Nintendo and its prices

[GoOnKid]

pokoko said:

GoOnKid said:

They simply follow a different pricing strategy than the competition. Steady prices produce an image of higher quality compared to other games that land in the discount bin after a few weeks. Other publishers devaluate their own games by setting low prices. Why should I buy a game full price if I know for sure that it will be much cheaper in a couple of weeks? Other publishers double harm themselves by cutting into their own profits and by deflecting the quality of their own products. Customers nowadays fully expect discounts and to some degree have adapted their purchase behaviours accordingly. It's a negative trend set by the publishers themselves. I understand that the prices can be set by the retail stores, yes, but I also believe that they don't set the prices however they feel like but rather according to an MSRPs which they receive from the publishers.

With Nintendo games, it doesn't matter when a customer buys them because the prices will stay steady. This is the reason why we see many Nintendo games having strong legs. These effects go hand in hand. You buy a Nintendo game when you are ready for it, and I believe that customers will enjoy games more if they truly want to purchase them instead of buying them when they happen to be on sale.

I believe that this publisher habit of decreasing prices shortly after release led us to this high emphasis of first week sales. Back in my days nobody gave a shit about how many units could have been sold within the first week, nowadays it's a key figure. It was all about lifetime sales.

You may agree or disagree with Nintendo's strategy. It's successful, however.

Wait, what?  You enjoy a game more if you pay more money for it? 

The price of a game never enters my mind while I'm playing.  Some of my favorite games of all time have come from the bargain bin or Steam sales.  Final Fantasy I literally came out the bargain bin at a drugstore.  I bought Suikoden 1 used for 5$.  Final Fantasy VI I picked up used for 15$.  

You're trying too hard to think of justifications for something that doesn't really need a justification. 

A business can follow whatever business model they want.  In Nintendo's case, they're looking to make as much money per customer as they can.  They have a very dedicated base and they know they can get away with it.  Other publishers typically face more competition and thus choose to increase brand support by increasing consumer access, usually in the hopes that it will result in more money down the line.  Borderlands was just about free before Borderlands 2 released and the jump in exposure worked to increase launch numbers.

I wasn't speaking of myself, but of the general customer. There are psychological effects that influence how we value things with different prices.

https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/behavioral-impact-higher-price

The article explains the principle, which can easily be transferred to other products. The article itself already transfers it to wine, for example. It also tells how low prices can make a product seem to have low quality.

Also, I don't want to justify anything, I was only explaining that they follow a different strategy than the rest.

What do you mean by 'other publishers typically face more competition'? Don't they all swim in the same pool?