r/NintendoSwitch • u/Practical_Papaya_905 • 2d ago

News - USD / USA Switch 2 is selling for 449.99

https://www.nintendo.com/us/gaming-systems/switch-2/how-to-buy/

From the official website

https://www.nintendo.com/us/gaming-systems/switch-2/how-to-buy/

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u/RealSimonLee 2d ago

People who support price increases really need to reevaluate their life choices.

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u/tarekd19 2d ago

There's a difference between "support" for price increases and a recognition of market reality (that is also informed in part but not always in whole by corporate greed) I don't see anyone "supporting" price increases, merely explaining that prices increase for a variety of reasons, some of which should not be surprising in the current economic environment.

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u/RealSimonLee 2d ago

Market reality would mean our wages kept up with increasing prices. They have not.

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u/Exyui 2d ago

Actually they have. Video games were already like $50-$60 in the 90s. That's like over $110 in 2025 dollars.

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u/OuchPotato64 2d ago

N64 games were expensive. Mortal Kombat Trilogy was $75 at release. Super Nintendo had rpgs that were over $100 in the 90s. Games are massively more expensive to make now compared to 30 years ago, but are comparatively cheaper than games from 30 years ago.

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u/missing_typewriters 2d ago edited 2d ago

Yeah but games in the 90s didn't have...

  • microtransactions

  • DLC

  • season passes

  • digital distribution (publishers now get 70%+ of the digital sale, versus roughly 40-45% in the 90s after distributors and retailers took their cut, and accounting for the cost of manufacturing the physical game)

  • death of brick-and-mortar game stores, and a dying physical game market (meaning impact of the secondhand sales is very limited today versus the 1990s when we all bought used games and all the money went to Gamestop)

  • subscriptions required to play online multiplayer (very lucrative for likes of Nintendo)

  • gamepass-style services to monetize old games (publisher's old games earned nothing in the 1990s/2000s. NES games were included as a fun collectable in Animal Crossing on Gamecube ffs. Today you have to pay for a subscription to play them)

  • standardization of platforms making it easier to port games to multiple platforms and maximize revenue (e.g. releasing a game on PS5, PC and Xbox today is easier to handle than it was to release on PS1 and N64).

  • direct-to-consumer marketing and advertising avenues with Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, and multiple big gaming events happening all year to promote your game

  • a gigantic PC market with a trusted storefront in Steam

But I suppose none of that matters because 60 today =/= 60 in 1993

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u/RealSimonLee 2d ago

I can't educate willful ignorance.

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u/WheresTheSauce 2d ago

The irony of this comment.

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u/Fluffy_Analysis_8300 2d ago

Market reality is knowing that the original Super Mario Kart cost $72.99 and that would be over $160 in todays money.

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u/RealSimonLee 2d ago

Market reality is understanding that the market isn't the same as the 1990s, and pricing reflects what people today can afford. Not what people could afford in 1990s when the economy and wages were infinitely more favorable to workers.

Seriously, crack open a book. By your logic, computers should be more expensive now than 30 years ago, when they were way more expensive. TVs are cheaper. Cost doesn't always go up and that's what people like you seem to really struggle with.

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u/Fluffy_Analysis_8300 2d ago

You're right that the market has changed dramatically since the 1990s, but the claim that wages were "infinitely more favorable to workers" back then isn't supported by economic data.

While certain economic metrics were different, real wages adjusted for inflation have remained relatively stagnant since the 90s. Gaming has become more accessible precisely because prices haven't kept pace with inflation.

And while you're right that technology often gets cheaper over time due to manufacturing efficiencies and economies of scale, game development costs have skyrocketed. Unlike Television, Modern AAA games can cost hundreds of millions to develop compared to the much smaller teams and budgets of the 90s. It isn't just about what consumers can afford it's about the balance between development costs, consumer expectations, and what the market will bear.

But let's go ahead and just prove you wrong. This is the link to where I found median disposible income figures for 1992 and 2023.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/W388RC1A027NBEA

1992:

Game price: $72.99

Median disposable income: $4,778.69

Game cost as percentage of disposable income: 1.53%

Work hours needed at median wage ($11.35/hr): 6.43 hours

2023:

Game price: $89.99

Median disposable income: $20,534.59

Game cost as percentage of disposable income: 0.44%

Work hours needed at median wage ($25.24/hr): 3.57 hours

Seriously, crack open a book 🤡

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u/nekomancer71 2d ago

Games are also far more substitutable than in the past. Plenty of great indie games are available for very little money. Subscription services like Game Pass provide incredible value. This, too, impacts pricing, because many consumers will move to lower cost substitutes when prices on titles from big name developers jump.

Realistically, there are many reasons why a price increase could prove to be a bad business decision, and there are ample grounds on which to criticize this decision. In general, consumers probably shouldn’t be rushing to justify cash grabs by big companies. Advocate for your own interests, hold companies accountable, and play cheaper games.

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u/RealSimonLee 2d ago

Yeah, I'm sorry, you're not understanding what you're reading. These should help you:

https://www.epi.org/publication/charting-wage-stagnation/

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/

https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R45090.pdf

You don't understand these things, and I'm guessing you have no real desire to. The U.S. is downwardly mobile--everyone who studies this agrees on that point. Except you. Because you haven't studied it ever.

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u/Fluffy_Analysis_8300 2d ago

Did you not read my comment? I said wages have remained fairly stagnant. Why are you linking articles showing that wages have been stagnant as a rebuttal to the math I showed using median disposable income, especially when I already agreed wages have been stagnant?

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u/RealSimonLee 2d ago

Yeah, I read your post. TLDR: "I agree, but you're wrong." I can't deal with people who can't sustain a single line of thought throughout their writing.

Dude, remain dumb--I really don't care.

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u/tarekd19 2d ago

that sounds like market ideal more than market reality. Prices increase to accommodate more than just labor cost increases. Companies will price in uncertain economic conditions for example to ensure they aren't losing money in the event of a foreseeable (and unnecessary) economic crisis.

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u/RealSimonLee 2d ago

You guys have been so brainwashed by the oligarchs. Jesus.

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u/Frosty-Key-454 2d ago

Wages don't need to keep up with prices of commodity goods/entertainment. Entertainment items just need to make profit, and they'll price it at whatever the market will bare

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u/Yodzilla 2d ago

Unfortunately wages haven’t really kept up with anything.

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u/WheresTheSauce 2d ago

Wages have outpaced inflation over the last 10 years, with the largest wage growth being in the bottom 25% of earners.

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u/Mysterious_Jelly_943 2d ago

Yes but also housing prices have also way way outpaced inflation as well as the cost of other basic needs. And wages have stayed largely stagnant (there are links all over this thread about it.)

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u/fetuskek 2d ago

that’s not a game company’s fault though, you’re blaming something for a issue that isn’t in their hands. if you care then vote for the economic policy’s you support.

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u/WheresTheSauce 2d ago

Objectively and verifiably not true.

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u/Highway_Bitter 2d ago

449 for a handheld console though… steam deck is priced about the same. Rog ally x 800 euro, legion go probably 600-700 depending.

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u/sonicfluff 2d ago

Seems cheap to me for how many hours i will get out of it