Nikkei, a respected Japanese outlet, is reporting the price of the Switch in Japan will cost $250. When converted from Yen to Dollars the price of an American sold Switch would be $213, but Nintendo would likely slide the price to $250. When you compare the price to the Xbox One S or PS4 Slim, you’ll start to question if $250 is worth it for the new Nintendo Switch. The PS4 and Xbox One are both going for almost $250 on Amazon, with bundles during the holidays bringing the price down and creating more value.
Nintendo has had a history of pricing devices too high from the 3DS, Wii U, and now their iOS app – Super Mario Run. The 3DS launched at $250 and an inadequate collection in their library, which lead to a drop in price to $179. The Switch is meant to combine the failed Wii U and highly successful 3DS into one system, but the price and launch games could make or break the console.
I see a $200 price point being the sweet spot. Then they could discount their other consoles even further, pushing more consumers into their ecosystem. At $199, they would undercut the Xbox One and PS4, even as their device wouldn’t have hundreds of game titles and would likely be underpowered to modern consoles.
Nintendo is expected to officially announce additional details about the console, including price, on January 13th. I know many fans of Nintendo won’t care about the price, and even consider the $250 price point to be the sweet spot, but we all know average consumers crave low prices and consider value in the long run.
Tell us if you think $250 for the Nintendo Switch is the perfect price or if you think it should cost more or less!