Gaming Switch games falling into the 'Switch Tax' category

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Deleted-355425

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see: http://www.nintendolife.com/news/20...t_game_to_fall_foul_of_the_dreaded_switch_tax

Rockstar has revealed that the Switch version of L.A. Noire will cost $10 more on Switch than it does on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

While it's not comparing like for like - the Switch version has exclusive features such as motion control, HD Rumble and touch-screen crime-solving - it should be noted that the Xbox and PlayStation editions have enhanced visuals and could arguably be seen as the "definitive" versions of the game, yet they will cost $40 while the physical Switch release is $50.

We'd imagine this is because L.A. Noire will have to be shipped on a larger-then-normal capacity game card, and it seems that it's Nintendo's policy to pass that additional cost onto the publisher - who then pass it onto the consumer by charging more money.

As it happens, we'll be running an interesting feature on this so-called "Switch Tax" later today, so keep an eye out for it. In the meantime, let us know if the additional $10 bothers you at all, or if you're prepared to pay it for a portable version of the game.





If this is correct and true then is the issue with future games having part cart/part digital releases just to get the cost down from this tax? interesting either way.




update: http://www.nintendolife.com/news/20..._and_why_nintendo_was_right_to_use_game_cards
 
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Abu_Senpai

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I personally wont pick it up day one.

However, "switch tax" is stupid.

There should be a rule, all remasters or ports of old games should be £30 max. New games should be £40-£60 based on the type of gaming being sold.

So i think LA noire should be $30 not $50. Tis too much especially for a last gen game!

If they want us to pay a full £50 for a remaster of a last gen game then developers should essentially create polls and ask the fan-base what games they want on new gen and then whatever game is ranked the highest in the poll should be the one remastered. That is just my two cents on this situation.

Oh and Mech, is this tax gonna be put into effect in the UK too? or is it exclusive to U.S?
 
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Deleted-355425

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Has there been a proper explanation outside of manufacturing for this price increase?

Not that im aware of and will keep an eye out but it would make perfect sense for this stupid half digital half cart thing wouldn't it?
 
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DiscostewSM

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Isn't the game roughly 20GB on the XBox 360 spread over 3 discs? Thought I read that disc 1 + 2 are 6.6GB each, and disc 3 was 6.7GB. One would suggest that it would require a 32GB card in that case, but this is a game that's had to duplicate assets for each disc, much like how FFVII practically fits onto a single disc if it wasn't for the FMVs, so they had to duplicate the actual game data itself per disc to spread the FMVs out (to which the game was roughly 400MB?). FFVII would certainly fit onto a single disc if the disc were twice the size. There is also the idea of duplicating data, even on a game that fits onto a single disc, for purposes of improving load times because random access from one point on the disc to another causes an insanely high delay per jump. This is even present on games installed on HDDs because unlike flash media, that's still dealing with moving parts that must physically move and make sure they are precisely aligned to read the data correctly. Then there's advancements in tech, compression formats, etc to consider that Switch offers.

I can certainly see L.A. Noire fit onto a 16GB card, then depending on how knowledgeable the company is with the Switch, could possibly fit it into 8GB, which according to an analyst suggests that an 8GB physical Switch game sold in retail stores is the equivalent of the price for disc+licensing+packaging of 50GB PS4/XB1 physical games. Lego City Undercover certainly did that.

Cartridges cost more than discs
Certainly not $10 more, even the 32GB carts. This isn't like the N64 days and previous.
 
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smf

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Has there been a proper explanation outside of manufacturing for this price increase?

To be fair the pricing of games is based around waving of fingers in the air. When a game is late they don't jack up the price because they've had to pay developers more money.

Commodore 64 games were always more expensive than Sinclair Spectrum games. It had nothing to do with the cost of developing or manufacture.

Certainly not $10 more, even the 32GB carts. This isn't like the N64 days and previous.

It's all done on percentages, so the $10 doesn't all go to the manufacturer.

https://www.engadget.com/2006/12/20/where-the-60-for-new-games-goes/
 
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The Real Jdbye

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All Switch games at my local GameStop cost way more than other platforms, I thought it was just normal for the Switch until I looked online (still from Norwegian stores, mind you) and the same games were way cheaper there (up to 1/3 cheaper), almost as cheap as they would be on other consoles from the same online store.
So I've decided to stop buying Switch games from GameStop until their pricing is more reasonable. Which knowing them it will never be, but that's okay, by ordering online I get games 1-3 days before release so it's a win win.
 

DeslotlCL

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Pay more, get less.

People will buy the cheaper, better looking, better performing games on other platforms. Switch versions will under perform. Probably eventually lead to 3rd party support pulled. No one's fault but Nintendo.

Couldn't have said it better.
 
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Ryccardo

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If this is correct and true then is the issue with future games having part cart/part digital releases just to get the cost down from this tax?
What do you mean?

Since when Nintendo ever did or endorse different prices between physical and digital?
 
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Deleted-355425

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What do you mean?

Since when Nintendo ever did or endorse different prices between physical and digital?

What i mean is with their new games coming out you will buy the cart but will be required to have a micro SD card and download the rest of the game online vs just having the whole game on the cart, having a portion online will let them use a smaller capacity cart and avoid extra costs being passed onto consumers.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Not that, the recent news where some physical switch games force you to download a chunk of the game in order to play it because it can't fit on the cartridge.


Thankyou.
 

Ryccardo

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Not that, the recent news where some physical switch games force you to download a chunk of the game in order to play it because it can't fit on the cartridge.
What i mean is with their new games coming out you will buy the cart but will be required to have a micro SD card and download the rest of the game online vs just having the whole game on the cart, having a portion online will let them use a smaller capacity cart and avoid extra costs being passed onto consumers.
Doubt that will fly IMO, it means selling a product that is broken as out of the box (then again they sold some 3DS models without charger, but you can buy generic chargers for even a better bang/buck ratio, while in this case there would be no real alternatives)
 

Arras

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Doubt that will fly IMO, it means selling a product that is broken as out of the box (then again they sold some 3DS models without charger, but you can buy generic chargers for even a better bang/buck ratio, while in this case there would be no real alternatives)
Why wouldn't it? PC games are sold in stores that are literally just boxes with a Steam code inside. As long as it's clearly stated on the box and how much memory is required, it shouldn't be an issue.
 

Ryccardo

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Why wouldn't it? PC games are sold in stores that are literally just boxes with a Steam code inside. As long as it's clearly stated on the box and how much memory is required, it shouldn't be an issue.
But those would be "100% digital games for which you can buy a gift code in stores" (which Nintendo did a handful of times for current gen), not "buy a game card that always worked offline but this one won't run at all without a forced download"!
 

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