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[RedAssedApe]

Still seems expensive for the hardware but I guess it's ok since it's Nintendo. Funny if the base model for all three consoles are exactly the same.

 

[tilomite!]

That is a really good price point if true. I'll definitely be there at launch and a couple of games at that price point.

 

[ThanksVision]

too much for a handheld. Fine for a home console but this one is competing with other established consoles on the same price point.

Yes, but what if it was a home console AND a handheld? That would be pretty crazy

 

[MatthewB92]

Friday morning going to gamestop to give my Xbox 1 towards it. Get that paper weight out of here.

 

[Xater]

I'm probably out at 250 considering I basically have to pay another 50 to get a proper controller.

 

[Plum]

Because the price for merely that kind of hardware is quite high. And a bit of wishful thinking.

Why? You're essentially getting an Nvidia Shield and a very powerful handheld in one device along with multiple components. Raw power isn't the only determining factor for price.

 

[Uno Venova]

A console doesn't need to have an 'impulse buy' price point as soon as it launches.

 

[GhostTrick]

It's a pretty good price for a home console, the Wii did great at this price, and the switch gimmick seems to be resonating with the public.

Wii at 250 dollars was a console competing against 400 and 600 dollars systems. It also had appealing games announced and it basically had a dream gimmick, which was basically motion based controls.

 

[James Scott]

Which is why $199 should be the price. That is total impulse buy territory for most people.

They can lower the price later depending on demand. They want to make some money off of it and if it sells at a loss at $200 and they sell Wii numbers then they'll lose quite a bit.
A system doesn't need to launch at impulse buy price

 

[Diprosalic]

the fact that you think 50 to 70 bucks is just a couple is kind of insane, on top of making a big deal about buying a console at launch for a port and bragging about it

70 bucks over 4 months is 58 cents a day. How will i ever recover.

How am i bragging? I said even if they drop it to 2/3 the price after 4 months it will have been well worth it. I don't understand how non-early adopters could laugh at especially if they would pick one up themselves after the drop.

 

[cw_sasuke]

Because the price for merely that kind of hardware is quite high. And a bit of wishful thinking. Considering how uncomfortable the tablet and the side controllers look, having no game would mean one would have to pay a minimum of €350 for the console, a half decent controller and a game would be quite harsh.

There is a solution for that - but they wont bundle a optional Pro Controller with the standard system. Just like MS isnt bundling every Xbox One with an Elite Controller. Lets not get crazy.

 

[Mpl90]

Nobody will probably read this post but erm anyone fluent in Japanese can confirm that Nikkei isn't just speculating here?

I'm at N2 level so maybe I'm glancing over something but this doesn't read as a rumor or leak to me. It's more like "based on what Iwata said in the past, the pricing of competitors systems etc, we expect the price to be around 25000 yen"

It's just a forecast right?

As said already, we need a more proper translation.

 

[vasametropolis]

Damn.. looks like Canadians are paying $350-400 after taxes...

Which is why I'm out. Different market pricing exists so you can price things irrespective of the literal exchange rate (usually so it's a stable price). Whether Nintendo values Canada or places like Australia enough to eat a bit to present it at a better price is anyone's guess, but I'd guess not. Otherwise why not just buy everything in USD?

It's like when Steam announced support for CAD and it was pointless. I often prefer using the USD because the CAD value is usually exchange rate PLUS "we rounded up." And they boast it like it's a good thing when it isn't 99.9% of the time.

I think I may be an outlier, but to me $225 USD was the most balanced price to give it a competitive edge as both a handheld and an alternative to Xbox One and PS4. $250 is good, but not that good.

 

[Sesuadra]

Jesus christ man

Aostia is great in switch threads. EVERYTHING IS DOOOOOM.

@Aostia. You be you and I hope your flu is gone soon!

 

[GregLombardi]

They can lower the price later depending on demand. They want to make some money off of it and if it sells at a loss at $200 and they sell Wii numbers then they'll lose quite a bit.
A system doesn't need to launch at impulse buy price

I might disagree in today's world, but we will see. 250 isn't bad as a price, I don't think you can go higher, even though you are getting a handheld AND a console in one.

 

[Nairume]

Wii at 250 dollars was a console competing against 400 and 600 dollars systems. It also had appealing games announced and it basically had a dream gimmick, which was basically motion based controls.

Maybe we should wait for Thursday before we start suggesting the Switch isn't launching with appealing titles, even though Zelda alone proves you wrong.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Friday morning going to gamestop to give my Xbox 1 towards it. Get that paper weight out of here.

Savage.

 

[Franz Brötchen]

People buying the system or not is irrelevant. It's not a very good price.

Yeah sorry, in a market economy this sequence of words doesn't make any sense, even out of context. It is precisely the question whether people buy it, if you want to know if it is a good price.

 

[Oregano]

Aren't gameseek normally terrible for preorders and have been known to cancel stuff and just generally have terrible service?

Might be thinking of someone else.

Don't know, never used them.

Sorry but can you remind me what happened to the 3ds price tag few months after its release in Japan?
And are Vita sales all that good over there?

Are you seriously expecting third parties and mass market to jump on 25000¥ boat?

The 3DS got its price drop in its 25th Week. I just went back and checked the first 25 weeks sales for the four relevant systems in Japan this generation. After 25 weeks(give or take) they were at:

3DS: 1,500,000
Vita: 765,000
Wii U: 928,000
PS4: 658,000

The 3DS was always doing better than any other system this gen. Even when the country was wrecked by a Tsunami weeks after the device launched.

Interesting...optimism rising. I have a lot of trade-in credit with Game though so I would pre-order with them.

Well it was Game who threatened LKD when she reported that they were going to price the system at £200...

 

[kubus]

I can't even read beyond ver basic Japanese but I just assumed that was the case (speculation).

The OP says "seems to be all but confirmed" so I think most of the people here think that Nikkei just posted a scoop or something. I mean they succesfully leaked stuff in the past about the 3DS XL and stuff but this just reads like speculation to me. There's nothing in the article that says "based on information obtained by Nikkei" or "sources have said" or whatever. Just "Iwata said this in the past" and "This Rakuten analyst expects this price" and "Sony's PS4 costs 30000 so we don't expect the Switch to be more expensive"

I think people are freaking out over nothing here

 

[JoeM86]

Which is why $199 should be the price. That is total impulse buy territory for most people.

But Nintendo are also a business. They need to profit from it, not tank.

Do I need to give the history lesson where Nintendo's 3DS price cut caused the 3DS to take off but also caused Nintendo to go into the red for the first time ever?

 

[phanphare]

I know, and I expect $250. Just saying the math works differently, that's all.

$229 in the US would go a long way towards sales if they decided to go that route. price the deluxe sku at like $275 and make the pack in digital and that would help as well.

 

[jroc74]

I'll take 10

I'll take at least 3. Maybe 4.

 

[boiled goose]

St 250 I'll buy at launch once I know about digital content management details and determine them to be adequate.

 

[GhostTrick]

I don't think much will change wether it's 200 or 250$ in the market mindshare. At least, with that price, they have some room for a emergency price-cut move like they did with the 3DS. It's a good price for a compromise between handled and home console. It's not "too much for a handled", as it's barely above the New 3DS XL and it's much more powerful.
I expect it to be 200$ by next Black Friday.

Of course it will. 199 dollars is a psychological barrier.
Being barely above 3DS XL just proved that 3DS XL is overpriced and why 3DS sales are slowing down this much.

 

[sammex]

Thank you Brexit for cheap Switches.

I know you're kidding but it'd be cheaper if Brexit hadn't tanked the pound...

 

[LordRaptor]

Wii at 250 dollars was a console competing against 400 and 600 dollars systems.

360 core was $300 at launch.
For a large portion of the Wiis lifespan the 360 core was the cheapest console on the market.

 

[Boke1879]

A console doesn't need to have an 'impulse buy' price point as soon as it launches.

Eh I think there can be arguments made for a nintendo console it needs to be strong out the gate and an impulse buy price definitely helps with that.

 

[Kintaro]

I mean, in terms of price, it's fine. It is a gigantic upgrade over last gen handhelds.

Well, it definitely looks good compared to the 3DS, which looked like shit compared to the Vita. So, I suppose that would skew things a bit.

The 3DS at $200 (which it still is) was/is super overpriced for what we got.

The $80 2DS is much closer to what the 3DS probably should have been, especially now.

 

[delSai]

Price is okay. Games are what will either make or break this thing for me.

 

[WrenchNinja]

70 bucks over 4 months is 58 cents a day. How will i ever recover.

probably by playing that wii u game I guess

 

[Nickle]

I'll wait until it's 20$.

 

[LordKano]

Of course it will. 199 dollars is a psychological barrier.
Being barely above 3DS XL just proved that 3DS XL is overpriced and why 3DS sales are slowing down this much.

And yet, the 3DS XL sells like gangbusters when games are here. Proof that the market doesn't mind such a price for handled if the line-up is sufficient.

 

[GhostTrick]

Yeah sorry, in a market economy this sequence of words doesn't make any sense, even out of context. It is precisely the question whether people buy it, if you want to know if it is a good price.

It is out of context. I'm replying to someone claiming "People criticizing the price weren't planning to buy ut anyway". Which is irrelevant to have an opinion on the system's price. Especially when said opinion is based on previous console datas.

And yet, the 3DS XL sells like gangbusters when games are here. Proof that the market doesn't mind such a price for handled if the line-up is sufficient.

Where ? In what world ? Same 3DS's which sales WW peaked at first year and kept dropping over and over ? Price is what prevented 3DS to reach GBA numbers.

 

[Succinct Verbosity]

If the launch games are good, 250 is an insta-buy from me.

 

[Diprosalic]

I know you're kidding but it'd be cheaper if Brexit hadn't tanked the pound...

I am, but not for me getting uk games from amazon

 

[atr0cious]

People buying the system or not is irrelevant. It's not a very good price. It's expensive for a handheld and as a home console, it's competing with PS4 or One which are in the same range of price but twice to three times faster.

200 dollars is impulse buy territory. 250 dollars is too much for a handheld. Fine for a home console but this one is competing with other established consoles on the same price point.






Yes, 250 dollars is conservative. It's basically in the "Let's not try to be competitive" range. Then again, I dont see in what world 250 dollars will make Switch a success for now. Unless it sets the world on fire with crazy game announcements, it'll wish to do 3DS numbers when it was priced at 250 dollars. Which... Isn't the kind of target Nintendo wants.

Why are you trying to corner the switch into one market? Even though Nintendo says it's a home console, it's form factor, gimmick and entire marketing message is on its portability. This allows them to charge more for the home part, but also pull in developers and customers of handheld games. In a perfect world, the vita would've done this first. Though $200 would be great, and would obviously draw a bit more attention (not necessarily sales), the rumored price almost perfectly straddles that line of premium and impulse.

 

[Shirke]

Around what I expected, now if Pokemon comes out this year on the Switch, I know what I'm saving for Christmas.

 

[Osiris]

"Great price for a home console, Poor for a portable"

"Poor specs for a home console, Great for a portable".

This disconnect will keep me from purchasing until it's cheap and has proven itself with a full library that tempts me.

 

[Uno Venova]

It's not when the PS4 Slim is the same price and is vastly, vastly stronger than the Switch. And the amount of resonance the Wii's gimmick had with the general public and the time it came out on is not comparable to the current situation.

Yeah that's obvious, but it remains to be seen how much a difference in specs will affect interest, especially is if has a great lineup of software.

 

[Oregano]

Well, it definitely looks good compared to the 3DS, which looked like shit compared to the Vita. So, I suppose that would skew things a bit.

The 3DS at $200 (which it still is) was/is super overpriced for what we got.

The $80 2DS is much closer to what the 3DS probably should have been, especially now.

It's also more than a generational leap over Vita and has built-in storage and compatibility with non-proprietary memory cards. Oh and it can dock and render at a higher resolution on screen.

 

[wild wild rice]

That's nuts.

 

[Air]

$229 in the US would go a long way towards sales if they decided to go that route. price the deluxe sku at like $275 and make the pack in digital and that would help as well.

This is where I'm at. I don't think it costs a lot to make the console, so pricing it at $225-$230 will give them the opportunity for a nice profit. I don't see a premium sku at $300. I don't think Nintendo will ever go near that number again

 

[Cyborg]

Hmm excpected €199 if you consider the specs and the competition

 

[alr1ght]

Eh I think there can be arguments made for a nintendo console it needs to be strong out the gate and an impulse buy price definitely helps with that.

It definitely helps. Look at the NES Classic. $60 is impulse, see it at the store and buy it territory. If they priced it at $100, it would have done much worse.

 

[schuelma]

$250 is the sweet spot, good news if true.

Those hoping for $200 aren't thinking things through.

 

[sammex]

I am, but not for me getting uk games from amazon

Oh then enjoy our demise

 

[Coffee Dog]

I mean, in terms of price, it's fine. It is a gigantic upgrade over last gen handhelds.

It being a tech upgrade isn't why people buy handhelds. The vita floundered at this price.

 

[alexbull_uk]

Wonder how much it'll be in £££

£200 would be a dream.

 

[120v]

People buying the system or not is irrelevant. It's not a very good price. It's expensive for a handheld and as a home console, it's competing with PS4 or One which are in the same range of price but twice to three times faster.

200 dollars is impulse buy territory. 250 dollars is too much for a handheld. Fine for a home console but this one is competing with other established consoles on the same price point.

Yes, 250 dollars is conservative. It's basically in the "Let's not try to be competitive" range. Then again, I dont see in what world 250 dollars will make Switch a success for now. Unless it sets the world on fire with crazy game announcements, it'll wish to do 3DS numbers when it was priced at 250 dollars. Which... Isn't the kind of target Nintendo wants.

3DS bombed at $250 because nintendo overshot the demand for stereoscopic 3D. to most folks it was just DS mk II so nintendo had to course correct later on

there's no parallel there with Switch unless you want to get into the whole handheld/home console semantics mess. it's really its own thing, and it's appeal will be in form factor so power/value comparisons with xbox and ps are generally negligible