# [Price Hikes Could Cost Nintendo Big Time](https://youtube.com/watch?v=n025Gxn5GEM) – Did You Know Gaming <div class=iframe-container> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/n025Gxn5GEM?si=4kIUcOmwpwdzyWq4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> > "Did You Know Gaming looks at how Nintendo seems to be shifting focus from affordability and innovation, and toward maximizing profits above all else. Will the Nintendo Switch 2 mark the end of an era? We go over the history of Nintendo's philosophy and business practices, and look at where they might be heading." I am one of those people that hit the web with the inflation calculator and catalog pricing. I'd like to think I provided [[Switch 2 both Is and Isn't Nintendo's Most Expensive Console|accurate and fair historical context]]. DYKG's train of thought could be applied to Sony or Xbox as well. Greatest and Platinum Hits are marketing tools of the past. Price drops don't happen anymore. The prices [[We Need to Talk About Game Prices, Review Scores, and Quality|across the board]] have [[Xbox Raises All the Prices|risen]]. The strategy this past generation seems to have been one more of adding value to a bundle instead of offering a lower priced console. There's a reason Nintendo offers a *Mario Kart 8 Deluxe* bundle every year. This got me thinking: Is the onerous on the company to pass savings and deals onto customers (a la Selects and Choice) or is it on the customer to seek them out? I'm not sure. I think it is a mix of both. The companies have to react to the market and sales. That's why we got famous price cuts, like the 3DS or the PS3. Those were consumers voting with their wallets, not buying the hotness, and then the company responding accordingly. Even then, some consumers won't buy new or will wait for a huge sale/bundle. Retailers can shake up the conversation too by lowering prices beneath the MSRP. I think it is a conversation or maybe even a dance. Where is the line? What's too far? In the wider landscape, it seems like $700 for a PS5 Pro is too much. A $500 PS5 is doing [just fine](https://www.eurogamer.net/ps5-lifetime-sales-on-par-with-ps4-but-sony-relying-on-third-party-game-success) though. I have banged this particular drum quite a bit lately, but gaming is more accessible and affordable than ever because the range is wider. Within the confines of just Nintendo's platforms, the price range is $200 to $450. For all the big players, look at [[We Need to Talk About Game Prices, Review Scores, and Quality|my table from last month]]. The same goes for games with a scale of *free* to $80.[^1] The games are a piece of context that is much more difficult to portray. It's so much wider. What are the first-party titles like? How about third-party? Indies? Digital shops run amok with slop? While Xbox and PlayStation seem to be trying to get their games on any and every device, Nintendo has remained steadfast in the true exclusive. The only place you can play Mario, Pokémon, and Zelda is a Nintendo console. > "([In the Switch era](https://youtube.com/watch?v=n025Gxn5GEM&t=885))...Games typically sold for $60 full price, and stayed there pretty much forever. Former Nintendo employees said the strategy's to train our brains to, quote, 'respect the value' and never expect discounts." This makes me wonder if consumers have been trained both ways. Have legacy programs like Player's Choice and Nintendo Selects alongside Steam/digital game sales, trained customers to *undervalue* games? Some friends say they'll never pay full price. I know plenty of folks that skip the theater and wait from streaming. [Wario64](https://x.com/wario64) is a responsible for a sizable chuck of my collection and backlog thanks to notices on sales. I think both training scenarios are true. Another key point was the difference in "revolution" and "evolution" eras in Nintendo. I think my pal wizawhat addresses this pretty well in his videos "[I Miss the Old Nintendo](https://youtube.com/watch?v=rvugUhaAXNw)" and "[My Thoughts On the Switch 2](https://youtube.com/watch?v=QDXD0i3V-rc)." An element of this distinction that DYKG mentioned was "sideways thinking." In the past, that could be something like using old technology to make the console or motion controls or glasses-free 3D. Think of how the Wii wasn't an HD capable console in the generation with PS3 and 360. It was essentially two GameCube consoles duct taped together. How about when the GamePad was supposed to be the core of the Wii U? While the Switch did use old technology it also leaned into this idea of home consoles on the go, which [try as Sony might](https://youtube.com/watch?v=RIaJHh60hQY), didn't really become popular until the Switch. The rest of the typical outside thinking came in peripherals and in the games themselves. The Switch saw the likes of cardboard mechs with Labo (and *[[Nintendo Turns the Switch Into a VR Headset with Labo|VR]]*). There was a resistance band controller with *Ring Fit Adventure*. Nintendo made an augmented reality *Mario Kart* game with RC cars. The sideways stuff didn't go away, it just became optional. That allowed the Switch hardware to be approachable and flexible. And, to be fair, I think using [optical mouse sensors in the Joy-Con 2](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/design-opportunities-for-devs-from-our-time-trying-out-the-nintendo-switch-2) is both a literal and mental use of sideways thinking. We can't underestimate that fact that the Switch 2 is the only player in the Big Three that offers compelling portable play. Sure, the Steam Deck is out there, but that is not being marketed en mass to the average consumer. DYKG's video is good and does provide solid context. Despite saying otherwise, I do think the video leans a smidge on the side of "Nintendo prices are [too damn high](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-rent-is-too-damn-high-jimmy-mcmillan)." The video is based off previous instances and failures. If history is to repeat itself, then this was all apt historical analysis. Analyst and Nintendo seem to [disagree](https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattgardner1/2025/05/15/nintendo-switch-2-will-become-the-fastest-selling-console-ever/), but of course they would. We'll see. I'm one of the "die hards" getting my console tomorrow. Maybe I become one of millions or I become a Nintendo Switch 2 Ambassador. [^1]: Just when considering standard editions of titles.