That makes you a cheap bastard?
God bless digital purchases.
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Why doesn't the price of Nintendo Games fall like other games in the industry?
- Thread starter Toriko
- Start date
Guessing it was probably Iwata (or whoever was in charge of EAD at the time) that greenlit Wonderful 101. I'll forever be grateful for it though. One of my favorite games. It continues to annoy me we'll never get a sequel.
This seems to miss what is probably one of the bigger factors: people don't sell their Nintendo games. If more people flooded the market with used games, sellers would compete with each other by lowering prices and Nintendo would respond by lowering the price of new copies.
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Exactly, if Nintendo acted as a normal gaming company ala EA or Ubisoft, you would see a lot more similar aspects in their titles. Instead they offer DLC with a lot of value like Mario Kart 8, where you could get extra levels and additional characters for I believe it was $20? 1/3rd of the games price for 6 new characters and 16 new courses. Not bad at all.
Because they don't devalue their games for short-term profits like every other publisher.
They're not interested in playing Race To The Bottom because they're not stupid.
They're not interested in playing Race To The Bottom because they're not stupid.
You buy a Nintendo console for 1 3D Mario, 1 Smash, 1 Donkey Kong, 1 Mario Kart, 1 Zelda, 1 Pokemon, 1 whatever.
No point in lowering price if there is not good one reason to replace these games with something else.
No point in lowering price if there is not good one reason to replace these games with something else.
What is the status quo here? This thread is literally "Why doesn't Nintento do what the rest of the industry does?"
I'm sure it's already been mentioned, but one of the silver linings about Nintendo's first party never going on sale is you can generally buy at release, keep for a month or two and then throw on eBay for a ~$10-15 loss. It's great for getting new games that you are on the fence about.
Either way I agree, really want to double dip on DKCTF but already beat on Wii U. Such a fantastic game.
Either way I agree, really want to double dip on DKCTF but already beat on Wii U. Such a fantastic game.
Hey, I'm just explaining my stance. I'm not even talking about people like you. Your stance is fine, totally logical.
Im specifically saying that I find people who say something along the lines of "I feel good buying Nintendo games day 1 because I know they will still be the same price next year. I don't buy Sony games day 1 because I know they will go on sale" amusing. I'm not even trying to invalidate that idea, it's just a baffling take that frequently comes up in these threads.
It's Nintendo's prerogative to set their prices as they wish. I'm not going around spouting nonsense about it being anti-consumer, or feeling entitled like they owe me cheaper games. I simply set my own standards of value, and act accordingly. There are plenty of sales of Nintendo first party games anyway.
There is plenty of passive aggressiveness tossed around on both "sides" here. People talking about Nintendo being stingy on one hand. On the other you have people who truly believe Nintendo games are fundamentally more valuable than the competition. It's all good for a laugh watching the same old ideas being thrown around for people trying to justify their particular spending habits.
I think the reason is that Nintendo has way less competition than the other ones. I think the number of PS and Xbox big seller games (let's say >2M) is way higher than the one in Nintendo home consoles, so since they are released frequently they need to compete more aggresively, specially when counting multiplatform games.
Which means that first it's more difficult for them to compete for shelves space, and after the sales spike of the first 2 or 3 months is very likely that they reduce their price. Meanwhile in Nintendo since they have less huge games competing in the shelves the same one can stay there for longer.
At least in some main games Nintendo fans keep buying these games for a longer period of time than usual, so they keep for a longer period of times in the shop. In my opinion like Apple fans, Nintendo fans also defend and overrate whatever Nintendo does, even if it's very anticonsumer. Like having more expensive prices, cheap accesories that need to be built by you, even a balance board, etc.
For you it may be a bad idea, but for them is a masterpiece. But well, I believe in religious freedom.
Which means that first it's more difficult for them to compete for shelves space, and after the sales spike of the first 2 or 3 months is very likely that they reduce their price. Meanwhile in Nintendo since they have less huge games competing in the shelves the same one can stay there for longer.
At least in some main games Nintendo fans keep buying these games for a longer period of time than usual, so they keep for a longer period of times in the shop. In my opinion like Apple fans, Nintendo fans also defend and overrate whatever Nintendo does, even if it's very anticonsumer. Like having more expensive prices, cheap accesories that need to be built by you, even a balance board, etc.
For you it may be a bad idea, but for them is a masterpiece. But well, I believe in religious freedom.
Read the first page of replies and these are mostly it.
As the 'owner' Nintendo decides pricing of its games by first limiting supply to its supply chain, distributors and retailers. Most retailers aren't sitting on a ton of Nintendo stock that they want to get rid of and discount at their own cost. Sony Microsoft probably have 30% margin on its products but I'd imagine Nintendo would be 25% or lower maybe even 20%. Thus you wouldn't get much of a first day discount unless the retailer wanted to lose money on the product.
Nintendo also releases products and assumes long shelf life, thus retailers can be comfortable to buy a product knowing the product won't get discounted wholesale and thus retailers won't get stuck with the product that it can't sell because other retailers are getting it for way cheaper.
Sony/Microsoft want their retailers to sell through as many copies as they can as fast they can while the price is high. Then they lower the price to reach more consumers who didn't value the game as much. That's because many Sony/Microsoft games need their own marketing campaign. Whereas Nintendo needs it less so because Mario/Zelda and other Nintendo franchises are well known already.
In summary, Nintendo don't want to devalue Mario and Sony don't have a Mario type game that can hold its value over a long period of time. If Sony did they probably would do the same.
You had me until the last paragraph.
That's something that is up to the buyer to decide. If they see value in being Nintendo games at $60 and will knowingly wait for a Sony game that they are mildly interested in to drop in price then so be it. I am sure most can make the case for it and some buy those Sony games at $60 anyway... Now, Nintendo having more value than other games? Well, that is debatable of course. I do believe Nintendo does have some of the best across the board quality control when it comes to their properties though. And for a lot of fans, they do offer something you can't really get elsewhere, like say Smash, Zelda, Pokemon, or a Mario title. Very rarely are these games riddled with bugs or day 1 grievances... Except maybe Pokemon.
It is not like they are releasing a $60 Zelda or 3D Mario every year either. The same people that would complain in here strike me as the same ones that would complain that Nintendo games only get good reviews because they are Nintendo games and not because they are a well-made product.
Do you really think no one realizes they spend $60 when buying a brand new Nintendo game? I have asked myself many times in the past if the games are with the price tag and usually, for me, they are. Stop making it sound like we just mindlessly spend our money with 0 consideration. You just sound abrasive. If the games were garbage and were listed at $60 then maybe this wouldn't be happening. Fortunately, Nintendo makes some pretty damn good games that people like and have no problem paying the premium for.
And this is why I dont buy their games. I'm sure I'm part of a demographic of consumers who own or owned a switch who aren't as invested in their ecosystem and who dont feel the need to splurge on their games day one.
I dont even play my switch because everything is to much money, and I'm at the point I might trade it in because I'm not sure waiting for zelda will be worth it. Im sure Zelda will be great, but owning a switch to play one or two games is getting old.
My interest in the games dont match the price point. There's a ton of games I'd play, but a cheaper price. So yeah I'm sure it impacts their sales of games.
I dont even play my switch because everything is to much money, and I'm at the point I might trade it in because I'm not sure waiting for zelda will be worth it. Im sure Zelda will be great, but owning a switch to play one or two games is getting old.
My interest in the games dont match the price point. There's a ton of games I'd play, but a cheaper price. So yeah I'm sure it impacts their sales of games.
As a recent Switch owner I keep an eye on this reddit thread:
I don't have a problem with people personally valuing Nintendo games more than other games, but I do have an issue with it being presented as some sort of objective truth.
I think many big games would keep selling if they remained full price on different platforms. Do you think people would stop buying RDR2 if it stayed full price? Forza? Uncharted? The games would still sell. Some sales would be missed, sure, but the notion that only Nintendo games have this kind of sway doesn't ring true to me. We actually don't really know how these games would do staying at a near consta t full price, because for decades no one else has done this. Except Blizzard to an extent... And their games still sell.
Several Nintendo games are in my top of all time, so their charm isn't lost on me. There's a reason why I bought Mario Kart 8 twice when I rarely do such a thing (ironically it was cheaper the first time, day 1 no less). I do agree they have good quality control over their major series, and Iprefer a stable high price over a low base price + stupidly over priced DLC approach that some others take. But with certain games I can't ignore that I can get something comparable (to me) for much cheaper. I'd like to play Tropical Freeze for example... But with a choice between that for full price, or Hollow Knight on sale for 15% of the same cost it's an easy choice for me to make. No point making a song and dance about it though... I just vote with my wallet.
You guys should be pissed that Star Wars, a forty year old movie is like eighty bucks on Blu ray. After 40 years it should be free. I was looking at copies of books. Can you believe those motherfuckers charge 20 $ for Harry Potter? It's twenty years old, why isn't it free. It's so anti-consumer. Honda is worse than any of them. They do yearly releases and they still want twenty some thousand for last year's version. I can't believe they don't arbitrarily reduce prices on stuff based on the whims of non-customers. It's as if they're relying on some sort of demand based pricing model.
Cars, books, and films are perfect examples of things that start at a high price and then have semi regular reductions over time...
Not certain books, films, cars. Hondas, Harry Potter, Star Wars many high value brands hold value.
To be fair they are a lot less common in my area these days. Man do I miss the cheap seats.
Star Wars blu-rays, Harry Potter books, and older model Honda's have regular sales. You're unlikely to find a Harry Potter book in the bargain bin, but they most certainly do go on sale.
I get it.
I personally do not LIKE the fact that their games rarely get discounted-- if ever.
But they usually do not let me down and release at reasonable intervals. Other companies could probably get away with it-- just like Apple could sell more by going with cheaper products and services. But if your base sees the value in it and you're ok with losing some sales due to not lowering the barrier of entry. Then hey, do as you wish. I would not buy their stuff if it wasn't good. But it is and I guess them as a company are ok with you not willing to spend the extra buck.
Nintendo is running a discount on digital versions of all their retail games as we speak
Oh I am well aware! Just poking holes in that guys weird (maybe sarcastic) rant.
The biggest laugh in here is people saying their games are bigger, more time spent on them etc. My experience is that their games are bare bones.
Well at least we all know that you don't know what anti consumer means. A company valuing their product is not anti consumer. That's you not wanting to pay for what they're selling.
You can buy Star Wars trilogy for $24 on Amazon, Solo is $19 (physical Blu-Ray). No one would buy it at $60 per movie.
It's very frustrating. I can understand keeping the big evergreen titles like 3D Zelda, Smash and Kart at full price, but even the b-tier games with tiny budgets or middling critical reception never get a meaningful sale either.
There's a lot of games on the Switch that I'd be willing to take a chance on if they were half price after a year (or hell even 2-3 years later), but Nintendo in their infinite wisdom has no understanding that not all of their games can or should demand the full price tag for all time.
There's a lot of games on the Switch that I'd be willing to take a chance on if they were half price after a year (or hell even 2-3 years later), but Nintendo in their infinite wisdom has no understanding that not all of their games can or should demand the full price tag for all time.
I still remember back in 2013 at my local target store, they were still selling Mario Galaxy 2 for the same price as it was three years prior.
It's an interesting thing, since in many other industries, a sale means that they're clearing out seasonal inventory, being a loss leader, stock isn't moving, etc. But games, there's almost this expectation (not sure where it started or came from) that prices have to drop after a while. That if you're patient, you'll be able to get a game for 50% off or more. It can be frustrating, but I don't think there should be some kind of expectation that game prices drop "just because".
ya I feel the same with Sony first party cinematic experience, that's why I buy them when they are like $20 ;)
the only upside of Nintendo titles maintaining their value is that when it comes time to sell consoles to get the next one I can sell these games for a LOT of value to go towards my next gen purchases.
The pricing means for me Nintendo first party stuff is a one or two game a year kind of thing as opposed to dipping my toes in more series, like I'll buy the new Zeldas and the Marios and I'm super excited about Metroid Prime 4, but for the stuff that I just have a passing interest in they don't do anything with their pricing to tempt me so I just leave it. And even though I prefer using the Switch because of its flexibility, I end up spending far money on the the PS4 store because they offer way better value for money in general, and they have ridiculous sales on relatively new games. And in the end I've got bills to pay and there are things I'd rather spend my money on.
First reply nails it.
It's also always been funny watching people defend corporations as needing MTX and other things to "pay the devs" while pocketing most of it, not paying taxes, closing studios, and then putting games on deep sale often within the first year they're out.
Like any Ubi game will typically be 50% off by years end, further encouraging people not to buy it at release, so then they created legendary and multiple tier additions with content to encourage people to get the games at launch.
You even hear/see it on this forum every where now that "buying a game at launch is dumb" and many people waiting on the inevitable sales, while simultaneously wondering why the market is having problems keeping things stabilized.
So you have devs putting grind and padding into their games, gating off content, putting in MTX etc to solve a problem they themselves are perpetuating. Creating problems and selling the solutions to them as it were.
they're scary smart about how many copies of games they sell to retailers, and consumers keep their games after they buy them.
well, since the big AAA 3rd parties don't release their stuff on Nintendo's systems, it makes it easier for them to maintain high prices for their stuff. also, their stuff still sells even if it doesn't chart in the monthly top 10s. they also don't overproduce their games which means there's not much of a reason to discount it (most discounts are due to inventory) and sometimes they do overproduce games and there's sales because of that. you just need to be more proactive and look closely instead of being spoonfed the sale deals (the Pokemon Let's Go games have been as low as $30 new recently and those came out just 6 months ago. their stuff does receive sales sometimes).
you know these Nintendo games also retain a lot of value. you can resell one of their games for like $30 or $40 and get back a lot of what you spent and effectively only pay $10-$20 to play them (not like you wouldn't also resell games on other consoles but there you'd get $5-$10 for used stuff due to crashed prices)
some people here just can't deal with basic economy rules of supply and demand.
you know these Nintendo games also retain a lot of value. you can resell one of their games for like $30 or $40 and get back a lot of what you spent and effectively only pay $10-$20 to play them (not like you wouldn't also resell games on other consoles but there you'd get $5-$10 for used stuff due to crashed prices)
some people here just can't deal with basic economy rules of supply and demand.
What's hilarious is that they jacked up the price for a re-release of DKC TF. Try doing that on any other platform for a straight port of a 4 year old game. I was actually shocked when I learned that Captain Toad port was not a $50-60 game.
Unless you buy digital like me :(
Unless you buy digital like me :(
Because they want to test my patience.
I'm not spending 80 CDN + Tax on a video game. I'll wait.
I'm not spending 80 CDN + Tax on a video game. I'll wait.
every month someone asks the same question and every month get we get both, the logical answers (ever green titles, no race to the bottom) and the downplaying shitposting (anti-consumer, Nintendo fans are brain washed, Nintendo fans have nothing else to play, They are just greed)
seriously, how hard is to accept a that maybe those "trained" are everyone else on accepting the Race to the bottom as the standard?
seriously, how hard is to accept a that maybe those "trained" are everyone else on accepting the Race to the bottom as the standard?