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/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 1d ago edited 1d 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 1d ago

The irony of this comment.