rapsuperstar31 said:
bonzobanana said:
You can make the case the Switch 2 is much cheaper in Japan for the console, games and accessories so the pricing in other markets maybe unfairly high in comparison but they have the right to do that and ultimately if other markets accept those high prices then so be it. Europe isn't Nintendo's best market and probably the first to have quite the slowdown in Switch 2 sales after the first 2 months on sale. Ultimately the market will decide how Switch 2 consoles sell. If Nintendo prices too highly the hardware will sell less and less software is sold where they make most of their money from. It's also possible people will still buy the Switch 2 but buy far less software if pricing is too high so maybe they will only have 4-6 games over the lifetime of ownership rather than a dozen titles or more.
I'm sure Nintendo are monitoring sales figures and ready to move on pricing if they have to. I remember the N64 launching at £250 in the UK and it absolutely bombed in sales and it seemed very quickly it was at £150 and not much longer it was at a sub £100 price for the rest of the time it was on the market. I even remember it being sold at £39.99 at one point close to the end of its life from one retailer clearing out stock. I think I bought my N64 at £99.99 with a game, might have been from Special Reserve.
The point is everything is only worth what people are prepared to pay, price too highly and it sells badly. I personally don't think the Switch 2 can hold its current pricing in Europe and we have already seen some big discounting in Europe. I suspect it won't be that long before a solus Switch 2 is £299 and a pack in game like Mario Kart is £350 or maybe £340 if a digital download. Nintendo may face a poor Christmas in Europe with current pricing. The Switch 2 has been sold at £299 in the UK from Clearance Bargains for damaged packaging/returns although people who bought them stated they were brand new pretty much.
You often get a situation where stock is sold on a sale or return basis and then a retailer has too much stock and wants to return it and Nintendo would give them a discount instead in order for them to shift their stock easier rather than pay for the return of the stock. So you often get new stock sold as damaged packaging etc when really its just stock that has been discounted rather than returned to Nintendo. It feels like in the UK we are seeing that a fair bit so assume the Switch 2 is not selling well at all retailers.
It's all speculation but however the Switch 2 sells consumers will decide and it will be a personal choice probably not influenced at all by these people. I don't think it's controversial or strange to say Nintendo's high pricing of consoles and games will cause a slowdown of sales however the debate is how big a slowdown will it cause and which markets will be effected. I would definitely chalk up Europe as a market resisting these prices a bit more though so far. |
The console is made in Japan and moves a short distance. Selling a console in Japan where it's made, doesn't have to deal with other countries tariffs , taxes, VAT, shipping overseas costs, etc. |
I think some are assembled in Japan but the parts are mainly made in China and I think assembly for most markets is in Vietnam. It might just be development kits are made in Japan. It's not a Japanese made console even for Japan its either sourced from China or Vietnam. I think its just Nintendo like to give their own domestic market better pricing and profit more from other markets. The stock that comes to Europe or the US has never been to Japan, it would be shipped directly from the manufacturing country. A lot of international trade is priced in US dollars so I really can't see any reason logistically why Japan has cheaper Switch 2 consoles.
