With PS5/Xbox Series X Around The Corner, Does The Switch Need A Price Drop To Keep Selling?

Just how much will the next generation affect the Switch’s prospects?

[UltraNova]

Don't know it seems Nintendo's pricing policy does not affect their success so I'd say a Switch Pro might be the better move in terms of reacting to next-gen consoles.

[ABizzel1]

They don't need one. Nintendo isn't competing for market share with PlayStation and Xbox. They are primarily a handheld platform this generation, with a dockable version for TV gaming. Gamers buy the system to play Nintendo games. PS5 and Series X will not have an effect on the sales of the Switch outside of the fact that most gamers aren't going to drop $500 or more on a new PS5 / Series X, and buy a Switch in the same time frame.

[UltraNova]

No they do and they do badly. Why? 3rd party support. Don't tell me you didn't realize how much the current 3rd party support has benefited Nintendo. It's now a platform for Nintendo and 3rd party games. But, once devs move to next gen tech and start designing their games for SSD equiped consoles, 3rd party support for the switch will be history.

Nintendo needs to have something ready to help keep 3rd party support going, thinking otherwise is short-sighted.

[ABizzel1]

3rd party support hasn't done much for Nintendo at all, and cutting price of the hardware has nothing to do with getting 3rd party support. It's nice to see the Witcher, and PS360 ports that made it to PS4/XBO be brought to Switch, but those games pale in comparison to the Nintendo exclusives sales-wise.

The best selling multiplatform 3rd party game on Switch is Skyrim and it barely broke 1 million copies sold. They get their best support from Japanese 3rd party who are going to prioritize the platform since it's a more mobile market as of late outside of the AAA studios, Nintendo handheld hardware reigns supreme there, and it allows for lower development budgets.

The Switch isn't getting ports of AAA PS5 and Series X games, because the degrade would be too much to even warrant the effort without it being done by a completely separate team, especially when games like Resident Evil 8 Village decided not to go to PS4 / XBO which are both more powerful hardware options.

[Koolaidude]

There is a 50/50 use between docked and undocked mode according to surveys. The switch is a dual console and a run away success even if other console fans don’t want to admit that.

[Atom666]

What kind of 3rd party support are we really talking about though? Switch versions of those big AAA multiplats barely chart. You can go onto the eshop and see what's actually selling isn't the big AAA 3rd party games.

Nintendo 1st Party, indies, and Minecraft continue to drive this thing. If anything, I could see more 360/PS3 era remakes getting the Switch treatment while the big 3rd parties focus on their HD PS5/XSX/PC multiplats.

And the Switch will continue to sell. Then in 2023 or so, they can release a new version. I just don't see any incentive to splitting their user base with a Pro model now.

[UltraNova]

Nintendo, historically never had any second thoughts in splitting their userbase...

[DJStotty]

Nintendo, historically, are the ones that utilised backwards compatability in their consoles. The opposite of splitting userbase.

[UltraNova]

DJ,

Wait the Switch is BC with the Wii U and Wii? Oh, I was talking about the power divide between systems, not BC and I never mentioned Nintendo should equip the Switch Pro with an SSD, just provide more power in order to help some devs downgrade enough to be able to run newer games on it on some shape or form.

[lelo2play]

Switch doesn't need a price drop. Nintendo do their own thing and are very successful that way... Xbox or Playstation aren't competition.

[Koolaidude]

Definitely not in exclusives.

[lucian229]

Ultra, Nintendo hasn't been on current Gen tech since GameCube. They have been at least a Gen behind tech wise since the wii.

It would be nice to see 4k games from Nintendo.

[Atom666]

"Nintendo, historically never had any second thoughts in splitting their userbase..."

Are you talking about the handhelds like the New 3ds? I'd ask where they've split their user base in the home market, but I'm not trying to get into a Switch is a handheld vs. home console debate. But those "upgrades" kind of prove my point.

Take a look at the games released exclusively for those upgraded handhelds and then compare that small handful of sales to those that continued to appear on the core hardware.

With a straight face, can you see any data that shows that Nintendo "badly" needed to release upgraded versions of those handhelds? If we're being honest, I always felt that they put out those updates just to get people to repurchase a new handheld, or because they got a better deal on the silicon. Regardless, looking at something like the New 3ds only shows us that a Switch Pro really isn't necessary.

Just like we've seen in the handheld upgrades, it would barely get supported by 1st or 3rd Party who are concerned with losing sales to a split user base. They'd want to go where the 60 million preexisting customers are playing. Again, I don't see the incentive.

Lower the price and ride this thing out to 100million. Launch the next one in a few years. Don't milk fans with minor upgrades that will only lead to minimal support. Why split your user base for a few 3rd party games that only sell a few 100,000 as it is?

[AK91]

Agreed.

[SamTheGamer]

Yep, a little bit. It doesn't matter even if they won't drop the price. They are really doing well but they need to release a new console after a year or two

[LOGICWINS]

Nope. Switch is meant to be a secondary console to play Nintendo exclusive IPs. PS5/Series X in the living room and Switch for handheld gaming.

[Koolaidude]

Or get a powerful PC and a switch for the exclusives.

[RaidenBlack]

It needs an RTX Card and a duct tape.
jk.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

It’s selling too well to get a price drop. Plus the switch is made by Nintendo, a company that keeps their prices high lol. I wanted to “spoil” myself with a Switch, but they were sold out...

[CaptainHenry916]

Nintendo will be fine as long they keep making good exclusives

[Neonridr]

Considering we still aren't 100% sure if the PS5/Series X will actually release this holiday I would say no. Nintendo is selling well enough to keep the price where it is. Maybe next year when the other consoles are readily available.

[DJStotty]

100% PS5 and Series X are launching this holiday.

[Neonridr]

thanks insider. Even if they do, they won't be readily available. My point still stands.

[DJStotty]

Pre-order it straight away then. And they will be readily available, why wouldn't they be?

[Lennoxb63]

At some point next gen yes but not at the beginning. Sales are going to start slowing down then so they’ll have to lower the price.

[DJStotty]

No, different markets.

[Minute Man 721]

The Pro needs a price drop

[ILostMyMind]

It needs a Slim Pro or a Pro Slim.

[Melankolis]

There will always be competition even if it's indirect competition. Some will turn their heads to the next-gen. Sales will slow down with or without games on Switch, but price cut will stimulate it making a non-buyer before to be a buyer in the future.
Nintendo will eventually cut the price, after they know how to cut the production cost.

[ILostMyMind]

I don't think anyone is going to carrying the PS5/XSX around the streets while playing on them. Considering that the Switch is the only handheld on the market, it will be fine.

[Koolaidude]

Hybrid*

[Father__Merrin]

Switch is a handheld it's the replacement for 3ds. It has no bearing on ps5xsx unfortunately that means Nintendo players have zero next gen experience

[Koolaidude]

Are people really that insecure about Nintendo’s HYBRID console dominance?

[OpenGL]

The Switch could have a price drop due to being out for more than 3 years but I don't think it has anything to do with PS5 or Series X. The Switch is already seriously outclassed by the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X in terms of hardware and that hasn't stopped it from selling great at $299. It really isn't competing directly with Playstation or Xbox.

[boing1]

idk. I want to buy Switch for my kid but I'm afraid they will announce something new soon. Or am I paranoid?
Price drop would help to make that decision, though.

[lucian229]

If it had a price drop I'd get one. But I'm not spending 300$ to play just Astral chains and Zelda.

[Koolaidude]

I spent that much just to play Spider-Man and God of War. You can always sell it to someone after. Gaming isn’t a cheap hobby, but people spend way more on phones.

[lucian229]

Nah literally isn't worth it. Not even close lol.

Difference is Nintendo doesn't have many games, Sony has plenty. And even at a personal taste level, I'd need at least eight games to warrant a purchase for exclusives.

I could increase my exclusives to three if I add fire emblem, but I don't find it worth buying a console over.

[Darkborn]

Switch outsold Xbox one a while ago, and they do their own thing mostly. I think the switch is fine for now but I would like an upgraded switch with more power sometime.

[Smellsforfree]

I suspect we will see a slightly upgraded "PRO" so that Nintendo can still get good 3rd party AAA games to commit to bringing their games over. Nintendo updates their handhelds every few years or at least comes out with a new version (such as the Lite). It really wouldn't be out of place to see a Pro Switch that worked in the same way as the New 3ds did by covering the existing library with a little bit of added functionality that devs could optionally take advantage of.

I agree that Nintendo's systems are primarily for their 1st party games, but to discount how important the 3rd party ports are to Nintendo is really not remembering the Wii U very well. A big library with lots of familiar titles makes for Switch sales even if the individual 3rd party games are not doing super-duper amazing. A lot of dead heads here seem to think that things are only relevant if they absolutely dominate the market -- things that do OK and make a small profit are still relevant to the overall bottom lines of companies.

[rlow1]

Last I checked it was killing it in sales. It's portable and in a unique segment of the market. People buy Nintendo primarily for their games. I don't see them lowering the price.

[C-H-E-F]

No, the switch is a totally different thing. It's not even marketed as a next gen console from Nintendo, It's just marketed as a new gaming console from Nintendo. They have their own niche, their own market. And now there will be another split if Microsoft & Sony continue. Which will be Microsoft is trying to make "CONSOLE PCs", Sony is still making traditional consoles. I see in the PS6 Xbox Series One X that divide happening where there will be three "consoles" that are marketed to totally different demographics to the point where picking up either will be alot less on "fanboy logic" but more on what people really want because it appears that all games will be crossplatform at that point.

[FanboySpotter]

Nintendo doesn't need to do anything they are already outselling xsx and ps5 by 50+ mil. Switch is in the same gen as ps5 and sxs fyi. Also switch is a complimentary console so they really don't have to do anything big.

[Hakuoro]

I wouldn't be surprised in Nintendo continues to outsell both of them tbh.

[Harryvok]

My Switch gathers dust. If my wife didn't play it occasionally, i'd sell it. I'm only interested in Zelda and Metroid as far as Nintendo franchises go. For multi platform games, Switch is the worst version of those games to play.

They lost me after the gamcube. Just headed towards experiences i'm not interested in.

[milohighclub]

Nah, they need a new console, then that needs a price drop.