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Nintendo Switch is $470AUD ($312 USD) in Australia

There just might be no possible price in the current Australian market that would allow Nintendo to be competitive while also allowing them to make a profit on each device. They really might have just written off this region since we are small.
 
Switch $470
Zelda $90
128GB micro SD card $110 (minimum)
Pro controller $100

$770 just to get started. $670 if you don't need the Pro.

Fuck. Right. Off. Nintendo.

Are SD cards really that expensive in Australia? In Europe, you can get good 128GB micro SD cards for around $55 AUD...
 
Hoping for a 3DS situation where retailers start offering their own great launch deals despite Nintendo's RRP. Not holding my breath though.
 
Price seems pretty decent to me, significantly lower than what the X1 and PS4 launch prices were, and those consoles didn't come with a TV screen built in and portability. I imagine the price will come down after a year or so.

ps4/xbox have better specs, and wii u is still launch RRP so dont count on it
 
Hoping for a 3DS situation where retailers start offering their own great launch deals despite Nintendo's RRP. Not holding my breath though.

Well, at least in Europe, the tendency is there... The Proc Controller has a suggested retail price of 80€ ($113 AUD), but many vendors, especially in Germany, have them as low as 65€ ($92 AUD), and in fact, that's what I have paid for mine.
 
Switch $470
Zelda $90
128GB micro SD card $110 (minimum)
Pro controller $100

$770 just to get started. $670 if you don't need the Pro.

Fuck. Right. Off. Nintendo.

I agree with all of this, truly I do, but if you really don't want to kill the hype off until the holiday season, there are sacrifices you can just learn to deal with that allows you to jump in at launch.

I'm only getting the console and Zelda at launch. The Joy Con grip should be fine as a controller for the T.V and you can also kick back in bed with the Switch in your hands portable style. Just wait for the inevitable price cut for the pro controller.

As for the memory, I understand how annoying memory management can be. However a fellow Gaffer had a brilliant idea the other day that stuck with me. Zelda is by far the biggest game, at least at launch yes? So buy Zelda's game cart from somewhere cheap like PlayAsia then use the on board 32GB memory for any other game as digital, at least until a time where you spot a large capacity microsd on sale somewhere for a decent price.

So, the Switch itself and Zelda.That's $560, total. And the only thing you need is patience to accept Nintendo's bullshit for what it is, but you also get the luxury of voting with your wallet as far as the peripherals are concerned which are obscenely expensive.

And that isn't even factoring in the paid online, which like me you can choose to just say nope.jpg unless the value is definitely there (i'm not holding my breath).
 
I agree with all of this, truly I do, but if you really don't want to kill the hype off until the holiday season, there are sacrifices you can just learn to deal with that allows you to jump in at launch.

I'm only getting the console and Zelda at launch. The Joy Con grip should be fine as a controller for the T.V and you can also kick back in bed with the Switch in your hands portable style. Just wait for the inevitable price cut for the pro controller.

As for the memory, I understand how annoying memory management can be. However a fellow Gaffer had a brilliant idea the other day that stuck with me. Zelda is by far the biggest game, at least at launch yes? So buy Zelda's game cart from somewhere cheap like PlayAsia then use the on board 32GB memory for any other game as digital, at least until a time where you spot a large capacity microsd on sale somewhere for a decent price.

So, the Switch itself and Zelda.That's $560, total. And the only thing you need is patience to accept Nintendo's bullshit for what it is, but you also get the luxury of voting with your wallet as far as the peripherals are concerned which are obscenely expensive.

And that isn't even factoring in the paid online, which like me you can choose to just say nope.jpg unless the value is definitely there (i'm not holding my breath).

My brother works at JB. I'll hope that staff prices are good. Praying at this point.
 
My brother works at JB. I'll hope that staff prices are good. Praying at this point.

I work in a pretty big IT chain so cheap large capacity MicroSD's are readily at hand, so that solves a lot of problems that didn't need to exist right there. Sometimes life just gifts these small conveniences to you that make otherwise hard decisions easier.
 
Well you've got it sweet compared to us here in New Zealand, your brothers in arms and all that....

Nintendo Switch $549 NZD = $391.49 USD

So really, you're getting a mint deal my Aussie brethren!
 
haven't most consoles been over $500 at launch for the last 20 years?

I wasn't in Australia for the DC, OG Xbox GC and PS2 tho. The 360 was $600 I'm pretty sure. the pS3 was definitely $999, that one hurt.

And If my memory is right (which it might not be) the PS1 was $700.

Yeah. The Wii U was $430 (for the deluxe model), the Wii was $399, and the Gamecube was $330. It's definitely more than normal for a Nintendo console here, but it's not like it's a massive jump.

The Saturn was, $799. the Dreamcast was $499, the PS1 was $699, the PS2 was $749, the original Xbox was $699

The PS4 was $550 and the Xbox One was $600. The 3DS and the Vita were both $349

In the larger context of console releases here the Switch is still priced pretty well at launch.

Wow. At those prices, I'm surprised that there's any such thing as a video game market in Australia. If the rest of the world had regularly gotten prices like that, there wouldn't be a gaming industry at all.

It certainly puts things into perspective and makes you thankful for what you have, my goodness. My heart goes out to y'all, there's no way I'd be gaming at all at those prices.
 
Wow. At those prices, I'm surprised that there's any such thing as a video game market in Australia. If the rest of the world had regularly gotten prices like that, there wouldn't be a gaming industry at all.

It certainly puts things into perspective and makes you thankful for what you have, my goodness. My heart goes out to y'all, there's no way I'd be gaming at all at those prices.

I think we had the same deal on the PS3 at launch at $999 NZD......I got one for $800 from somewhere not long after launch, I remember thinking I got an amazing bargain XD

At the time, I think our dollar was pretty strong too, so that would have been about ~$700 USD at launch (@$999 NZD) :/
 
Switch $470
Zelda $90
128GB micro SD card $110 (minimum)
Pro controller $100

$770 just to get started. $670 if you don't need the Pro.

Fuck. Right. Off. Nintendo.
Lol a huge SD card and a second unneeded controller 'just to get started'. I swear people just want to be offended.

My 32GB Wii U still has 12GB left after four years, Nintendo games are small even if you buy digital retail games (eg Splatoon is under 2 gig), Nintendo installs/updates/DLC and game saves are small, and download-only games are usually a few hundred megs tops.
 
The price turned me off as a customer of every single Nintendo device to date.
However I expect I will pick one up eventually, just a shame I can't right away.

Zelda looks great and so does Mario but they aren't enough to warrant a big purchase like this yet, going to need to get a few more games at least I think.
Fingers crossed for a good price drop (doubt it) or at least a decent bundle sometime in the not too distant future.

Also why do we always base off the US prices when it's cheaper in Japan even more so. Shouldn't our prices be based off of there?
 
Lol a huge SD card and a second unneeded controller 'just to get started'. I swear people just want to be offended.

My 32GB Wii U still has 12GB left after four years, Nintendo games are small even if you buy digital retail games (eg Splatoon is under 2 gig), Nintendo installs/updates/DLC and game saves are small, and download-only games are usually a few hundred megs tops.

you know zelda alone is going to take up half the storage right?
Then the OS is going to take a chunk out of that

Xenoblade Chronicles X on the Wii U was 22.7gb.

This isn't even taking account patches.

Game saves can vary from small to large. FF15 is 600mb.....
 
Lol a huge SD card and a second unneeded controller 'just to get started'. I swear people just want to be offended.

My 32GB Wii U still has 12GB left after four years, Nintendo games are small even if you buy digital retail games (eg Splatoon is under 2 gig), Nintendo installs/updates/DLC and game saves are small, and download-only games are usually a few hundred megs tops.

tbh it's the idea of having to do any file management at all that's really irritating. but i have some spare sd cards lying around, i think.
 
Oh hey you are lucky this time. Try and Google this:
330 eur to usd

351.2355 U.S. dollars

How is that even fair? Do you know how salaries are in Spain compared to USA? How has anybody not made a thread on that?

Might be true, but there's also the matter of perception. Here in the Netherlands Switch will cost 329 euros, so like you say about 350 dollars.
I'm no marketing expert, but I'm very sure 299 euros would have gone over a lot better when it comes to public perception.
 
299 would have come a lot better to public perception indeed. I see much disappointment.

But not only that, both PlayStation and Xbox conversions are more direct (still not accurate). 300 EUR or USD get you either an S or a 4 slim.

Soon you'll even get (probably, speculating) a ps4 pro bundled with a game for 400, which would be the same price as a switch (because here a new game is 70). It's not a brand new console but it's not either comparing a ps4 or one price with switch's price.
 
It sure is, Nintendo got us real nice on this one....with Zelda and a pro controller you're looking at around $800 NZD, I'm definitely not laughing at that amount XD

Yeah it's insane.

I have enough money on my bank account to buy one but it's so expensive it gets to the point where I'm thinking "yeah I should really invest that money instead, it's the responsible thing to do" lol

Might get one at the end of year at a discount with some games.

Maybe.
 
Oh hey you are lucky this time. Try and Google this:
330 eur to usd

351.2355 U.S. dollars

How is that even fair? Do you know how salaries are in Spain compared to USA? How has anybody not made a thread on that?
Even back when the Aussie dollar was worth MORE than the USD, we Aussies were still getting shafted on consumer electronic prices. Like some things cost over double the price that Americans pay.

It's extortion, there is no justification for it and it should be illegal. But we're used to it.
 
Are they fucking kidding with that price? That's more than the Wii U at launch. (with nothing bundled in too)

Mayaswell import it and pay the shipping costs and save some money if you're not in a rush to get it day one.
If it's only $12 more than the US price...What's the point of importing??
 
There just might be no possible price in the current Australian market that would allow Nintendo to be competitive while also allowing them to make a profit on each device. They really might have just written off this region since we are small.
But it all comes down to the problematic overarching strategic direction of Nintendo Switch, which includes the R&D into, and implementation of, HD Rumble (among other things).

These strategic decisions have led to Switch failing to make the attractive US$199-249 range, and the AU$299+ range, etc., which would have seen the system fly off the shelves, develop an extremely robust userbase, and increase confidence of third party developers.

This is a huge risk, which Nintendo feels it is mitigating thanks to its unified internal game development structure, and the global appeal of its leading franchises (mainly Zelda and Pokemon).

In the short-term that risk may pay off, but, in the long-term, not fostering traditional third party audiences may contribute to an eventual decreasing in marketshare at a time when Nintendo needs to prove it can definitively bolster it.
 
Why does the thread title misquote the conversion? That bugs me since we're being overcharged by more than that...

$469AUD is ~$352 USD, not $312. Even if we were to include tax (10%, so $30 USD), we're still getting charged ~22USD too much.

Edit: Got the price of the system wrong, adjusted math above - cheers @ D.Lo. I guess our dollar sucked on Friday.

Anyway, in all, $330 USD (accounting for tax) converts to $440 AUD, so I would have expected $439 or $449 rather than $469 : /
 
Wow. At those prices, I'm surprised that there's any such thing as a video game market in Australia. If the rest of the world had regularly gotten prices like that, there wouldn't be a gaming industry at all.

It certainly puts things into perspective and makes you thankful for what you have, my goodness. My heart goes out to y'all, there's no way I'd be gaming at all at those prices.

Just note, minimum wage here is $17.70. 25% more if you're a casual employee.
 
Oh hey you are lucky this time. Try and Google this:
330 eur to usd

351.2355 U.S. dollars

How is that even fair? Do you know how salaries are in Spain compared to USA? How has anybody not made a thread on that?

The Switch is DOA in Spain considering the actual state of the country and the pricing Nintendo chose.
I'm not even sure 250€ would be good enough of a price here...
 
Wouldn't worry about it. The console will tank here and we will get discounts just like the we did with the Gamecube. Nobody is going to pay $470 for a portable Wii U.

They still want us to pay 430 for the Wii u... At least that comes with games.


Edit: also kids will have a hard enough time wanting this over an iPad, parents will grab a PS4 for cheaper WITH GAMES. This sucks
 
Why does the thread title misquote the conversion? That bugs me since we're being overcharged by more than double that...

$479AUD is $$359 USD, not $312. Even if we were to include tax (10%, so $30 USD), we're still getting charged ~30USD too much.
The thread title was (surely) based on Google showing the exchange rate as AUD = US$0.74 on Friday. The Switch is AU$469.95, AU$427 without GST, = US$316.
 
$470 is after tax.

I mean, both regions are getting it bad (though I'm less shocked than the majority here seem to be).

Yes it's really more expensive than I thought it would be here (and everywhere else too of course). :/ I was expecting 249€, was almost sure about it, when I saw the 299$ price I thought "oh fuck we'll need to pay 299€" but nope, it's even more...

In UK I think it's 279£ so it's 319€/453 AUD, so even there it's less...

The thing is, it includes "2" controllers (most of multiplayer games are playable with 2 joycons, so yeah...) and those controllers includes "HD rumbles" so it musts have a price, but I just hope for them that those "HD rumbles extra costs" worth it...

The real problem to me is that it doesn't even include any game... I mean 1 pack with 1 2 Switch or/and 1 pack with Arms would have been great for trying the new possibilities of HD rumble or the joycons. :/ The success of the Wii was a lot because of Wiisports being included in every system (except in Japan).

Personally there's no way I pay 50€/$ for 1 2 Switch, I wanna try it, I'd pay 15/20€ for it but not more.

Snipperclips for 19€ on eShop is ok though.
 
And I'm out.

And unless there's a 3ds-style turnaround, I've gone from day one to day never.

You can get a PS4 slim, or an Xbox One S with game for $300.

300$ system for switch is a good price. It has much more and better gameplay than xbox slim. So you are comparing the wrong systems.

Ok xbox is a bit stronger and has a game library. But it doesn't have hd haptic feedback, Motion controls, System on the go, Nintendo franchises Or the best controller switch pro and game zelda bow. So you have many reasons to switch.

Beside that, stop comparing. Switch is an handheld not a console. But you can docked it on the tv. Also for the first time they have a handheld killer of a system. When psp or vita was released there where many complains about the power of nds and 3ds. This is way better than vita.


There are some problems that i can admit.

We didn't see any interface functions. We didn't see many games (e3 maybe?). We didn't see any online functions.
 
Oh hey you are lucky this time. Try and Google this:
330 eur to usd

351.2355 U.S. dollars

How is that even fair? Do you know how salaries are in Spain compared to USA? How has anybody not made a thread on that?


It's 329€ INCLUDING sales tax vs. $299 NOT including sales tax. The price is pretty "fair" actually. 329€ after tax means ~274€ before tax assuming a 20% sales tax. 274€ is ~$292 at current exchange rates. So actually pre tax Switch is cheaper in Europe unless your sales tax is lower than ~18%
 
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