jsty3105

@-wc- @jco83 The whole premium angle has frankly been a head scratcher to me because Nintendo didn't raise the price of physical games - they just dropped the price of digital games to finally put in practice what tons of gamers have been asking/begging for since the rise of digital games (which were supposed to be cheaper due to lower costs of distribution and storage).

After some thought, I theorise that gamers who greatly favour physical format will look on this pricing and believe that physical games are now priced as a premium option. Gamers who don't care either way or favour digital games will look on this and think that it's a case of digital games becoming cheaper.

For one thing to be considered a 'premium' option, there usually needs to a several factors that make it more greatly desirable than the other option. And, to a fair extent, I understand that physical-first gamers will say that physical games have a great many factors that make it more desirable than digital games.

At the same time though, there are several digital-first gamers who are unlikely to consider physical games to be a premium option.

I could be talking rubbish as well since it's just a theory.

Just putting out there why I don't consider physical games as being priced at a premium. Appreciate that, at this point, it could be a case (using an imperfect analogy) of one camp thinking the glass is half full and the other thinking the glass is half empty.

Nevertheless, the discourse here has been a bit of an eye opener in a marketing-sense and I've gain a bit more knowledge of price positioning and consumer perceptions today.

@BoFiS Then nothing has changed for you since physical prices didn't change

@-wc- it's not a premium because we've had cheaper digital prices in the UK and I think in Europe for about a year now. There's not been any arguement that physical games are more premium now because of that. It's just like, digital is a bit cheaper. I don't even think it's really been discussed this way until Nintendo decided to bring the US in line with pricing in their other regions.

Yeah I remember that article. It's important to remember that this doesn't mean every game will be $70 and that $60 is the discount price. Yoshi is priced at $70 physical and $60 digital. Other games have different pricing

I have a feeling that some of the comments here positioning the pricing as being bad rather than good have been influenced by IGN's original 'reporting' which appeared to suggest that physical game prices were rising as opposed to digital game prices are falling.

@CupidStunt no way you're suggesting that DK could've been done on the Switch 1

@-wc- I also get what you're saying but i think it's a pretty poor argument. This isn't like when streaming services have a premium and a standard option. Making something cheaper and not making it worse does not mean the other option suddenly becomes a premium option. It'll only seem that way if you're a physical-first gamer. If you're not fussed either way then you'll see it differently

@Steelydandiddler it's as inevitable as the sun rising and falling. Nintendo makes a change (in this case, to make digital games cheaper) and some gamers claim greed

Nintendo confirms "The cost of physical games is not going up"

Other gamers, "Nintendo raised physical game prices instead of cutting digital game prices"

Still other gamers, "I'd be happy with increased prices for physical games if they were fully physical ones"

I know it's not like we all share the same beliefs (how boring would that be), but this is still nuts.

@Teksette making digital games cheaper doesn't suddenly make physical games the premium option

@topsekret I never trade in at shops because you regularly get worse value than trying to sell on eBay/Vinted. Which is kinda understandable - get less money but guaranteed cash in hand versus trying to sell it on another marketplace which carries it's own risks.

@Joe11 It was largely to keep retailers happy

@FishDude why are you comparing Japanese prices when it's fairly well known that the yen has been pretty weak for a couple of years at least now? It's not particularly relevant unless you're flying there and shop as a tourist.

@mswhom the whole point is your statement doesn't make sense when gamers have been asking for lower digital game prices for over a decade. Now that they lower them, out come gamers to complain again and proclaim it's the death of physical games. Ridiculous

@mswhom https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/05/iwata_defends_identical_digital_and_retail_prices people complained in 2012 when digital prices were the same as physical

@Zeeba https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/05/iwata_defends_identical_digital_and_retail_prices Nintendo got criticised in 2012 for digital prices being the same as physical prices. Fast forward to 2026 and people here are criticising Nintendo for lowering digital prices. Make it make sense please

@Yoshi3 I'm frankly gobsmacked at the number of people here who think this is a case of physical prices going up instead of digital prices going down

@sixrings no, the switch 3 won't be digital only. Gamers have been criticising the fact that digital game prices haven't been lower despite obvious cost savings from distribution. This criticism has been happening for a decade at least and definitely was quite loud during the Wii U era. @zeeba Don't know how some are suddenly treating this announcement as a possible bad thing

@Dev-N they're reducing digital prices to be less than physical game prices. They're not increasing physical game prices to be more than digital game prices

@wiiwouldliketoplay people have been arguing for about a decade that digital game prices should be cheaper than physical

@HingryHuppo just on that last point, I'm confused about what personal swipe I used? I took pains to avoid language that attacked rather than challenged

@HingryHuppo ah, the ol multi billion dollar company argument. I grew up in the 80s and if I'm not completely off case you never owned the game, just a license to play the game on the medium it was stored on. It's legalese that's meant for things other than companies to remove your access willy nilly. Even if they've removed it from the storefront you still own it - you're suggesting that removing from the storefront is the same as removing it from your account. They aren't the same thing.

Above, you've arguing semantics about ownership and possession. You've never owned a game but you do own the medium it's stored on.

I also don't understand why you chose to add this line in an earlier comment:

“ Risk of loss or damage for digital Products will transfer to you upon electronic transmission of the Product to you.”

You appear to be using this as an example of you not owning a video game.

@charliecarrot fears like this are overblown. The service exists, it works, and you can think of a great deal other negative things that COULD happen and it'll be never ending. Just like when others fear servers will cease. You can still redownload Wii games and it's been almost 20 years since launch. There's no good reason to think server infrastructure hasn't improved on Nintendo's side ever since their first attempt

@topsekret For most games, I tend to buy low and sell on at a similar price (in some cases, it can end up even higher!) - the times when a game value dropped significantly for me are relatively rare apart from some notable exceptions like Metroid Prime Dread and Metroid Prime Remastered when I bought close to launch (since Metroid games never held value).

@charliecarrot I believe Nintendo can transfer purchases to a new Wii console if you get in touch with customer service if your Wii caught fire. I recall other stories of people getting their purchases restored after theft or destruction.

@TerribleTerabytes and, whatever people's thoughts about intermission routes, there are like about 200 in Mario Kart World, which is a smidge higher than 48. There are also several improved modes in World compared to the vanilla Mario Kart 8 (and event MK8 Deluxe)

@topsekret Interesting! Thanks for confirming! I like there there's a Switch 2 upgrade path for a relatively low price. I dislike that there's no Switch 2 version of the game that I can rent or buy and sell later.

@Kiyata it's always amusing to see the lazy 'Nintendo defender' comments. They also usually come from those with bad faith arguments and trying to oversimplify or over exaggerate certain things. Like thinking your purchasing habits and behaviours are in any way indicative of the market. They aren't. Neither are my purchasing habits or behaviours for that matter.

On too many occasions to count, being reasonable is seen as defending Nintendo.

@WiltonRoots I've lived in Australia for a year. Entertainment products there all seem mad expensive

@Thecure thank you for clarifying. A quick search shows that it roughly equates to $73usd, which seems on par with several of the $69.99 games in the US. I have read that Canadian prices trend higher since they tend to go through the US - which kinda sucks for Canadians

@Thecure perhaps I am. Perhaps I am. But I'm not the one giving incomplete information. If you wish to engage properly, then share where you're seeing the price you've quoted

@Thecure interesting argument. I still have no clue where 'here' is for you. I know I'm talking about USD, it's less clear what you're talking about

@Thecure joined just to post this? I suppose there are worse reasons to start a new account on a gaming site. I'm not in the US but I'm clearly referring to USD. If I meant Aussie or Canadian dollars I would've specified AUD or CAD respectively.

@Lucius6 yeah. They're not even revising sales expectations. Just managing inventory differently since their previous strategy was to effectively oversupply the market. Someone else in another forum theorised that this move was probably due to inventory costs of storage etc

@ElkinFencer10 that's a really really small selection of titles at $80 and aren't all of those Switch 2 Editions with cheaper upgrade paths that are very easily accessible to everyone? It's not like you can't get the experience if you don't spend $80

@wishmylove I thought Lord's summary was meant as satire or a joke given that the first 2 bullet points are unheard of in the video game industry. Since when is a new console expected to get a revision in under 9 months (thereby 'punishing' early adopters) and complaining about lack of limited edition consoles again in under 9 months?

@Porco think that line may have sounded better in your head than when it was posted

@ElkinFencer10 what Nintendo switch 2 game other than Mario kart world costs $80 (even that is easily available for much less in the bundle)

Saw this comment on Nintendo everything and it seems relevant: Bloomberg’s article clearly states that no sales expectations are being changed and this is a shift in inventory management.

@Porco selling really well relative to other consoles in the same time isn't subjective. Think you've confused yourself.

@johnedwin didn't the PS5 get heavy discounts of around $100+ during that period?

@Cry_Zero portability. Playing in bed. Playing on the couch while someone else watches the TV. Sometimes good enough is in fact, good enough. Not everyone chases pixels or frame rates - I've got a gaming PC which doubles as a work PC so usually I'd rather not continue sitting at my desk at the end of work.

@topsekret as per the article there's no Switch 2 upgrade path announced yet. Your comment makes it sound like it's confirmed.

Personally think this isn't great value but they look well designed and are definitely better value than branded footwear on toddlers

@UltimateOtaku91 here's where I find anti consumer claims are largely about positioning and phrasing. It doesn't take much writing skill to position anything that makes a company money to be anti consumer behaviour.

@-wc- unlikely I think. The context you're referring to and the context of those types of statements are very different. I think the 99 cents to get Mario to jump higher is a wildly misplaced business thought and a great example of short term thinking of some investors.

To flip what you've said though, I've had a theory that some here would proclaim that splitting Pokémon into 2 same games with different catch rates is 'anti consumer' because you 'need' both games to catch all the mon in that gen and it's a style that doesn't cater for those who are purely solo gamers.

"unfortunately, I have to go through the trouble of buying a Nintendo device to access Mario" - also a typical line from resolution and frame rate junkies

@GamerGrandpa My number 1 favourite Wii game was Pro Evolution Soccer - the Wii gameplay with the pointer controls was unmatched in my opinion. There's never been another football game since then which such a level of control over your team.

@Samalik no touch screen functionality in handheld boost mode

@Justaguest how did you manage to turn a good thing into a negative?

@Misima no it's not. We've already established that servers will be up for 30+ years. Few people will care past that point

@Spider-Kev Hilariously (or not), I read the term 'boomer shooter' quite literally and was thinking of shooters with weapons that go, "boom"