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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Nintendo cuts the base Switch's price in Europe

AJNShelton on 14 September 2021
Shadow1980 said:

I can totally see why this cut was only in Europe. It was long overdue, as it probably should have been that price at launch. The base Switch was a bit pricier than it normally would have been if it followed the typical pricing structure of other systems. The normal pricing structure for consoles seems to be a $1 to €1 to £0.85-0.9 ratio. But the Switch cost 10% more than that norm in Europe.

It was pretty much already 300€ at launch, and then went slighlty up (high demand + 2019 revision).

But it was always easy to find it at 299€ or even 292€ on Amazon.

Now several websites (such as Amazon) sell it at 270€.



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TheBraveGallade on 14 September 2021
Kristof81 said:
curl-6 said:

Here in Australia the base Switch costs $469 AUD, which is the equivalent of 250 pounds or 293 Euros.

So we still get a better deal than Europe, but not as good as America, as we pay the equivalent of $346 USD.

Man, I never realized how overpriced the Switch was in Europe.

Not really. It's mostly taxes and definetly currency exchange fluctuations since 2017 as the retail prices have not changed.

In Europe, all retail prices must include tax (VAT, around 20%, depends on the country, but it can go as high as 27%) so you should never have to pay more than the advertised price.

I'm pretty sure that's the same case in Australia (10% tax if I remeber correctly)

In America, no taxes are included in the retail price. 

In today's exchange rate 300 USD  = around 250 Euro or 410 AUD.

Add local sales tax and you have 300 Euro (20%) and 450 AUD (10%)

Compare it to the actual RRP (before the price drop): Europe 329 Euro (+29), Australia 469 AUD (+19)

Now add sales tax for the US price, which depends on the location would add $5 to $30 to the total price. 

So today you have $305/$330 (US) vs $389 (Europe) vs $344 (Australia)

It's quite a diffrence, however, in 2017 (1st of April) it was $350 (Europe), $356 (Australia)

I think that's the reason of Europe's price drop, which will bring the price down to the 2017 level (300 euro = around $350)

this all being said... japan still gets the best deal:

https://nintendosoup.com/much-nintendo-switch-costs-around-world/

its old, came out in 2017 and the tax rates back then, but still, japanese prices were always equivilant to 270$ or so before tax in USD.

and people wonder why SEA buys games from japan early to resell...



Jumpin on 14 September 2021
Shadow1980 said:

I can totally see why this cut was only in Europe. It was long overdue, as it probably should have been that price at launch. The base Switch was a bit pricier than it normally would have been if it followed the typical pricing structure of other systems. The normal pricing structure for consoles seems to be a $1 to €1 to £0.85-0.9 ratio. But the Switch cost 10% more than that norm in Europe.

Keep in mind the US has a lot of hidden expenses. They always attach extra expenses to things like extra tax, shipping/service charge, tips, etc… so the price you see listed is not the actual price of anything you buy in the US.



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Doctor_MG on 14 September 2021
RolStoppable said:

Which is why sales have only been good in Europe and not great like elsewhere. But on the flipside, that leaves a lot of growth potential in Europe in the remaining years of Switch's lifespan.

While this is true, it depends highly on how Nintendo handles the transition to the next console. Nintendo is likely beginning to gear up for a new product release by 2024. If Nintendo doesn't make the plays necessary to achieve the growth Europe has the potential for soon they may cannibalize their potential Switch 1 sales when the new product launches. 



Kakadu18 on 14 September 2021
SKMBlake said:
Shadow1980 said:

I can totally see why this cut was only in Europe. It was long overdue, as it probably should have been that price at launch. The base Switch was a bit pricier than it normally would have been if it followed the typical pricing structure of other systems. The normal pricing structure for consoles seems to be a $1 to €1 to £0.85-0.9 ratio. But the Switch cost 10% more than that norm in Europe.

It was pretty much already 300€ at launch, and then went slighlty up (high demand + 2019 revision).

But it was always easy to find it at 299€ or even 292€ on Amazon.

Now several websites (such as Amazon) sell it at 270€.

Where I live it was always 319-329€ on Amazon and now it's 299€.



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curl-6 on 14 September 2021
RolStoppable said:
curl-6 said:

Here in Australia the base Switch costs $469 AUD, which is the equivalent of 250 pounds or 293 Euros.

So we still get a better deal than Europe, but not as good as America, as we pay the equivalent of $346 USD.

Man, I never realized how overpriced the Switch was in Europe.

Which is why sales have only been good in Europe and not great like elsewhere. But on the flipside, that leaves a lot of growth potential in Europe in the remaining years of Switch's lifespan.

That is a good point, it certainly puts Switch's European sales in a different light to how I used to see them. I wonder if this cut will have an appreciable impact on said sales or if it's a bit too small to make a significant difference.

Doctor_MG said:
RolStoppable said:

Which is why sales have only been good in Europe and not great like elsewhere. But on the flipside, that leaves a lot of growth potential in Europe in the remaining years of Switch's lifespan.

While this is true, it depends highly on how Nintendo handles the transition to the next console. Nintendo is likely beginning to gear up for a new product release by 2024. If Nintendo doesn't make the plays necessary to achieve the growth Europe has the potential for soon they may cannibalize their potential Switch 1 sales when the new product launches. 

If Switch's successor arrives in 2024, (which sounds like good timing to me) then Switch still has three years or so left, plenty of time for further cuts and to reap the benefits of said cuts. They're only in trouble if they turn stupid and release Switch 2 prematurely.

Last edited by curl-6 - on 14 September 2021

JackHandy on 14 September 2021
PortisheadBiscuit said:
NyanNyanNekoChan said:

I'm surprised the Switch is that expensive. That's around twice the price I've paid for other Nintendo consoles/handhelds. Think my Gamecube (2005) and GBA (2003) were only about £60, while my DSLite (2006) and 2DS (2016) were both under £100.

Inflation and cheaper tech

The inflation thing doesn't always work though. For instance, in 2003, the Gamecube was $99.99. That is only 148.66 in today's money. It's also only two years after it launched. 



Kakadu18 on 15 September 2021
JackHandy said:
PortisheadBiscuit said:

Inflation and cheaper tech

The inflation thing doesn't always work though. For instance, in 2003, the Gamecube was $99.99. That is only 148.66 in today's money. It's also only two years after it launched. 

It didn't have it's own screen and battery though. The controller was cheaper too.

The Gamecube got cut in price that early because it didn't sell well, which is not the case with the Switch.



Bofferbrauer2 on 15 September 2021
SKMBlake said:
Shadow1980 said:

I can totally see why this cut was only in Europe. It was long overdue, as it probably should have been that price at launch. The base Switch was a bit pricier than it normally would have been if it followed the typical pricing structure of other systems. The normal pricing structure for consoles seems to be a $1 to €1 to £0.85-0.9 ratio. But the Switch cost 10% more than that norm in Europe.

It was pretty much already 300€ at launch, and then went slighlty up (high demand + 2019 revision).

But it was always easy to find it at 299€ or even 292€ on Amazon.

Now several websites (such as Amazon) sell it at 270€.

It did in France, as all the retailers set the 299€ price at launch over there. But not for the rest of Europe, where the price was in General 329€ or the local equivalent in countries without the Euro. Which is also why I would have bought mine in France if I hadn't gotten a good deal at the local store.



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JackHandy on 15 September 2021
Kakadu18 said:
JackHandy said:

The inflation thing doesn't always work though. For instance, in 2003, the Gamecube was $99.99. That is only 148.66 in today's money. It's also only two years after it launched. 

It didn't have it's own screen and battery though. The controller was cheaper too.

The Gamecube got cut in price that early because it didn't sell well, which is not the case with the Switch.

I wold disagree with you first point. Although, to be fair, I don't really know the profit margins of the current Switch model, I think it's safe to say that the tech of the Gamecube was far more substantial in the year 2003 than the tech inside the Switch is in 2021. After all, even in 2017, the Switch was basically a last generation machine under the hood. Remember, when Gamecube came out, it was far more powerful than PS2 and in some ways, even more powerful the original Xbox which was so far ahead of its time, that Microsoft never turned a dime.

To your second point, yes. I would agree. I think that's the main reason why consoles don't decrease in price like they use to. People have voted with their wallets, and shown they're more than willing to pay launch prices for years down the line. So why would they drop the price? It doesn't make business sense anymore.