Why Do Nintendo Games Hold Their Value So Well?

Supporting My Local Mule Sanctuary Since 11/11/2014.

I'm not sure if this topic has been covered before or is currently being covered in another thread, but it's an issue that's been bothering me recently. This is mainly due to the fact that I'd like to by a Switch to play games such as Zelda, Mario and Xenoblade, however, the game prices are putting me off. This same issue came up when my partner bought a 3DS, I thought I'd pop down to CEX and pick her up an armful of classics, but the prices are still very high for the 'tent pole' titles; I was rather shocked.
Nintendo are in the same market, under the same conditions as its competitors, but their game prices just never seem to go down. Cam anyone enlighten me as to why this is?

NickSCFC · Last edited by NickSCFC on Wed Apr 04, 2018 10:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

I'm working away next week and could've done with a new game, it's impossible to find Breath of the Wild under £50 anywhere, pre-owned or otherwise.

I don't see my Switch collection being very large at this rate.

I guess it's a combination of several factors, which all feed each other. Historically low production volumes, to create scarcity. Nintendo's refusal to discount older titles. Collectors' tendency to keep rather than trade in Nintendo games. And the fact that people are willing to pay those prices.

Supporting My Local Mule Sanctuary Since 11/11/2014.

rinks wrote:I guess it's a combination of several factors, which all feed each other. Historically low production volumes, to create scarcity. Nintendo's refusal to discount older titles. Collectors' tendency to keep rather than trade in Nintendo games. And the fact that people are willing to pay those prices.

I guess that all makes sense and I guess those factors won't be changing any time soon. Perhaps if the Switch's success leads to more 3rd party support more choice for the consumer will lead to cheaper game prices across the board, here's hoping.

I thought I might go down the Wii U route for a cheaper Zelda option, but even on that it is still nearly £50, FFS

I was in CEX the other day and noticed them selling pre-owned copies of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for £52.99 :lol:

I'm not sure of the reason(s), but Nintendo seems to have a thing about 'perception of value'. Plus, their games are only available on their platforms, so the exclusivity/maximising of revenue comes into it. And if the demand's there, there's no reason for them to drop the price.

Yeah, the cheapest price for Zelda BotW seems to be £47.99 at present; it is this price at Amazon and a few other places.

Timing is everything - just a week or so ago game.co.uk were running a ten-pound discount on top Switch titles if you bought £15 eShop credit at the same time.

Since launch in March last year, I don't think Zelda BotW has fallen below £44.99 even though stock has been readily available. To be fair, Switch game prices aren't really more than PS4 or XBO game prices but, yes, they do tend to hold their value. I recall reading a few years back that Nintendo now manufactures stock (of all products) only to the levels for which they can instantly sell it to retailers; they aim to keep zero inventory themselves which - from a business sense - is ideal. I suspect this is a factor in games either maintaining their value (if they are popular) or swiftly becoming hard to find (if they are unpopular OR produced in relatively low quantities i.e. amiibo).

Samuel_1 wrote:...I thought I might go down the Wii U route for a cheaper Zelda option, but even on that it is still nearly £50, FFS

£39.95 at The Game Collection, Samuel

.

Edit: And if anyone is after Xenoblade Chronicles 2, GRcade's Floex is selling a "played once" copy for £32.

Gemini73

Nintendo pricing has always taken the piss and unfortunately it's a practice that has filtered down to private sellers and retail. It's the main reason I stopped buying GC games and moved to Dolphin.

NickSCFC wrote:I'm working away next week and could've done with a new game, it's impossible to find Breath of the Wild under £50 anywhere, pre-owned or otherwise.

I don't see my Switch collection being very large at this rate.

Cheapest I've seen it was £35 and was cheaper than the Wii U version and that was from Grainger which I got around the time I got my Switch.

I fell that *some* of Nintendo's pricing is high (i.e. dock replacements, joy-con and Labo) but, in game terms, it appears to be pretty much on a par with Sony and Microsoft. When I look at the PS Store for prices of the latest "top" games for my PS4, titles seem to be £49.99 to £59.99. Switch's "top" titles are generally £49.99 to £59.99. Retailers sell disc versions cheaper; most "top" PS4 titles seem to be around £42 whilst most "top" Switch titles settle at around £45.

Discounts arrive far quicker in the Sony and Microsoft Stores; sometimes just weeks after launch if the game has not been selling as well as the publisher would like. This is interesting as I believe that publishers have the ability to alter prices whenever they wish in all three console digital storefronts. From Nintendo's persepective, I think they aim to maintain the price for a lengthy time post-launch; not so good for folk who like to wait and buy at a discount, but good for folk who like to buy games at launch. I - obviously! - like to be able to buy games at a discount but I also got hugely frustrated during 2016 when a few "big" PS4 games I purchased from the PS Store at launch were discounted just weeks later. It certainly put me off buying games for my PS4 at launch - which is probably a good thing :-)

.

I think it's mostly down to Nintendo.

They were fined $100m+ by the EU 15 years ago for price fixing practices in the 90s. I suspect they've just found ways to get around it legally now. Or not get caught....

The one I don't understand is Mario vs Rabbids (mostly because I want to buy it cheap). It's a Ubisoft game which usually means a decent price drop within 6 months, it was also shipped with tons of Switches before Christmas as a pack in. But even the pre-owned price remains high.

Last edited by jawafour on Wed Apr 04, 2018 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Tomous wrote:...They were fined $100m+ by the EU 15 years ago for price fixing practices in the 90s. I suspect they've just found ways to get around it legally now. Or not get caught....

Yeah, Nintendo used to set a RRP (Recommended Retail Price) across European countries but they were ordered to stop this - which is why Nintendo now never states a price and it is up to retailers to set their own prices. It seems that retailers often settle on roughly the same price point.

Rex Kramer wrote:The one I don't understand is Mario vs Rabbids (mostly because I want to buy it cheap). It's a Ubisoft game which usually means a decent price drop within 6 months, it was also shipped with tons of Switches before Christmas as a pack in. But even the pre-owned price remains high.

Maybe there are contractual obligations that mean they have to run pricing past Nintendo?

Rex Kramer wrote:The one I don't understand is Mario vs Rabbids...

Ubi had the game on offer at £33 in the eShop a couple of weeks back. I believe it is the best-selling third-party game on Switch and I guess, in terms of sales, retailers haven't seen a need to drop the price.

This is kinda what has been putting me off the Switch. I'd love one, but the software is absurdly expensive and I'm povvo now.

I'm still hoping to get one by the end of this year. I really want Mario, Zelda, Xenoblade and Splatoon.

I don't think it's only down to Nintendo, unless you can blame them for making largely good games. From a retail sense if it isn't felt a price needs to be reduced, it isn't reduced. What's the point? People will buy at that point.

By the by, Nintendo pretty generously discount too selling titles with the selects range, I guess Switch doesn't have any yet. But you can find the equivalent Wii U games for around £14 easily which is exceptional value.

Also with the move back to carts manufacturing prices are high so stock is going to be expensive for retailers and they won't be able to aggressively discount Switch games.

You also have less people buying them overal than the likes of cod Fifa etc so profit on volume is low, profit on each sale must be maximised.

It generally works out because I don't feel you need 20 games to get a lot of value out of a Nintendo system and its a good idea to have a ps/xbx system to shovel up the cheap games. I think the Wii was a bit of a golden age in this respect as it wasn't hard to find a tonne of cheap games because the market was saturated with them, but other than that 1st party Nintendo games especially have always been expensive.

Supporting My Local Mule Sanctuary Since 11/11/2014.

Green Gecko wrote:
It generally works out because I don't feel you need 20 games to get a lot of value out of a Nintendo system and its a good idea to have a ps/xbx system to shovel up the cheap games. I think the Wii was a bit of a golden age in this respect as it wasn't hard to find a tonne of cheap games because the market was saturated with them, but other than that 1st party Nintendo games especially have always been expensive.

That's a fair point, but even the console its self is pretty expensive now, no doubt also due to supply and demand. I suppose I've just become used to game prices falling rapidly on other systems. Perhaps it would be best for me to hold out for the availability of 'Select' Switch titles. I also want to see if there's going to be an updated console Switch model, as recently rumoured.

NickSCFC wrote:I don't see my Switch collection being very large at this rate.

This is my current concern. I've still got plenty of game time in Odyssey and BotW but once I've finished with those games, I will find it quite hard to shell out £45+ for another Switch game. It'd take something really special that I couldn't get on PS4, which limits it to a Nintendo IP, and I'm not really that arsed about the majority of them.

Preezy wrote:
NickSCFC wrote:I don't see my Switch collection being very large at this rate.

This is my current concern. I've still got plenty of game time in Odyssey and BotW but once I've finished with those games, I will find it quite hard to shell out £45+ for another Switch game. It'd take something really special that I couldn't get on PS4, which limits it to a Nintendo IP, and I'm not really that arsed about the majority of them.

This is what has stopped me getting a switch, other than botw, Mario kart and odyssey I don't really see anything I go ooo I want that making it a very expensive device for 3 games 2 of which I'll drop.interest in when I get stuck or bored.

Why Do Nintendo Games Hold Their Value So Well?

Who is online

Affiliates