sc94597 said:
Given that nominal wages also increased (which is why I originally talked about the relative price of the consoles in terms of their percentage of average salary) perceived affordability is affected by inflation. If you compare to the average wage, the PS3 cost double in % of average 2006 salaries what the Switch 2 costs in 2025 salaries. The Switch 2's price is in line with the Wii and Switch in that metric, both highly successful consoles. What you saw with the stream is the same thing we saw with the original Switch. Many people, mostly those who weren't interested in the Switch 2 in the first place or who see the platform as something "lesser" for its form-factor or hardware (like you did in this thread, originally), complained "why would I buy a handheld that costs $350 with a game when the other consoles cost just as much?" Then it became either the first or narrowly second best selling platform of all time. Again, you didn't address the fact that my Switch (which I bought refurbished because I couldn't find a new one) cost more than my new PS4 Pro, within six months of each-other, and even if I found it new without a game, it would've been only $50 cheaper than the PS4 Pro and more expensive than a base PS4 or XBO. And no, I don't think if somebody wants to buy the next Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, or any of these dozen million selling titles, that a $20 price increase is going to stop them. People might buy fewer games over all (and this might affect less popular titles) but the console itself and the big sellers (which are the games being priced this high) are going to sell regardless. If you think Nintendo hasn't been the most profit-seeking of the big three, I don't know where you've been. They never take a loss on their platforms (except when they dropped the GameCube to $99), their games never drop in price, they keep features to the bare minimum for their service and networking infrastructure, they have expensive accessories attached to their platform, etc. They haven't been the "cheap" brand since the Wii/GC days. They've basically positioned themselves as a video game version of Disney. Sony and Microsoft, comparatively are more willing to take a loss and subsidize their gaming segments by other products they sell. For them, gaming is a complementary good or service within a greater software/media infrastructure. |
I don't want to continue to debate this for the rest of time. I'm likely going to buy the thing and so are you. But I'm not happy about the price increase, and looking at Youtube, looking at Reddit, looking even at this very site... it's clear people think this stuff is too expensive. And if Nintendo isn't careful, it's going to be the 3DS all over again. I mean, this system already had its back against the wall due to it basically being a Switch Pro and not straying too far from the original. Now this? We'll have to wait and see, but so far, all people want to do is talk about the high prices and complain. That isn't good, no matter how you view it.
