Global Hardware 14 December 2019

[The_Liquid_Laser]

zorg1000 said:

The_Liquid_Laser said:

You both make a good point.  Nintendo does seem to really hate cutting the price (so does Sony for that matter), but Switch really is a much more lucrative ecosystem.  You are right they should just drop the 3DS line altogether, but they also need to have a plan to get the Lite model down to $99 at some point, like around the 6-7 year mark. 

All of those people who paid $80-$100 for the 2DS slate are never going to buy a Switch for $200 with $60 games.  And yet Switch is going to be the cheapest game system once 3DS is discontinued.  Nintendo is going to drive the low end customers out of the market unless they eventually get the Lite model down to around $99 with some "Selects" titles around $20-$30.  And Switch is a much better system to keep supporting for a long time than the 3DS is.

Hitting $99 isn't necessary, it was for the 3DS because sales were mediocre outside of Japan but Switch is a mainstream success everywhere so such drastic price cuts arent needed.

Lite at $149 with a popular game is plenty low enough with the the hybrid model unlikely to ever go under $199.

It depends on what you mean by "necessary".  Will they make a ton of profits with the Lite flooring at $149?  Yes, they definitely will.  On the other hand will  some customers leave the market for dedicated gaming devices if Nintendo only goes down to $149?  Yes, they definitely will.

Nintendo needs to be careful that they don't give low end customers to cheap alternatives like Apple Arcade or Google Stadia.  The Switch is definitely a better experience than either of those services, but if they don't go cheap enough the low end customers will go over to a cheaper, inferior experience instead.  It's a much smarter strategy for Nintendo to starve these competitors of as many customers as possible, even to the point that they make a little less money doing so.  It can drive competitors out of the market place which is much smarter in the long run.

Last edited by The_Liquid_Laser - on 18 December 2019