The real takeaway is $80 MSRP games, and I’m surprised it was Nintendo that crossed that particular Rubicon.
(Although, of that $45, 15% went to distributors and another 15% went to retailers).
I think it definitely contributed to the PS1 outselling the N64. There were many reasons, of course, but seeing those Toys R' Us flyers where the PS1 games were marked $40-50 and the N64 games at $60-70...I'm sure it gave some parents pause about which systems they were buying their children.
But in fairness, so were development costs.
Not only that, but one thing that really bothers me with Nintendo as apposed to Steam for example is, those prices basically never change. There never seems to be a sale or special offers.
Sure, I’d be happy to spend less money on games, but there’s a certain honesty and transparency with buying Nintendo games that’s missing on the other platforms. No FOMO, no preorder bonuses, no pressure tactics, no nothing. You know the value proposition, and either you’re happy with it, or you’re not.
I mean, just go watch The Godfather, and think how would you sell him a product, or worse yet, manufacture mass-market products that isn't intended for his acquaintances but he would be extremely interested with purchasing and using in substantial numbers. Lots of Nintendo behaviors and customer horror stories start making total sense.
(and Valve behaviors too. they have their own, no less adamant than Nintendo policies that you start noticing after a while)
I've always respected Nintendo for this. They know they're offering a quality product, and the price will be the same if you buy now or in a year, so buy it if you want it.
It also means if you want to resell your game, you'll get a fair price for it.
With the Steam Deck coming out in the meantime, I'll likely pick that up soon instead of a Switch 2. Around the same price, much better specs (and also Bluetooth support, which the Switch 2 will supposedly be missing again), and access to a much bigger library of games.
Their games were always incredibly expensive. 30 years ago, I remember being stunned to hear that my friend's SNES copy of Mortal Kombat II was GBP 70. From this Reddit post, I'm seeing Canadian prices were equally absurd. CAD 95 for Batman Forever on SNES.
https://www.reddit.com/r/snes/comments/12aq8zu/snes_games_pr...
Needless to say, 80 USD is too high for me, personally. 70 is pushing it, honestly. Most of the time you can use sites like isthereanydeal and even get new releases under 60, but that's a no-go with Nintendo.
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/...
It further says “In times of high inflation…real wages go down, meaning that workers see (and feel) the purchasing power of their income decline.”
Sounds like parent poster and your link are in agreement.
Im arguing about your dismissal of "purchasing power". But you seem to not realize that and rely on charts and not the world aroind you.
Given recent news, it's not like data from November matters anyway.
People been speculating for years and years now and that could lead to a lot of unrealistic expectations.
One thing I do respect Rockstar for though is they never caved to pressure to release the sequel fast
You respect them for taking 12+ years to make a sequel?
The Playstation 2 had five GTA's whereas GTA V has three console generations.
(In their defense, games have been unusually cheap for a while. SNES games were $160 after inflation. N64? $120. GameCube titles? $90. Wii? $75. Nintendo Switch Games back in 2017? $78!)