Fight-the-Streets said:
There is the pure business side, and then there is brand awareness. Don’t forget that a brand’s function is not only to make as much money as possible; it is also meant to be imprinted in people’s minds as a lifestyle product (or whatever “style” it is supposed to represent), creating brand awareness that lasts many years into the future. Besides the product itself, there are many elements—both small and large—that contribute to this desired brand awareness. Being the brand that sold the most consoles worldwide would be one such element. Why would you let that opportunity slip when it can be achieved relatively easily with just a small push (price cuts, bundles, etc.)? Another factor is ego. Don’t believe for a second that Nintendo’s management has no ego. Even if the title of “most sold console” isn’t economically crucial, it certainly matters to ego. If you work day in, day out in the video game console (and software) business, you naturally want your console to be the best-selling one ever—on top of being the most profitable. Just think about it: if we fanboys have an ego tied to our beloved console (or console manufacturer), then executives at these companies surely do as well—an ego multiplied by 10, 100, or even 1,000. Nintendo has also just expanded into Southeast Asia, a market with many low-income households. Many people in this region simply cannot afford a Switch 2. The Switch 1, however, surely still has some steam left for those consumers. |
They let the opportunity slip before with the DS when they could've just pushed it somewhat more to overtake the PS2. Perhaps the current leadership feels differently about it this time but in general they don't care as much about this sort of thing nearly as much as us nerds online do. If they wanted to make sure the Switch beats the PS2 they wouldn't have increased its price in the US a few months ago.
