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Soundwave on 25 June 2023
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zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:

Thing is I think Nintendo felt the same thing about 3DS. 

"Wow, people are willing to pay $199.99 for the DSi XL, surely they'll easily pay $250 for the 3DS". They didn't just randomly pull $250 out of their ass, they thought it would be easy to sell at that price because people were buying DSi XL's for $199, surely $250 for a 3DS that was a full upgrade + 3D screen would be easy peasy. 

Now sure, maybe times have changed, but I would expect Nintendo to not be too cocky, memories of their senior staff are long and they'll remember full well what happened with the 3DS and Wii U. 

That’s not the same thing at all. I said as long as the successor isn’t way more expensive and doesn’t focus on a gimmick that people don’t want than cross-gen titles shouldn’t hurt sales.

DSi XL wasn’t $199.99 when 3DS launched, it was $169.99. 3DS at $249.99 was ~47% more expensive than the most expensive DS sku. People didn’t care enough about a 3D screen to pay the extra money.

On top of that, 3DS had a terrible launch/post-launch lineup.

March-Nintendogs & Pilotwings

June-Ocarina of Time 3D

September-Star Fox 64 3D


That’s the equivalent of

Switch 2-$499.99

Power Glove required

launch titles-Ring Fit Adventure 2 & Wave Race

post launch titles-Twilight Princess 4K & Star Fox Assault 4K


So yeah if that’s what Switch 2 looks like than I don’t see it doing too well.

DSi XL launched at $189.99, then they cut the price to $169.99 a few months before the 3DS, but I think that was their inclination that they could get away with $250, I don't think they just randomly decided "$250 because why not", they saw the DSi XL selling at that rate well enough for a while and thought "well if a revision to an old model can be sold for $189, surely a new system can be $250". 

Obviously they got carried away with the Wii and DS' success and became arrogant and sloppy. 

In either case, I don't think Nintendo will go soft or lazy with the Switch 2 launch. 3DS and Wii U do not feel that long ago and certainly at Nintendo I don't think anyone has forgotten how it felt to be in that situation. 

I think Nintendo will always err on the side of caution with product launches going forward for a good long while, like the Switch, I suspect Switch 2 will have a loaded lineup especially in its first 8-12 months on market. 

Launching lazy/sloppy/half assed just isn't worth it. It ends up being far more work in the long run if anything, it's so much easier have a big time start then the rest of the generation is more like walking downhill, trying to recover from a bad launch is like walking the same distance but having to do it walking uphill. Just not worth it. 

Last edited by Soundwave - on 25 June 2023