Support NeoGAF

[seb85]

In the rest of the world, the Switch 2 is comparatively priced to the PS5 – but Nintendo knows where its bread is buttered.

The Mario maker has come up with a fascinating solution to the weakening yen and the threat of exports: a Japanese language-only system which will retail for ¥49,980 (~$338).

That's significantly less than the $450 the system will sell for in the US, and it's almost half the price of the PS5, which currently retails for ¥79,980 (~$542).

Interestingly, Nintendo will also sell a multi-language version of the Switch 2 for ¥69,980 (~$474) in Japan, but it clearly expects most domestic consumers to cough up for the cheaper option.

Switch 2 Goes for the Kill in Japan By Massively Undercutting PS5's Price

Nintendo plots Japanese language-only option

www.pushsquare.com

 

[Sebastian1295]

Imagine selling a region locked console in the year 2025 and being proud of it. Between the 70 to 90 dollar games they're charging you for, the shitty online subscription they make u pay 'no dedicated servers folks lmao', selling you a manual as a game, and selling you a pro 2 controller that is the same as the pro 1 controller but now has a headphone jack, nintendo are the most anti-consumer company in the industry.

 

[JORMBO]

Didn't Nintendo kill Sony in Japan a long time ago?

 

[SJRB]

It's about complete global saturation.

Japan on its own is an insignificant market. People cheer when a game sells 100k units in Japan. What the hell are we even talking about here?

 

[Represent.]

It should cost less than the ps5. That's a fair price

 

[TheChadOfGaming]

sony is dead in japan

 

[jm89]

They already had a cheaper device with the switch 1 anyway.

The region locking by Nintendo was an interesting move. Maybe something for Sony to consider if they are worried about people exporting ps5s out of Japan if they dropped the price in Japan.

 

[Ebrietas]

sony is dead in japan

Consoles are dead in Japan. Nintendo is just less dead.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Even Monster Hunter barely moved the needle for PS in Japan. It's already dead there.

 

[Blitzkrieg!]

This is just proof that the "high" pricing of Switch in Western countries is a result of the tariffs and economic environment.

 

[ShirAhava]

The western woke focus, the censorship, closing Japan studio even changing the X/O button to suit the west

The Gaijin-5 is a nothing burger to the Japanese gamer or anyone who enjoys Japanese gaming

Switch is the only respectable option

 

[Zathalus]

My guess is the Japanese price is probably very close to breaking even for Nintendo, while the international market is basically $100+ profit per console.

 

[pulicat]

Consoles are dead in Japan. Nintendo is just less dead.

Switch 1 sold 36m units.

 

[K' Dash]

Consoles are dead in Japan. Nintendo is just less dead.

nah, Sony and MS are dead in Japan. Nintendo is fine.

 

[proandrad]

Switch 1 sold 36m units.

The switch is a handheld.

 

[QLQ]

But can they undercut the Switch OLED?

 

[iHaunter]

Didn't Nintendo kill Sony in Japan a long time ago?

Sony killing their handheld is what did them in. Japan is notoriously big on handhelds. Which the Switch is.

 

[adamsapple]

The idea that a multi-language version of the exact same console costs 20,000 more yen is so ridiculous on paper, but because it's Nintendo we're all kind of not that surprised by it.

 

[SlimySnake]

Nintendo isnt going for the kill. Sony poses no threat to them in Japan whatsoever. They will probably outsell the PS5 in Japan within a year.

Japan is as irrelevant to the console industry as Antarctica.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

didnt mean to post this--delete me please

 

[Javi97]

Japanese children: what is a Playstation?

 

[Ebrietas]

Switch 1 sold 36m units.

Great. Now compare it to the mobile market over there. Switch is nothing.

And it's the same 4 or 5 nintendo games that keep charting every week. The typical japanese third party game doesn't sell much on switch, which is why publishers are increasingly relying on sales outside japan.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

The idea that a multi-language version of the exact same console costs 20,000 more yen is so ridiculous on paper, but because it's Nintendo we're all kind of not that surprised by it.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Playstation is bigger in Japan than Nintendo in China, a much bigger market.

Just a reality check for Pikmins.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Imagine selling a region locked console in the year 2025 and being proud of it. Between the 70 to 90 dollar games they're charging you for, the shitty online subscription they make u pay 'no dedicated servers folks lmao', selling you a manual as a game, and selling you a pro 2 controller that is the same as the pro 1 controller but now has a headphone jack, nintendo are the most anti-consumer company in the industry.

Wait, I thought Sony was the most anti-consumer when yall raised a big stink about the Ps5 Pro.

It's hard to keep track of it week over week.

I did notice how everyone supported AC Shadows and was wiling to buy it at full price but now shits on real games. I saw the thread where everyone said that their pinnacle of gaming multithousand dollar gaming PC was best represented with games like AC Shadows.

GTAVI will be priced sky high too. Nintendo is normalizing this and everyone will jump on board. All we can do is sull up. I'm choosing to be happy since the console itself is cheap, and I'll just wait for 10 bucks off on the games. The original pro controller is of course also super expensive and always has been and nobody is making you buy the manual game, so I think those complaints aren't relevant and were just used to flesh out your weak argument.

Here's a tip. Save up 70 dollars. Now you can afford 7 Nintendo games that you could not afford before the price increase. It's just 10 dollars my man. Do you know about game sales? Also you didn't give the credit for keeping the price on the console low. $449.99 was what every smart on this forum guessed, so we all knew that already. I assume you did too.

 

[Hero_Select]

There's nothing left to kill of Sony in Japan. It's already dead lol

 

[BennyBlanco]

Great. Now compare it to the mobile market over there. Switch is nothing.

And it's the same 4 or 5 nintendo games that keep charting every week. The typical japanese third party game doesn't sell much on switch, which is why publishers are increasingly relying on sales outside japan.

Now compare the global console market to the global mobile games market and come to the same exact conclusions. Console gaming is nothing compared to mobile. Nintendo has been consistently successful in the JP market.

 

[Physiognomonics]

But the PS5 might look like the better console in the west now, notably after the small price cut in Europe. Switch 1 was super cheap in Europe, half less than PS5 for many years. But now ? Switch 2 runs games like a PS4 for the price of the PS5. You really get that Nintendo tax, the seal of quality that we got during NES era.

I understand that PS5 doesn't get Nintendo games, but you have that nice AstroBot bundle that is selling really well right now... A game as good as a Mario that actually looks like a generation ahead of Switch 2 games.

In amazon US all PS5 consoles (including Pro) are sold out... That price cut was perfectly timed for Sony. Well played.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Now compare the global console market to the global mobile games market and come to the same exact conclusions. Console gaming is nothing compared to mobile. Nintendo has been consistently successful in the JP market.

Nintendo is portable, PS isn't. Tell me about Wii U consistent sucess in Japan.

This is about consumer habits.

 

[MrJangles]

Didn't Nintendo kill Sony in Japan a long time ago?

Yep. Now lining up to piss on its corpse.

 

[StereoVsn]

The idea that a multi-language version of the exact same console costs 20,000 more yen is so ridiculous on paper, but because it's Nintendo we're all kind of not that surprised by it.

Yep. I understand why they are doing this, but it's still annoying.

 

[simpatico]

Nintendo and Steam Box wombo-combo. Might be too steep a wall for the highest up brass at Sony to burn that opportunity cost on the hardware side.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

Its funny that anyone would think the Japanese market is of any consequence in 2025, like its some barometer for success.

 

[Deerock71]

Imagine selling a region locked console in the year 2025 and being proud of it. Between the 70 to 90 dollar games they're charging you for, the shitty online subscription they make u pay 'no dedicated servers folks lmao', selling you a manual as a game, and selling you a pro 2 controller that is the same as the pro 1 controller but now has a headphone jack, nintendo are the most anti-consumer company in the industry.

Nintendo to Sony ponies:

 

[LazyParrot]

The switch is a handheld.

Oddly enough, when I went to Japan I didn't see a single person using a Switch in public. It was like 95% phones, 5% older handhelds. Everything from Vitas to original Gameboys, but no Switches at all.

 

[Embearded]

This is just proof that the "high" pricing of Switch in Western countries is a result of the tariffs and economic environment.

What the hell are you talking about?
What tariffs in Europe?

This js just proof that Nintendo values the Japanese market and they want to dominate it.

 

[Mattyp]

Oddly enough, when I went to Japan I didn't see a single person using a Switch in public. It was like 95% phones, 5% older handhelds. Everything from Vitas to original Gameboys, but no Switches at all.

It's crazy how big the Vita market was in Japan, remember visiting during Vita still being available even at the end of its life and the games sections where huge.

Console gaming has been dead in Japan since PS2

 

[BennyBlanco]

Nintendo is portable, PS isn't. Tell me about Wii U consistent sucess in Japan.

This is about consumer habits.

Wii U was just a deeply flawed product that flopped everywhere. Nintendo simply dominates the JP market.

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/media-create-sales-week-50-2015-dec-07-dec-13.1157912/

Look at this random media create thread from a decade ago. Wii U outselling ps4. 3DS shitting all over Vita. Nintendo is just way more popular brand there.

 

[Ritsumei2020]

You often hear US expats complaining about low wages in Japan, or how tourists come to Japan to buy stuff for cheap,

The yen is weak, it favour exports but 50K yen feel like $500

 

[Banjo64]

It's about complete global saturation.

Japan on its own is an insignificant market. People cheer when a game sells 100k units in Japan. What the hell are we even talking about here?

A few recent Nintendo consoles have sold well over 20m units plus in Japan, doesn't sound insignificant to me.

The top 10 selling consoles in Japan. The numbers look seriously impressive for just 1 country.

Manufacturer	Console	Released	Units sold	Date of figure
Nintendo	Nintendo Switch #	March 3, 2017	36,820,000[6]​	December 31, 2024
Nintendo	Nintendo DS	December 2, 2004	32,990,000[7]​	March 2013
Nintendo	Game Boyand Game Boy Color	April 21, 1989	32,470,000[7]​	March 2003
Nintendo	Nintendo 3DS #	February 26, 2011	25,260,000[8]​	March 2020
Sony	PlayStation 2	March 4, 2000	24,420,000[9]​	2008
Sony	PlayStation Portable	December 12, 2004	19,632,197​	December 14, 2014
Sony	PlayStation	December 3, 1994	19,411,000[9]​	2005
Nintendo	Family Computer	July 15, 1983	19,350,000[7]​	March 2004
Nintendo	Super Famicom	November 21, 1990	17,170,000[7]​	March 2004
Nintendo	Game Boy Advance	March 21, 2001	16,960,000[7]​	March 2009

 

[Blitzkrieg!]

What the hell are you talking about?
What tariffs in Europe?

This js just proof that Nintendo values the Japanese market and they want to dominate it.

If the Euro prices aren't in line with US market, people will leverage the arbitrage by importing and scalping. Learn finance dummy.

 

[Famipan]

I would never have anticipated a Japanese ONLY version of the Switch 2! This is a fantastic and very MJGA move!
Of course they learnt from all the foreign scalping of PS5!

 

[awwr999999]

I understand that PS5 doesn't get Nintendo games, but you have that nice AstroBot bundle that is selling really well right now... A game as good as a Mario that actually looks like a generation ahead of Switch 2 games.

DualSense gives AstroBot the feel of a game centuries ahead of Switch.
If Switch sales prove anything it's that pixel count doesn't matter - users will pay more for native 360p Switch games than they'll pay for native 4k PS5 games.

 

[Calverz]

Imagine selling a region locked console in the year 2025 and being proud of it. Between the 70 to 90 dollar games they're charging you for, the shitty online subscription they make u pay 'no dedicated servers folks lmao', selling you a manual as a game, and selling you a pro 2 controller that is the same as the pro 1 controller but now has a headphone jack, nintendo are the most anti-consumer company in the industry.

 

[Robb]

This SKU will do huge numbers over there I'm sure. Another gen of Japan being Nintendoland I assume.

All you'll have to do is add "2" behind everything in the Famitsu sales threads.

 

[ChoosableOne]

This is just proof that the "high" pricing of Switch in Western countries is a result of the tariffs and economic environment.

More like Nintendo saying 'fck off' to non-Japanese gamers.

 

[Hector Hall]

sony is dead in japan

They are currently ahead of PS4 and PS3 there.

 

[PurePlatinum]

Based and 日本-pilled to charge all the 馬鹿外人 extra money for the privilege of using their console.

 

[Bernardougf]

338 is at most, the fair price for this outdated hardware .

 

[cripterion]

They better get all the gaccha games on board for the Switch 2.
Beyond the price debacle I'm appalled that they can come late to the party and not have killer lineup of games.

But yeah for many Nintendo can do no wrong.