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[Vawn]

Switch is becoming pretty expensive in comparison to everything else. Third-party games cost, on average, $10 more new than the same games new on PS4, XB1 and PC. And Nintendo games almost never drop in price used, while they drop like rocks on everything else. Several $60 Switch games (even used) can be bought on PS4 for $20.

But, I can't blame Nintendo for keeping the used market in check. I'm sure the others guys wish they could pull that off.

Still, how is the latest Wii U port a full $60? Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze came out in early 2014 for $49.99. It was repackaged as a classic for $19.99 by Nintendo.

Now it is being released for Switch. I don't even think it can be classified as a remaster. And it's $60. That's more than it cost when it was originally released over 4 years ago and triple the price Nintendo has been selling it at for years.

Am I alone in feeling like it's getting too expensive staying with the Switch ecosystem?

 

[mushy tailspin]

Switch is becoming ridiculously expensive in comparison to everything else. Games cost, on average, $10 more than the same games on PS4, XB1 and PC. And Nintendo games almost never drop in price used, while they drop like rocks on everything else. Several $60 Switch games (even used) can be bought on PS4 for $20.

But, I can't blame Nintendo for keeping the used market in check. I'm sure the others guys wish they could pull that off.

Still, how is the latest Wii U port a full $60? Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze came out in early 2014 for $49.99. It was repackaged as a classic for $19.99 by Nintendo.

Now it is being released for Switch. I don't even think it can be classified as a remaster. And it's $60. That's more than it cost when it was originally released over 4 years ago and triple the price Nintendo has been selling it at for years.

Am I alone in feeling like it's getting too expensive staying with the Switch ecosystem?

Yeah its a bitch. I don't buy any of the ports minus Mario kart because I love Mario kart 8. But the rest of the ports I've passed on. I'd say they're more for the non WiiU owners. No reason to buy them again.

The trick I've been doing for free Nintendo games is I have a ton of old smart phones I get for free or under $10 load them up with Ad paying lock screens cash them out for Amazon gift cards and some of that money I buy Nintendo gift cards on Amazon. I've gotten all my switch games that way

 

[jdforge]

I really want to buy this game as I missed it on Wii U. But I am not paying this much for it and I reckon there’s plenty like me.

It’s piss poor of Nintendo to do this.

 

[Petrae]

Since I passed on the Wii U entirely, I have less of a problem paying the MSRP— though I never pay full price, thanks to Best Buy/GCU, Target RED Card, or trade-in credit at GameStop. Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, and Bayonetta 2 were all games that I’m glad to have a chance to play without having to buy a console that I never wanted to own.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

Welcome to closed ecosystems. Once you have a captive audience, they’re yours to exploit. See: Movie Theaters, Amusements Parks

 

[OH-MyCar]

They gave out Tropical Freeze for free as a Club Nintendo prize. I can't blame them for trying to make money with the Switch this time around, but that's rough. $39.99 would feel much more appropriate, if that.

 

[cucuchu]

Its especially ridiculous when the cost of playing games on the switch is compared to the value of something like XBOX Gamepass.

 

[InterMusketeer]

I can't justify the 60 bucks for this game. For 45 I would consider, so I guess I'll have to wait a bit.

 

[mushy tailspin]

They gave out Tropical Freeze for free as a Club Nintendo prize. I can't blame them for trying to make money with the Switch this time around, but that's rough. $39.99 would feel much more appropriate, if that.

I thought I remembered getting tropical freeze and wind waker for free. I couldn't remember how or if I imagined it

 

[Zog]

This is the first time when 'I missed it on the Wii U' actually has meaning. Usually the sentence makes no sense since you don't 'miss' a game unless it is delisted. A game is a product, not a miss-able event. However, the all digital future cons are beginning to show.

 

[mushy tailspin]

This is the first time when 'I missed it on the Wii U' actually has meaning. Usually the sentence makes no sense since you don't 'miss' a game unless it is delisted. A game is a product, not a miss-able event. However, the all digital future cons are beginning to show.

MMOs are missable

 

[Zog]

MMOs are missable

When people say 'I missed it on the Wii U', they aren't talking about an MMO.

 

[Revolutionary]

Nintendo is aware that a sizeable portion of their fanbase will buy anything with a Nintendo logo on it. Hell, even I fall for it sometimes (bought Mario Kart 8 on Switch for some stupid reason).

 

[Fbh]

Yep, screw their pricing. I don't mind double dipping on games and would have done so with pretty much every WiiU port. But not for full price. Right now I can get the just released, amazingly reviewed god of war for $60, or for the same price a slightly enhanced port of a game that cost me $50 over 4 years ago. Chances are that in 6 months I'll probably be able to get God of War for $30-40 while Tropical Freeze will still be $60.

Pricing on the Switch in general is terrible and the big reasons why I don't own many Switch games despite liking the system.
And it's not just Nintendo games, it's like all publishers take advantage of the fact that the Nintendo audience is Ok with this.

Late ports on PC: $30, includes all DLC, 4K 60FPS. To celebrate the release it's going to be $25 for 1 week!!
Late ports on other consoles: Between $40-$60. Includes all DLC, enhanced features if the hardware allows it, It's frequently going to be on sale and like 3-4 months from now you'll often see it for $30 or less
Late ports on Switch: $60, might include DLC or might not, worse graphics and performance. 8 months from now it's going to be on sale for $45.... maybe.

Same with sales.
PC: Constant sales on various platforms (GOG, Steam, etc), cool humble bundles, generally free or reduced upgrades to "enhanced editions"
Ps4 (I'm sure it's similar on Xbox but I'm not familiar with it): Weekly sales, special sales for various events (golden week, E3, Halloween, etc), a flash sale every month
Eshop: That indie game that's usually $5 more expensive than everywhere else has a $5 sale this week!!! Also Skyrim is just $50!!!!

One could argue Nintendo doesn't decide the pricing of their third party partners which is true. But I get the feeling publishers don't just run to Sony and MS begging them to make sales, seems to me that, for example, Sony reaches out to their partners so they can get enough of them on board to continue making their weekly sales.
It's a shame but over the years I've adopted a "get it within the first 1-2 month or don't get it at all" mentality with Nintendo games. I've cut back on the number of full priced games I buy, and when I do decide to spend $60 on a game I'd rather do it on a new release that has me hyped instead of a port or a game that was released a year ago

 

[mushy tailspin]

When people say 'I missed it on the Wii U', they aren't talking about an MMO.

I know that but you said games aren't missable just simply pointing out some are. Don't get your panties in a bunch

 

[mushy tailspin]

Nintendo is aware that a sizeable portion of their fanbase will buy anything with a Nintendo logo on it. Hell, even I fall for it sometimes (bought Mario Kart 8 on Switch for some stupid reason).

Know what posses me off with MK8 Switch is how they removed some basic things I liked seeing the state racers were in, no longer being able to upload clips to youtube. There was a few other small things I'm drawing a blank on atm but it was stuff that had no reason to go.
I do think mk8 was enough of an upgrade for another purchase battle mode, 2 weapon slots(though they really need to be swappable Wtf) the dlc tracks so the online isn't fractured. Were the splatoon characters new I forget? Added handicap settings. Either way I can't own a Nintendo console withour having Mario kart as its best game to pull out at gatherings and the fact you get 2 player out of the box with joy cons.
I've played with strangers on greyhound bus trips 2 player online multiplayer. So it was worth a double dip for me

 

[TheShadowLord]

If I was a reviewer and reviewing this game, I would make it down by a 1 point for it's $60 price tag while offering not enough new content to justify the MSRP.

 

[CloudStrife_ca]

Its $79.99 in Canada. I think $59.99 would be acceptable here and I know at some point I'll end up grabbing it. The thing is Nintendo first party games, remakes or not don't usually drop in price all that much.

 

[JCK75]

I completely understand the premium when it comes to retail and the cost of cartridges, but it's seriously time people who buy digital should see some major price relief.

 

[ilfait]

When you look at it from the perspective of effort required to port it, the game's expensive. If you look at it from the perspective of how good and replayable TF is compared to other games, then it's a deal.

I wish it were cheap so that I could sell my Wii U copy and make up for the majority of the cost of the port, but there are worse ways to spend $50-60, i.e. nearly every other game made in the past decade. Still probably going to wait for a physical copy to go on sale.

 

[jadedm17]

^^^ILFAIT...Its all timing. Half a year to a few months before Switch release was ideal timing; I got probably 80% of my money spent trading to Gamestop then... Dk Freeze netted $45 with their deals.

Massive amount of people who didnt own a WiiU
+ People will pay it
= $$$$

Portability goes a long way and even as a WiiU owner who bought DK, I didn't give it enough love so I've been waiting for months to buy this at $60. The game is worth it to me. I'd personally buy Bioshock or Borderlands collection a third time and will spend money on a Switch Fortnite.

It's not worth it to you but Nintendo knows their market enough to charge a premium.

Heck I've got a $12 copy of Doom PS4 but after months still can't find a sub $30 Switch version to buy : Most places are still $60.

 

[-MD-]

I really wanna play this but $60 for a game this old is a no go, $30 woulda been great.

Since Nintendo games never drop in price I'm considering a gamefly sub.

 

[DigitalScrap]

Yeah, I would have bought this at $39, but it's a pass at $60. Heck, I'll hook my Wii U back up and buy the Nintendo Selects version if I decide I absolutely have to play it. I guess you won't be able to find the Wii U version soon (I see some sellers have it on Amazon with Prime shipping for ~$25).

 

[ilfait]

^^^ILFAIT...Its all timing. Half a year to a few months before Switch release was ideal timing; I got probably 80% of my money spent trading to Gamestop then... Dk Freeze netted $45 with their deals.

I listed my Wii U copy for sale the moment the Switch port was announced, but I had some potential buyers flake out. I should have just predicted that it would be ported, since it's pretty obvious.

Sold Bayonetta as soon as it was confirmed to be a good port for a decent amount though (and then got fucked over with the shitty Japan-only Bayo1 release situation while I wasn't paying attention. Kamiya, pls) And got a really good trade-in deal for MK8.

 

[TheDuskwalker]

It's made even worse when you consider they're only charging 10$ more for Captain Toad over the Wii U version, which looks to offer a lot more new content, yet Tropical Freeze is fucking 40$ over Wii U version for Funky (easy) mode.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

They charged full price for Skyrim, this is no surprise. Sad, but not a surprise.

People are obviously prepared to pay it, though, or they wouldn't do it.

 

[Ballthyrm]

For 60$ you get:

• One of the best platformer ever made
• 1080p 60fps + new graphics which are better than what the original proposed
• a rock solid port which can't be said for most video games (looking at you skyrim)

If that's not enough of a value proposition for you, you can still wait for the price to go down.

Most people never played that game (like mk8) , i don't see what Nintendo would gain by selling cheap what is for them a brand new experience.

People who already have a copy can wait or play it again on wiiU.


Price != Value. I don't want to think of video-game as a 20$ video game or a 10$ video game, they are piece of art not a Starbucks coffee that you consume and then throw away.

 

[CD'S BAR]

Just one of the reasons Nintendo hardware has become so unattractive to own for me. The only good games on their systems are first-party, and they know it so the games are rarely, if ever, discounted.

 

[mushy tailspin]

For 60$ you get:

• One of the best platformer ever made
• 1080p 60fps + new graphics which are better than what the original proposed
• a rock solid port which can't be said for most video games (looking at you skyrim)

If that's not enough of a value proposition for you, you can still wait for the price to go down.

Most people never played that game (like mk8) , i don't see what Nintendo would gain by selling cheap what is for them a brand new experience.

People who already have a copy can wait or play it again on wiiU.


Price != Value. I don't want to think of video-game as a 20$ video game or a 10$ video game, they are piece of art not a Starbucks coffee that you consume and then throw away.

Not really thread related but is skyrim switch a bad port? I haven't played it on any system(only daggerfall and morrowind.) Would I like skyrim on switch or is it a bug filled mess(I don't care for the lack of mods per Dr except for bug fixing ones like skycliff racer remover mods for morrowind)

 

[Vawn]

It's made even worse when you consider they're only charging 10$ more for Captain Toad over the Wii U version, which looks to offer a lot more new content, yet Tropical Freeze is fucking 40$ over Wii U version for Funky (easy) mode.

You know Nintendo has us by the balls when we consider being charged "only" $10 more than the original MSRP on a several years-old game a good deal.

 

[TheDuskwalker]

You know Nintendo has us by the balls when we consider being charged "only" $10 more than the original MSRP on a several years-old game a good deal.

Very true.....

Not really thread related but is skyrim switch a bad port? I haven't played it on any system(only daggerfall and morrowind.) Would I like skyrim on switch or is it a bug filled mess(I don't care for the lack of mods per Dr except for bug fixing ones like skycliff racer remover mods for morrowind)

I have it on Switch, and other than 1 crash at the very beginning of the game it's been better than other versions I've played, and the framerate seemed to be a solid 30FPS. Of course the guy you're quoting is defending TF's price with things like "new graphics" which isn't even true.

 

[Ballthyrm]

Not really thread related but is skyrim switch a bad port? I haven't played it on any system(only daggerfall and morrowind.) Would I like skyrim on switch or is it a bug filled mess(I don't care for the lack of mods per Dr except for bug fixing ones like skycliff racer remover mods for morrowind)

It's okay, it's just that i expected a little more than Vanilla Skyrim. The ps4 re-release was handled with a little more care IMHO. You can see on the TV the game dynamically changing the resolution in big scenes but that's very hard to see on handheld which is were the game truly shines.

Then again you get all the Bethesda DLC with it i think, i haven't checked . I was playing it with Zelda at the same time which i guess isn't really a fair comparison.

 

[mushy tailspin]

Very true.....


I have it on Switch, and other than 1 crash at the very beginning of the game it's been better than other versions I've played, and the framerate seemed to be a solid 30FPS. Of course the guy you're quoting is defending TF's price with things like "new graphics" which isn't even true.

TF isn't 1080p?
Did WiiU support 1080p?
Either was TF on WiiU was fucking gorgeous. It was crazy hard for me so I never got far. It was also a huge file so I had to delete and reinstall to play it often

 

[OH-MyCar]

You know Nintendo has us by the balls when we consider being charged "only" $10 more than the original MSRP on a several years-old game a good deal.

They're also one of the rare companies where you have people pop out of the woodwork and straight-up argue with you for not liking it. They could re-release Uniracers on Switch and there'd always be someone saying "Well I missed it in the 16-bit era and what with inflation, it was like $80 MSRP new. I think portability adds a tremendous value to the $49.99 Uniracers package and can't wait to buy it day-one".

With enough of those people in the world, I've never been quite sure if Nintendo's treating us any other way than what we deserve.

 

[grfunkulus]

I don't know why it was such a huge file size given that it was 720p. There are 4k games that are smaller...and it was a platformer.

We live in this bizarro world where they can rerelease a decent game 4 years late at a higher price and people will defend it. The game was given away for free through club Nintendo for fuck's sake. And acting like it took any amount of effort to get the game running on Switch at a slightly higher resolution is dishonest.

Rock solid port. Woohoo. It barely looks better than the Wii U version (there are some shader differences apparent the the Digital Foundry breakdown that favor Wii U imo).

Wii U didn't have a ton of first party 1080p titles. Mario Tennis, Wind Waker, Smash, and Twilight Princess Remaster being the most prominent from my recollection. The rez buff is much more noticeable in something like MK8 where the complete lack of anti-aliasing on the 3d character models was super apparent. Not so much here.

EDIT: this stings worse because it's Retro and Retro isn't making the new Metroid. I hope that game is worth the price of admission. I hope Switch has an awful attach rate if this anti-consumer pricing continues snowballing.

Gamasutra pulled together some stats on the Wii's attach rate. It was keeping pace or beating the PS3 through the first two years (if you take into account both first and third party). Mind boggling. I need to find the numbers at the end of the generation.

 

[TheDuskwalker]

TF isn't 1080p?
Did WiiU support 1080p?
Either was TF on WiiU was fucking gorgeous. It was crazy hard for me so I never got far. It was also a huge file so I had to delete and reinstall to play it often

No, it's 1080p (720p on Wii U), but he said 1080p + new graphics, which isn't true, any graphical differences is typical port stuff, biggest change being something they changed/removed to make character models sharper, showing off there details better, like fur, on top of the resolution boost (although as a guy above me pointed out, the shader tweaks on environments actually favor Wii U in spots). In handheld mode the resolution is actually worse than Wii U.

The only major improvement over Wii U is load times, Switch is much faster and doesn't have the lag on loading screens.

 

[Graven]

I also learned that they removed the WiiU version from the eshop, which is beyond ridiculous.

 

[mushy tailspin]

I also learned that they removed the WiiU version from the eshop, which is beyond ridiculous.

Now that's just fucked up. I sold my WiiU so it doesn't matter now. But like I said before it was such a huge game for the WiiU capacity I had to delete it and download it again clearing other things if I wanted to play.
Would that make it inaccessible?

 

[visiblemode]

I completely understand the premium when it comes to retail and the cost of cartridges, but it's seriously time people who buy digital should see some major price relief.

This “cost of cartidges” thing has to get some back up, if people are going keep saying it. The retail costs for tiny cards, similar to this, have been laughable for ages. My guess is that, while costing way more than a Bluray, making the cartidges is still incredibly cheap.

 

[royox]

For 60$ you get:

• One of the best platformer ever made
• 1080p 60fps + new graphics which are better than what the original proposed
• a rock solid port which can't be said for most video games (looking at you skyrim)

If that's not enough of a value proposition for you, you can still wait for the price to go down.

Most people never played that game (like mk8) , i don't see what Nintendo would gain by selling cheap what is for them a brand new experience.

People who already have a copy can wait or play it again on wiiU.


Price != Value. I don't want to think of video-game as a 20$ video game or a 10$ video game, they are piece of art not a Starbucks coffee that you consume and then throw away.

For 60$ you get the "HD version of a 4 years old game". Usually those games come at reduced price like Dark Souls Remaster. But it's Nintendo and nintendo fans will buy ANYTHING Nintendo releases at full price w/o even asking why are they paying full price for a 4 years old game.

 

[Graven]

Now that's just fucked up. I sold my WiiU so it doesn't matter now. But like I said before it was such a huge game for the WiiU capacity I had to delete it and download it again clearing other things if I wanted to play.
Would that make it inaccessible?

I haven't checked it yet, since i learned about this today. i bought the game and finished it, however i wanted to give it another spin, i will check it down the line.

I genuinely hope some backlash comes out of it, because that is bizarre to say in the least.

 

[Dice]

This kind of thing is why I am done with Nintendo. They make lovely games, but the premium is too much when there is so much greatness out there that can be experienced so cheaply.

 

[Poppyseed]

They gave out Tropical Freeze for free as a Club Nintendo prize. I can't blame them for trying to make money with the Switch this time around, but that's rough. $39.99 would feel much more appropriate, if that.

Yep. That’s how I got it. Ridiculous to charge $60 for it now. Still, it’s a great game.

 

[Refreshment.01]

Nintendo is aware that a sizeable portion of their fanbase will buy anything with a Nintendo logo on it. Hell, even I fall for it sometimes (bought Mario Kart 8 on Switch for some stupid reason).

i think both sides of the argument have founded reasons. The "informed consumer" like most guys in this thread are, know that the game released in 2014 at a lower price and that this port is comparativly low effort in contrats with something like Shadow of the Colossus PS4, which launched at the same MSRP.

Yet, as time goes by with games moving into the digital realm and experiences cattered to people with different state of mind regarding what games are about, the more i disagree with the views of games strictly as products that should be valued according to how much time per dollar expend they give. Or the view that sees games as "a thing of the moment", so if a game is "old" it should be dirt cheap.

Tropical Freeze is one of the best 2D Platformers of all time and maybe the best one since 2014. So even at 60 is worth the price tag for the card it comes in. People that lived by without it since 2014 can continue to do so or just wait for a discount or buy used. But if it takes for this port to be 60 to make Nintendo consider developing more games of this type so be it. What's sure is, that slowly but surely, these flavor of games are disappering from the big publishers.

 

[ReBurn]

Nintendo doesn't discount their IP. They believe that it has value. It's been this way forever and it's not likely to change. It comes down to whether you believe that it has value.

As for third party games, that cartridge tax is affecting prices. They aren't going to discount digital and undercut the physical prices.

 

[Vawn]

Nintendo doesn't discount their IP. They believe that it has value. It's been this way forever and it's not likely to change. It comes down to whether you believe that it has value.

Except that it cost $49.99 when it launched in 2014, dropped to $19.99 as a Nintendo Select and eventually given away for free as a reward.

Now they ported it to the system with a high attach rate in 2018 and charge $59.99.

 

[DigitalScrap]

I also learned that they removed the WiiU version from the eshop, which is beyond ridiculous.

I had a feeling they would do that shit. Yeah, that sucks.

 

[Two Pikachus]

They're also one of the rare companies where you have people pop out of the woodwork and straight-up argue with you for not liking it. They could re-release Uniracers on Switch and there'd always be someone saying "Well I missed it in the 16-bit era and what with inflation, it was like $80 MSRP new. I think portability adds a tremendous value to the $49.99 Uniracers package and can't wait to buy it day-one".

With enough of those people in the world, I've never been quite sure if Nintendo's treating us any other way than what we deserve.

It really is ludicrous the way people defend this kind of practice. Anti-consumer bullshit is anti-consumer bullshit. It doesn't matter who does it. Nintendo isn't special in this regard.

 

[mushy tailspin]

i think both sides of the argument have founded reasons. The "informed consumer" like most guys in this thread are, know that the game released in 2014 at a lower price and that this port is comparativly low effort in contrats with something like Shadow of the Colossus PS4, which launched at the same MSRP.

Yet, as time goes by with games moving into the digital realm and experiences cattered to people with different state of mind regarding what games are about, the more i disagree with the views of games strictly as products that should be valued according to how much time per dollar expend they give. Or the view that sees games as "a thing of the moment", so if a game is "old" it should be dirt cheap.

Tropical Freeze is one of the best 2D Platformers of all time and maybe the best one since 2014. So even at 60 is worth the price tag for the card it comes in. People that lived by without it since 2014 can continue to do so or just wait for a discount or buy used. But if it takes for this port to be 60 to make Nintendo consider developing more games of this type so be it. What's sure is, that slowly but surely, these flavor of games are disappering from the big publishers.

This is very true. TF is a really great platformer

And Nintendo will discount their select games like they do every generation.

 

[ReBurn]

Except that it cost $49.99 when it launched in 2014, dropped to $19.99 as a Nintendo Select and eventually given away for free as a reward.

Now they ported it to the system with a high attach rate in 2018 and charge $59.99.

And it has better load times, a new mode, higher resolution at 60 FPS when docked. I'm not saying I support the price, but Nintendo knows what they have. They're going to make the money they didn't make on WiiU. And people are going to pay them.