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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Nintendo and its prices

KrspaceT on 09 June 2018

Okay, let me just point out something about the O.P guy.

OP Guy: Why does Nintendo think it's doing without price drops?

Person: Explains why Nintendo might do so

OP Guy: Nintendo Defender!

...Do you want this to be an echo chamber about how the Switch games not going down in price quickly means no one will buy it and everyone's selling the thing off?



The Democratic Nintendo fan....is that a paradox? I'm fond of one of the more conservative companies in the industry, but I vote Liberally and view myself that way 90% of the time?

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Angelv577 on 09 June 2018

Yeah. It is one of the reason I don't own a switch. Just to think that I have to spend $300 for the console plus $60 game a piece is just too much for a secondary console.



alejollorente10 on 09 June 2018
KrspaceT said:
Okay, let me just point out something about the O.P guy.

OP Guy: Why does Nintendo think it's doing without price drops?

Person: Explains why Nintendo might do so

OP Guy: Nintendo Defender!

...Do you want this to be an echo chamber about how the Switch games not going down in price quickly means no one will buy it and everyone's selling the thing off?

I just wanted to share my vision of this particular topic and understand the logic behind Nintendo's business model. And I understand that they are doing well with their current business model, but they could do even better.

I've only had Nintendo consoles so I'm not suspicious of being a hater or something. Simply posing a healthy debate.

Last edited by alejollorente10 - on 09 June 2018

Switch Friend Code = 5965 - 4586 - 6484

PSN: alejollorente10

S.Peelman on 09 June 2018
chakkra said:
GoOnKid said:

What do you mean?

I'm not sure what you need me to explain. It's a pretty straightforward statement.

How many Nintendo fans are there?



alejollorente10 on 09 June 2018
NightlyPoe said:

Here it is simply:

The video game industry has taught its consumers that they do not need to pay full price for a game. They can wait a year or two, get it for half off or so including all the DLC.  This has changed purchasing behavior to a wait and see model for many consumers.

Nintendo likes money. They like selling their products for full price. So, they keep games at full price for much longer than other companies in order to train their consumers that a price drop is unlikely. This disincentivizes from waiting. So Nintendo games sell well straight out of the box and continue to sell well long afterwards despite no drop in price.

This is psychologically nice for consumers because they can buy a full-priced Nintendo game at launch without feeling like a sucker. Here's my thought process when it comes to a 3rd party, Sony, and Microsoft games:

  1. Oh, I want this.
  2. It'd be fun to play this, but if I get it now, I'll have to pay for the DLC. I don't want to do that.
  3. If I wait a year or two, it'll be cheaper and I'll get the whole game.
  4. Wait a year or two.
  5. The game is cheap now, but do I still want it?


Here is the thought process for purchasing a Nintendo game.

  1. Oh, I want this.
  2. Preorder game on Amazon Prime, get the $12 discount and be happy with that.


That's so much simpler. Even though I'm generally paying more for Nintendo games, I'm generally happier with my purchases because I have little fear of missing out by delaying my gratification. I'm not playing a giant game of chicken with the company. They've told me their policies and I can live with them.

Those of us who are fans of Nintendo understand that things have always been like this with Nintendo. But here it is about attracting this audience that is not a fan and does not understand that it works like this because he is used to another business model on PS4 or Xbox One, but he has some interest in Nintendo games. And then, there are people who probably buy Nintendo consoles for Pokemon or Mario Kart, but why only sell them Pokemon and Mario Kart? Why not sell Arms for 30 dollars or Bayonetta 2 for 30 dollars or DKC TF for 30 dollars, maybe that person who tried Bayonetta 2 for 30 dollars, likes the game so much that when Bayonetta 3 comes out he would buy it on day 1. I ask him God that if they release Metroid Prime Trilogy HD they sell it at 40 dollars to attract new fans to the saga for when Metroid Prime 4 comes out. And this is what I'm talking about, to attract new fans and build loyalty.



Switch Friend Code = 5965 - 4586 - 6484

PSN: alejollorente10

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Rocketjay8 on 09 June 2018
Nem said:
Nintendo pays a security fee so retailers can't easily slash their prices. Why? I guess because they think that will lead you to not feel punished for buying at launch. But, this also means they will see less sales.
They still sell gangbusters though, so wether it's worth it or not, i don't know.

Wut?



chakkra on 09 June 2018
GoOnKid said:
chakkra said:

I'm not sure what you need me to explain. It's a pretty straightforward statement.

Do you have examples of people defending the prices? If you happen to think that I or some other posters in this thread did - we didn't. We explained that they follow a different strategy, with all its ups and downs.

" Other publishers double harm themselves by cutting into their own profits and by deflecting the quality of their own products. Customers nowadays fully expect discounts and to some degree have adapted their purchase behaviours accordingly. It's a negative trend set by the publishers themselves." 

"You buy a Nintendo game when you are ready for it, and I believe that customers will enjoy games more if they truly want to purchase them instead of buying them when they happen to be on sale."

"You may agree or disagree with Nintendo's strategy. It's successful, however."

Your way of explaining things does come across as defending if you ask me, but I guess that is open to interpretation.  My apologies if that was not the case.

And there was another user here that went to say that he actually enjoy games more when he pays full price for them.  That's a logic that I'm not even gonna try to understand.


Rocketjay8 on 09 June 2018
AlfredoTurkey said:

People pay them, so they keep charging what they charge. Supply and demand.

This guy gets it.



GoOnKid on 09 June 2018
chakkra said:
GoOnKid said:

Do you have examples of people defending the prices? If you happen to think that I or some other posters in this thread did - we didn't. We explained that they follow a different strategy, with all its ups and downs.

" Other publishers double harm themselves by cutting into their own profits and by deflecting the quality of their own products. Customers nowadays fully expect discounts and to some degree have adapted their purchase behaviours accordingly. It's a negative trend set by the publishers themselves." 

"You buy a Nintendo game when you are ready for it, and I believe that customers will enjoy games more if they truly want to purchase them instead of buying them when they happen to be on sale."

"You may agree or disagree with Nintendo's strategy. It's successful, however."

Your way of explaining things does come across as defending if you ask me, but I guess that is open to interpretation.  My apologies if that was not the case.

And there was another user here that went to say that he actually enjoy games more when he pays full price for them.  That's a logic that I'm not even gonna try to understand.

The article I linked helps with understanding this phenomenon.

https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/behavioral-impact-higher-price

Does it mean that we are tricked into liking this? Maybe.



Darashiva on 09 June 2018

Well, it's one of the reasons I still haven't bought a Switch. I will at some point without a doubt because I want to play Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, but because I will likely have to spend a lot of money for just those two games I probably won't be getting many other games any time soon afterwards. So in a way, because their prices remain so high for longer periods, it has kinda stopped me from getting the Switch up to this point and it also discourages me from getting a large library of games on the system once I do get it.



My Twitter: @TheDarashiva

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