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[Equanimity]

Recently, it has come to light that different consoles have a variance in price for some of their mutual games. Therefore, this propels one to enquire a little further. Those who are charging higher than their competitors, what do we propose the reasons may be?

Below are a few examples of price disparity between NS and PS4 software:

Battle Chasers

Sine Mora EX

Nights of Azure 2

 

[Dr. Black Jack]

A Switch cart costs more to make than a Blu-ray.

 

[Ushojax]

New platform + non-standard media.

 

[Flame Lord]

Cartridges? I mean there's not really anything else that makes sense.

 

[evil monkey]

There's only a short period of time where pubs can get away with charging more on Switch and they're taking full advantage.

 

[Principate]

Launch software price gouging. Once Switch no longer becomes the it thing and has more diverse catalogue. They'll be forced to bring it back down.

 

[Phoenixus]

Cartridge cost increase and taking advantage of early adopters mostly. Doesn't excuse the digital disparity though.

 

[Kyoufu]

Switch carts/card costs. It puts me off buying anything on the system tbh.

 

[Veitsev]

Cartridges? I mean there's not really anything else that makes sense.

Publishers thinking they can charge more because its a new platform. Early adopters will eat it because they want new content. It won't last.

 

[DorkyMohr]

Flavor-coating cost

 

[Gotdatmoney]

That BattleChasers cost is insane

 

[darkside31337]

Carts cost more money. They can charge more because its a new system + less stuff to choose from especially when it comes to specific genres.

 

[¡HarlequinPanic!]

It's just nintendo bringing back the feel of your childhood, who doesn't want to remember the days where N64 cartridges cost 80 dollars? Nintendo bringing my childhood back to me

 

[Principate]

Publishers thinking they can charge more because its a new platform. Early adopters will eat it because they want new content. It won't last.

Some shit publishers pulled with the PS4/XB1 in comparison to last gen over here.

It was called next gen tax back then.

 

[foxuzamaki]

Its to gouge new customers looking for more new content on their new system.
No the cartridges costing more is not worth a whole 10 dollars more, the psv and 3ds both used cartridges and the games costed less, publishers can very easily eat the cost

 

[Cuningas de Häme]

No way does the cartridge add like 20£ to the price.

They are just greedy little buggers. Soon they'll drop prices, possibly even advertising the drop and saying how good value it now is, and then it will still be the same price as everyone else...

Also, fast ports and they hope to make some easy money with those. When they start to make true multiplat games, prices should be similar. If they will make games, they might stop because "for some reason" ppl aren't buying their Switch games...

EDIT. And please stop with that cartridge nonsense already... That excuse is becoming pretty stale.

 

[Zoon]

Can't really use the "carts are more expensive" argument if it's still the same price digitally.

 

[Dr. Black Jack]

Can't really use the "carts are more expensive" argument if it's still the same price digitally.

They're not going to undercut retail by pricing the digital version lower. GAF has been over this a billion times.

 

[Toki767]

I think it really just goes back to the N64 vs PS1 pricing days.

 

[TheLegendaryN]

The difference between 20 and 35 pounds is extreme, but the other two I think can be blamed by the costs of cartridges (and maybe smaller quantity?).

 

[SinCityAssassin]

It's a combination of carts at this stage being more expensive to manufacture than blue ray discs, but also to take advantage of a new portable medium being the hot new item as some of the price hikes don't really add up.

 

[funkystudent]

Retailers always inflate prices for new console software.

 

[alr1ght]

More expensive to produce
Less competition available

 

[Zedark]

No way does the cartridge add like 20£ to the price.

They are just greedy little buggers. Soon they'll drop prices, possibly even advertising the drop and saying how good value it now is, and then it will still be the same price as everyone else...

Also, fast ports and they hope to make some easy money with those. When they start to make true multiplat games, prices should be similar. If they will make games, they might stop because "for some reason" ppl aren't buying their Switch games...

This. I fully believe cartridges are more expensive, but the erratic nature of the price hike, anywhere from 0 to 20 euros, tells me that cartridge cost is not the reason, but it's just price gauging.

 

[LeonSPBR]

Battle Chasers price is insane, almost double on Switch.

Also is the digital version is cheaper to match the X1/PS4 price or they are the same as the physical version?

 

[MoogleMan]

Cartridges? I mean there's not really anything else that makes sense.

A Switch cart costs more to make than a Blu-ray.

Switch carts/card costs. It puts me off buying anything on the system tbh.

This is not a viable excuse. I'm sure gamecards add a bit of expense, but it's likely pennies on the dollar compared to how much prices are hiked up.

Publishers thinking they can charge more because its a new platform. Early adopters will eat it because they want new content. It won't last.

This exactly.
Switch Tax, plain and simple.
Speak with your wallet.

 

[Joey Ravn]

It's just nintendo bringing back the feel of your childhood, who doesn't want to remember the days where N64 cartridges cost 80 dollars? Nintendo bringing my childhood back to me

I have to assume that you're joking, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone was actually thinking this way.

It's the individual publishers who set the price, not Nintendo.

 

[Cuningas de Häme]

Also, FIFA will be the same price for all platforms. One would think that EA would want to make as much money as possible with the Switch version (ME, anyone?)...

 

[Reagan's BR]

Cartridges, new platform, and time to port etc will undoubtedly have an effect. Along with that third party competition is bigger on Xbox and PS because there are simply more games in the same genre. With Nintendo there are fewer third party titles so there isn't as much competition for users-genre wise Nintendo games fall into their own category.

Ultimately it boils down to price discrimination-Switch users have a different elasticity of demand.

 

[cw_sasuke]

Early adopter tax - nothing new. Less competition means they can get away with higher prices.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Yeh I remember when 3DS versions of games cost $10+ more too.


.... Wait..

 

[Zedark]

Also, FIFA will be the same price for all platforms. One would think that EA would want to make as much money as possible with the Switch version (ME, anyone?)...

In the Netherlands it's cheaper than the PS4/XB1 versions and on par with last gen versions, even.

 

[Lagamorph]

A Switch cart costs more to make than a Blu-ray.

New platform + non-standard media.

Cartridges? I mean there's not really anything else that makes sense.

Switch carts/card costs. It puts me off buying anything on the system tbh.

So why are Switch digital games so much more expensive than other platforms?

 

[OrbitalBeard]

It's almost certainly because of cart costs. It was a similar situation with previous systems like DS, 3DS, Vita, etc. The difference this time is that, for whatever reason, some publishers aren't willing to eat the costs anymore.

So why are Switch digital games so much more expensive than other platforms?

Some are, most aren't.

 

[theviolenthero]

Carts (or in this case Memory Cards) have always been MUCH more expensive than disc based media.
I remember all the way back in the fall of 1996 when i got my N64 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy was released on it and the PS1. The PS1 version was $50 and the N64 version was $60 or maybe even $70.

 

[Dr. Black Jack]

So why are Switch digital games so much more expensive than other platforms?

Because they can't charge less than the retail release MSRP right away or it will piss retailers off. It's not a hard concept to grasp.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

Because they can't charge less than the retail release MSRP right away or it will piss retailers off. It's not a hard concept to grasp.

Though sometimes they can get away with it by classifying the physical edition with something extra like a digital soundtrack and lowering the digital price because of it.

 

[L Thammy]

Recently, it has come to light

Hasn't this been the case forever?

 

[Iva Demilcol]

Because they can't charge less than the retail release MSRP right away or it will piss retailers off. It's not a hard concept to grasp.

So "fuck consumers" then?

 

[DrArchon]

Well, the first two examples can be chalked up to THQ Nordic being money grubbing assholes. Seriously, that Battlechasers markup is obscene.

Beyond that, I'm going to assume it's just companies taking advantage of a new userbase that's hungry for content. I'd buy the explanations that cartridges cost more than CDs to produce if they had the decency to charge less for digital sales, but they don't so I ain't buying it.

 

[cw_sasuke]

So "fuck consumers" then?

Its been like this for every console or digital store....if thats translate to "fuck consumers" for you - then yes.

 

[K.Jack]

More expensive media, on a platform on which they expect to sell less?

 

[Kieli]

Cartridges are made of precious unicorn poop, and it takes great effort to harvest and refine the poop.

The Nintendo farms are pumping out cartridges as fast as possible, but they are bottlenecked by the rate at which unicorns poop.

Never question anything Nintendo does. They are wise, and they know what's best for consumers.

 

[Papo Swing]

Are 3DS and Vita games still cheaper than PS4/X1 ? Then I feel it is a bs thing to do.

 

[Champion]

Its because of the carts, right? A lot of gaffers wanted this though and for reasons I will never understand.

 

[Nightbird]

A Switch cart costs more to make than a Blu-ray.

20 Dollar more per cart?

I seriously hope you don't actually believe that

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

Yeh I remember when 3DS versions of games cost $10+ more too.


.... Wait..

Or Vita-games ... I don't believe the "cartridge"-argument. Seems like a launch window/less competition thing.

 

[Kieli]

Are 3DS and Vita games still cheaper than PS4/X1 ? Then I feel it is a bs thing to do.

Tbf, I see Switch as a console rather than mobile platform. The Vita and 3DS are primarily mobile, hence the $10 to $20 price differential.

 

[SatoAilDarko]

Vita and 3DS cards were max 4GB (in fact the Vita only had one size card).

Switch cards goes up to 32GB.

 

[timshundo]

This is the only life digital-onlyers know so

Also stop tryin to make “NS” happen