About Nintendo's $80 Game Pricing...

So, the other day Nintendo announced the price of the new Nintendo Switch 2, and its launch title Mario Kart World. While I think $450 for the console is just about right, I'm very mixed on the price of the game: $80!

This has been a hot topic since then, so I decided I'll put my take here for the record...

I already expected we'll be seeing games priced at $80 sometime soon. I don't think $100 will be far off either... Not that I like it, it's just how the trend was going. My problem with Mario Kart being the first game to do it, is how the other Game Publishers will react to this.

"Look, Mario Kart, the childish-looking game sells itself at $80, and our game look much better, and costs a lot more to make, so it should be sold for at least as much!" -- A Game Publisher, Probably

Still, I'm in the opinion of "Let companies do their thing, and I'll do mine."

I believe if Nintendo made a decision as drastic as increase prices to such a degree, they already made a projection of people's reaction. They know, at least approximately, how many consumers they'll lose with this decision, and how many would keep buying.

Nintendo's target audience was never the type of gamer who cares about the cost anyway. Their target audience are the Casuals, Parents, and their loyal customers. All of whom would buy Nintendo products at any price.

Also, psychologically, people will adjust to the new prices with time. They probably decided it'll be beneficial, (maybe even the only option,) for the long run.

Mario Kart is probably one of the few games ever that could get away with being the first game to increase the price to such a degree too. (GTA, Zelda and Smash Bros. being the other ones I can think of.) I'm sure if normal AAA games tried it, they won't expect success.

Funnily enough, until the prices were revealed, I thought Switch 2 was an amazing device!!! Now I'm really mixed about it.

Still, I think this is a self-correcting problem in my opinion: This will make people more selective about the games they buy! Less games will be sold at higher prices than before. If games are worth $80, they'll sell at that price point, and if they're not worth it, you can expect them to drop in price with Sales pretty soon.

...I don't think we'll see $60 launch prices for games anymore, though... Oh, well.

For me this just means I'll wait longer for the sales to reach an appropriate price for me. I never bought games at full price in the first place. The games I was waiting for 60% sale, will now have to wait until the 70% sale, even if it took a few more years. My backlog isn't going away in the meantime.

Posted Using INLEO