

The reality of it is that this version is NOT overpriced, it's simply a logical summing up of all the real world costs involved.

And having said that, also don't underestimate the extra work the developers will have to do to account for the extra features that are specific to the Switch version: that's not just adding a few lines of programming, that's actually adapting/modifying the core game to be able to add those features.

The other consoles don't offer that, opting instead for a slightly better looking version compared to the original. Which really is nothing all that special and by no means translates to the Xbox One/PS4 versions being the better ones. That very much remains to be seen...

Not a chance in hell I'd buy this on any system other than Switch. Having slightly better graphics doesn't make me have more fun with the game.

Playing it anywhere does. Last night I was playing MHXX online, and had to run to the bathroom and get some tea and crackers downstairs, just undocked and kept on playing, whereas with any other console I'd have to wait, or risk dying. I have moments like that several times a week. It's something you don't appreciate until you have, then play another console and suddenly realize the limitations.

Not concerned with the $10. In a decade's time when the disc based version of this game has disc rot, I'll rest easy knowing my cartridge will work the rest of my life.

Basically the manufacturing costs for the 32GB and 64GB are really high, and Nintendo is charging the publishers a high fee accordingly. The publishers are then passing that on to the consumers in some way in order to make a profit/have more than miniscule profit margins.

Either the game is $10 higher in price, which results in the digital version being $10 higher in order to retain physical/digital parity, or we run into a situation like we're seeing with Resident Evil and NBA 2K18 due to the sizes of modern games. Capcom is including a download code for Revelations 2, which is 26GB. 2K opted for a smaller cartridge for a 25GB game and forced the user to download the rest on to an microSD card.

This then runs into the storage space issue. With the sizes of modern games, a microSD card becomes required, and you'll need a 128GB card at the bare minimum. The card will most likely be filled up quick, requiring the user to either buy a higher capacity card or do some data management with archiving software. While the prices of microSD cards are continuously dropping, they're not dropping fast enough to keep up with this issue. So users have to pay high prices for higher capacity cards or continue to manage data until the cards come down in price.

That's a giant mess. A giant mess that, in the long run, could impact 3rd party sofware sales and potentially even Switch hardware sales.

The solution? Well, the only solution would be for Nintendo to subsidize the 32GB and 64GB cards until the manufacturing costs come down and for Nintendo to allow external HDDs on the dock, but make them storage only so as to solve the undocking issue.

Well. You get both a home console and portable version. And it's still pretty dang cool to see a Rockstar game is on a Nintendo system again.

Honestly it doesn't bother me that much because I am used to this with Nintendo. I am just happy to have any 3rd party games at this point. It would be nice if this also included a little keychain or collectible like some other Switch games have. I like that trend.

@IceClimbers Good comment overall, but the bulk of the cost is not in the manufacturing of the cartridges themselves, but in the publishing on cartridge (vs Blu-ray) and other related costs, as perfectly explained in the link that @Wolfgabe posted in comment #144.

@Agramonte of course every hobby has a limit

Gaming as a core is expensive and not every gamer understands that

Some hobbies range from cheap to crazy depending on what you want how many you want and rarity of what you want

Gaming is expensive from day 1

Nintendo so cheap & greedy...but smart- it's not like Rockstar had to agree and being they did shows that they really wanted to get on the Switch! LA Noire either way is still fabulous news for Nintendo gamers!

@shani I absolutely agree that rockstar let's cheating ruin online , but there are ways around that if you have a core group of gaming friends by using private lobbies that don't limit what you can do, some games have private lobbies but they disable player progression and I don't notice that from rockstar

I guess why I defend rockstar is I feel they and naughty dog try to make quality games

When I think bad devs I think Bungie, EA, Ubisoft and I can't put rockstar in with those 3

@Joytendo22 Digital releases don't have to have the same prices as psychical releases. Someone speculated that, and many people believe everything they read on the Internet.

FYI - Don't forget any gamers In Best Buy's gamers club will get 20% off anyway and that will even things out!!

@ValhallaOutcast 100% agree. It can be shocking to some the amount of money we invest (sometimes for LE just because a silly art book)... there just needs to be that sense of inherit value. If not it is just expensive for expensive sake - and we just being used.

But, that "value" is for each to decide I guess.

But then, if you want that "take it anywhere you want" Switch port of GTA V, you'll happily pay the extra for this to tell Rockstar you want more of their games, right?

@ValhallaOutcast I absolutely agree on that, they do make quality games. They are way better than most publishers in that regard.

But they also have a strong tendency to purely think about profits and not to care about gamers at all.

See RDR, which was never released on PC.

See GTA V, where they delivered a weak story ending to the single player mode, then completely abandoned the single player mode because GTA Online generates more revenue with pay-to-win.

For all that is great about GTA V, there's also a lot to criticise.
They were really lazy regarding game design.
The story is the same old gangster story, the setting is the same old American city, although parts of the city feel lively, it's full of missed opportunities to truly make it feel alive, like more indoor rooms/shops, more interaction with the world, more climbing. Watchdogs2, despite being a smaller game (and weaker in things that GTA V was better in), was better regarding all of those aspects.

I know this comes off as very negative, but it comes a positive place. Because Rockstar have more potential than most other companies, I expect more of them. But instead, they rest on their laurels instead of trying new things.

How about a completely different city on another continent, with a different setting and story? How about a really good story? How about an innovative mission design instead of 'go from A to B and kill everyone'?

Still, GTA V is one of my favourite games. It just could've been so much better if they actually cared.

@Tibob Having worked at a Toys R Us many younger gamers have next to no clue about what games are what other than what their friends have. So yea I would say the era of uninformed gamers is still alive and well. I mean they sold 60 million PS4s, I'd bet 40% of those PS4s were purchased just because it was a new system and they wanted to play maybe one specific game. People who follow gaming news and keep up with everything probably make up somewhere in the neighborhood of 15% of all gamers.

"will have to be shipped on a larger-then-normal capacity game card, and it seems that it's Nintendo's policy to pass that additional cost onto the publisher"
Kind of like if I walked into the store to buy an SD card, they're going to pass the higher cost of bigger cards onto me.

I don't mind. It's a great game. PS4/XONE physical copies are simply not worth to get nowdays. Switch's in the other hand are beautiful and I won't have to download and install it on internal storage to play, I can play it from the get-go. So, again, I don't care paying U$ 10 for more quality.

I am ok to pay the extra, so long as we do not get a buggy port

@IceClimbers What do you mean by storage only?

Welp, now the already expensive GTA V will get even more out of our poor wallets, come to think of it.

As long as it's a physical release, I'll be renting-beating-returning it through Gamefly, so that's what I think "this time" about the Switch Tax. If there's a next time, I'll perhaps weigh in differently

@MeloMan Now is probably a great time to be a Gamefly member the way these Switch prices are.

Such a line of garbage! Years ago CDrom was going to make gaming so cheap. We were going to pay like 30 to 50 percent cheaper with these very low cost CD-ROMs. It never happened. Now we have Digital Download where they upload a game to a server and consumers download. No manufacturers costs, no instruction books but still full price. Horrible! To own a Switch you better have some money. Because it's expensive. It feels like the most expensive system ever made.

@NinNin Meaning you could store a game on the HDD, but wouldn't be able to run a game off it. If you could run a game off the HDD like on other platforms you wouldn't be able to undock the system without data corruption

@IceClimbers Then what is the point in storing them?

The Switch tax should bother because it's always a more expensive and technically worse version of a given cross-gen game.

Typo... Larger THAN normal.
ROM Carts are better media than discs hands down. $10 is trivial for the value you're getting.

A lot of people are going to wind up complaining about the cost of all the micro SD cards they inevitably end up buying for all their digital downloads on switch. Just buy the carts wherever possible for large games (5gb plus perhaps) and use one micro SD for updates, saves and day 1 patches and I bet you, like me, will come out miles ahead in a few years time...

I was never planning to purchase this on the Switch, but I do worry about future games. It wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo goes this route and charges higher even for 1st party games because the SD card is bigger then usual.

$50 for a 6 year old game. If the size of the carts bumps up prices, then following this logic, the tiny 3DS cart sizes should have made them very cheap? O_o

Said it before, saying it again.

So what.

If I'm paying $10 more for a card, a complete physical copy of the game, I'm 100% fine with that. I'm not daft enough to think memory chips are as cheap as a printed disc, but they're far more durable too.

I like games on cartridge, I don't like- but I'm willing to pay the "tax".

@Peach64 will never happen, gaming store would lose to digital, and that will hurt the switch because it doesn't have big storage anyway.

Wow. Didn't expect the Switch to be included with this dame.

I don't mind the cartdrige costing more, but the digital version costing more is total bull$!&@(... given it's true). I honestly didn't read the entire article so I'm sorry if I'm missing something. Just skimmed it.

I dont care just bring it!

I really dont care for the few extra dollars. The loading times, the console on the go.
for me its worth every cent.
this game on the go, is a dream come true.
This game is a gem and hoping that thry bring a sequel for switch also.

I would buy it on the switch just to be able to play it on the go or at home ofcourse. Yet 50 dollar is kinda expensive for this game, i would problably buy this game at a discount

@Jamotello it won't be

I hate dlc and microtransactions and truthfully won't be buying la noire again, only because I got the platinum trophy when it released. I would have rather rockstar rereleased some of their ps2 library or bully, which I believe is more appropriate for switch, although I never played bully so I m a little biased. My point is that I'm not too concerned with paying more money for carts on the switch. It seems that third party rereleased will be priced higher than the PS4 counterparts but I won't be buying many third party games on the switch anyway, unless those games are treated like Mario rabbids. I thought retro gaming was gong to be expensive and it kind of is expensive I guess, but I don't really mind paying modern prices for older games if I loved them back in the day.

Since it is portable then I will take it. It will be nice to see a AAA Publisher's game on the Switch.

.....I already own this on pc....and if I want portability I'll use my laptop...........and I got the game for $5.99 in 2015...

No thanks.

Apparently, the digital version might be $40...

If the digital version is $40 I'll pick it up that way on switch. I bought a large SD card at launch. If not I'll get it on my Xbox. I missed this the first time around because it launched on Xbox 360 and PS3 right before the PS4 and Xbox 1 came out and i had already traded in my old system to pre order the new one. This is probably the only Rockstar game realeased after GTA III that I have never played.

Definitely lame that it costs more. But overall my attitude is meh. I'll live, not even sure if I'll get it or not, but I want Rockstar to release more games on the Switch, so I may get it.

I was genuinely surprised to see this game getting a re-release, I thought it was absolute rubbish.

Considering this is one of my all time favorite games for Xbox 360, I fully welcome its addition to the Switch Library. Has one of the best aoundtracks around to boot.

Considering I have Best Buy's gamer club, I'm only paying $40 anyways, so... 😗

They need to learn from 2k18 and just get the cheaper card and make us download the rest. It's cheaper on the consumer in the long run.

It's stupid that Rockstar pushed this on the public instead of handling it themselves.

Or no switch tax as its only £39 at symths toy stores.

Funny, I can't take my PS4 with me when I go out. I can't even walk around the house with it.

Those enhanced visuals don't have anything on the convenience on being able to play the game anywhere.

Is game carts people. Deal with it. It's been know that this would happened. Better than the psp solution.

@VoodooTrumpet would you $60USD for 360/PS3 port on Switch? I wouldn't.

10 bucks more? No problem, I pay the extra cost. Cartridges are more expensive, yeah, but it's ok, it is a better media format than discs after all.

I'm just glad they put it on a big enough card, and not some physical-digital hybrid where you have to download the other half of the game.

It seems pointless to me to even produce a physical version for a game that doesn't fit on the card.

@Lord great to know thanks for the heads up