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Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa explains Switch 2 price increases in recent Financial Results Briefing

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As a part of their Financial Results Briefing for the previous year, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa took to the floor to answer key questions around the Switch 2 and the company's approach for the coming year. The most pressing among these related to the upcoming price increases to the system, as well the reasoning behind the differing values from region to region.

Shuntaro Furukawa said:
This change in hardware pricing was not due to any one specific factor. Rather, the decision was made in light of various changes in the recent market conditions which we believe will have a medium- to long-term impact on the global outlook of our dedicated video game platform business.

Regarding Nintendo Switch 2, the basic approach to our dedicated video game platform business remains unchanged: first expand the hardware installed base, and then drive software sales. If the increase in costs were seen as something temporary that would subside relatively soon, then we could have pursued other options, such as working to improve productivity and expand the installed base while maintaining hardware prices.

Unfortunately, the recent surge in memory and other component prices, and the changes in the market environment, including trends in the foreign exchange market and the price of oil, are all factors that we anticipate will continue over the medium to long term. As a result, we felt that the profitability of our hardware would suffer significantly if we maintained our existing pricing, potentially impacting our business operations over this time frame. For the sustained growth of our dedicated video game platform business, it is important to maintain a healthy earnings structure for our overall business. For this reason, we made the difficult decision to reflect a portion of our costs in the selling price.

The reason that the extent of the price revision differs from region to region is because each region is impacted to a different degree by the various changes in the market environment.
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Furukawa also concedes that this increase will raise the barrier of entry for the platform, though stresses that Nintendo's focus is on delivering fun that is "worth more than the price", promising a variety of new experiences unique to the Switch 2.

Shuntaro Furukawa said:
I will not discuss the specifics of how this price revision could impact Nintendo Switch 2 sales, but we recognize that this raises the barrier for entry to a certain extent for people deciding whether to make a purchase.

That being said, the most important thing in our dedicated video game platform business is to offer engaging fun that is worth more than the price. Going forward, Nintendo and other software publishers plan to release a variety of titles, and we aim to expand the installed base by conveying that these titles offer new experiences unique to Nintendo Switch 2.

While uncertainties remain regarding future trends in component prices, we recognize that they could have an impact not only this year but next year as well. As for what comes after that, we will make necessary preparations to ensure that we can respond flexibly to whatever situation arises.
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Those interested in reading more of the Q&A summary can find the full release below, translated into English directly by Nintendo.

:arrow: Source
 
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x65943 said:
I do suspect they were selling at cost in the Japanese market
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I agree. They had to motivate the Japanese market, since a lot of people there have the 1st console and this economy is getting worse by the day.

But in the rest of the world, the price imho was and is excessive and greedy.
 
Exnor said:
I agree. They had to motivate the Japanese market, since a lot of people there have the 1st console and this economy is getting worse by the day.

But in the rest of the world, the price imho was and is excessive and greedy.
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Hard to say excessive or greedy

They made a product, they deserve a profit from it

Selling a product without profit is a sure way to destroy your company

Sony and Microsoft are giant corporations with their fingers in many different pies - they can afford to be unprofitable in 1 or 2 sectors at a time

Nintendo is entirely a video game company - and they need to make money to survive

They were the last ones to raise their prices btw
 
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x65943 said:
Hard to say excessive or greedy

They made a product, they deserve a profit from it

Selling a product without profit is a sure way to destroy your company

Sony and Microsoft are giant corporations with their fingers in many different pies - they can afford to be unprofitable in 1 or 2 sectors at a time

Nintendo is entirely a video game company - and they need to make money to survive

They were the last ones to raise their prices btw
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I agree companies need and deserve profit, but we also have corporate greed.

Nintendo was at the time one of the most profitable videogames company, (maybe the most profitable in that area, since MS is a juggernaut of corporation and Sony has other sources of revenue and profit). They could limit the profit per unit, but, and again this is just my opinion and not a fact, they choose to launch at a high price because they wanted to take advantage of the Switch (huge) success.

Even the Switch one is now way overpriced.

I'm just sad that i'm part of the 99.8% of the population that is too poor to afford these prices.
 
Exnor said:
I agree companies need and deserve profit, but we also have corporate greed.

Nintendo was at the time one of the most profitable videogames company, (maybe the most profitable in that area, since MS is a juggernaut of corporation and Sony has other sources of revenue and profit). They could limit the profit per unit, but, and again this is just my opinion and not a fact, they choose to launch at a high price because they wanted to take advantage of the Switch (huge) success.

Even the Switch one is now way overpriced.

I'm just sad that i'm part of the 99.8% of the population that is too poor to afford these prices.
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Companies aren't dumb

They try to maximize their place on the supply/demand line

This is normal. If the price is too high, don't buy it
 
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RedBlueGreen said:
I don't see that happening. I've gone back to playing 8DX. Some of the new tracks are cool, but I really don't like going back to the Wii system of premade vehicles instead if customization.
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They'll eventually release new content, but knowing Nintendo it'll take years.

There's a good game in there somewhere... Ninty just needs to polish it.
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Viri said:
I don't own a Switch 2. I plan to get one when ever it gets hacked, when ever that may be. lol
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That could be after the Switch 2 Lite and OLED models are out and there's actually games worth playing (Switch 2 exclusives, not Switch 1 games on Switch 2).

It's a good plan, honestly.
 
x65943 said:
Companies aren't dumb

They try to maximize their place on the supply/demand line

This is normal. If the price is too high, don't buy it
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Oh at these prices i'm not buying that is for sure.

Companies are managed by humans. We have seen a lot of dumb moves from big companies throughout the history (for example MicroSlop almost killing the Xbox brand) . I don't think Nintendo management is imune to this.
 
Exnor said:
Oh at these prices i'm not buying that is for sure.

Companies are managed by humans. We have seen a lot of dumb moves from big companies throughout the history (for example MicroSlop almost killing the Xbox brand) . I don't think Nintendo management is imune to this.
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We all saw the wiiu and virtual boy

However, the switch 2 has sold well

I also am not planning to buy one anytime soon
 
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My problem isn't really that hardware costs are going up. They're bound to. It clearly was never simply "hehehe we can get more if we raise the price :evil:."

My problem is with the expensive software. Do something to offset the higher barrier to entry. Nintendo's console is still cheaper than Sony's, but Nintendo games are typically priced way higher.
 
Needs more AAA titles not rinse and repeat titles we've all played years ago.

With the amount of content Nintendo can choose from its sad we still have to receive this standard.

I want new addition to franchises they've created

Nintendo games have become stale with 1 title worthy of the 99$ price tag every few years lol

Last game was TOTK
 
Exnor said:
I bought the Wii U. Still use it :ha: . The reason it failed the market is a nice topic for another thread .
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I also have one and used it more recently than my switch

But it was a collosal failure for many reasons

All of which are squarely at the feet of Nintendo
 
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JohnnyDanger said:
Needs more AAA titles not rinse and repeat titles we've all played years ago.

With the amount of content Nintendo can choose from its sad we still have to receive this standard.

I want new addition to franchises they've created

Nintendo games have become stale with 1 title worthy of the 99$ price tag every few years lol

Last game was TOTK
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I say we need less AAA, because all that entails is budget, not quality.
 
Look I get it's fun to hate on Nintendo here, but anyone who's familiar with the current global financial situation will not be able to blame them for this.
There are plenty of ways to get a cheap Switch 2 if you're willing to take a risk on used systems or go sleuthing for deals.

Buying a brand new console in this age of jumping MSRPs is just asking to get fleeced and paying money to AI overlords who consider their data centers more important than your drinking water. Stay cool, buy used!
 
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JohnnyDanger said:
Needs more AAA titles not rinse and repeat titles we've all played years ago.

With the amount of content Nintendo can choose from its sad we still have to receive this standard.

I want new addition to franchises they've created

Nintendo games have become stale with 1 title worthy of the 99$ price tag every few years lol

Last game was TOTK
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they are not going to do this the old nintendo is dead . the new nintAPPLE will continue to re-hash old games and port OLD titles over and you fools will continue to buy them! and when they do make something new it will be sub par and no where near as good as their old standards AKA TOTK
 
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