Securities firm believes Switch 2 costs $400 to make, Nintendo will sell at a loss – GoNintendo

I'd believe so, the system has Nvidia G-sync integrated, it is DLSS and Ray-tracing capable, with a refresh rate of 120hz screen, and 4k capable. For all intents and purposes the Switch 2 is not that bad of a machine, especially for a handheld. Even with good deals in parts, I could see the production costs getting to the $400s.

I say this as someone who won't buy it right away, but you got to admit they did a nice upgrade from their previous generation.
 
Tombstone 4K UHD from Disney, distributed by Sony, is selling at $55 for preorders. The discounted $42 preorders at Amazon sold out. If movies are selling for this price, video games are cheap.
Really? I got it the 4k Steelbook on preorder for £30 which is the standard for 4k Steelbooks.
Standard 4K release is £22 🤔
 
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It's the latest mobile chip from Nvidia with DLSS and RT features. Switch 2($450) outperformed Steam Deck($420 without a dock) like Xbox vs PS2.

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.. Maybe?

I will say it has a lot more modern stuff packed into it than I expected, so it wouldn't shock me.

If it is I bet it's a WiiU kind of scenario though where they become profitable after a single additional game purchase.
 
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Yeah
Really? I got it the 4k Steelbook on preorder for £30 which is the standard for 4k Steelbooks.
Standard 4K release is £22 🤔
Yeah, Disney 4K steelbooks have been expensive since Sony took over. I bought Moana 2 during the Target B2G1. I miss the Disney Movie Club.
 
Nintendo never sells at a loss, especially when it sells the console for more than $100 more in the US and Europe than in Japan.
Wii U was sold at a loss. As was the 3DS after the price cut.

There's a reason the cheaper model in Japan is region locked. Yen is crazy weak right now.
 
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That's the norm here, people pulling facts from their ass and nonsense theories…
There was an old thread about 1 or 2 years old on here that had an article talking about how recent university graduates in Japan make as software engineers starting out, you had a few UK and US members saying those wages are poverty level and wondering how anyone can live on that amount.

Then another poster in that same thread went into meticulous detail and I mean really in fine detail, on how that was a great deal. That poster went into detail about the costs of living in Japan compared to UK and US, how these companies subsidizes housing, health insurance, internet, cell phone services, and whatever leftover money the software engineer has is more than enough money for other things.

I'm really interested in details like that if possible, but more than likely the post made in this thread about $400 being a ripoff wasn't made in good faith.
 
The sentence doesn't make sense, how come it costs $400 and you sell it at a loss for $450?

Anyways Nintendo financials will reveal if they are selling it at loss or not. You will see that sweet margins lol
Nintendo front loads all the R&D, manufacturing setup, and launch marketing into the first units instead of amoritizing them across the generation, so their financials will show a massive loss per unit. They've hollywood accounted every console and portable like that, the Wii BoM was like $80 but their financials pegged the $250 console as a loss.
 
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If it is I bet it's a WiiU kind of scenario though where they become profitable after a single additional game purchase.

Yep. I said this in a previous thread, but the Mario Kart World bundle is actually a sign that Nintendo's margins on the Switch 2 are thin. They're giving you an uncharacteristic $30 "discount," because they want to sell as many units as possible at $499 rather than $449. Each MKW digital code costs them a fraction of a cent, and they'll get a fair number of people who might not have bought MKW at retail price to opt for the bundle because it feels like a better deal and then also buy whatever game they're actually purchasing the system for.
 
I remember XBox OG was also selling with a loss back in the days. We were joking that Bill Gates was this good samaritan, back then.
 
I'm not surprised if Nintendo are losing money on NS2. It's quite impressive hardware for a handheld, lots of modern stuff in a very small form factor. That 120hz HDR screen ain't cheap. Plus you get a dock to that outputs 4K with seamless transitioning from tv to handheld. Not even PC handhelds where you pay 8-900$ you get a dock, you have to buy it separately and the hybrid transitioning doesn't work as flawlessly as Nintendos own solution. I honestly think 450 for everything that Nintendo is offering here is a steal.
Yeah, it's good to view it holistically. There are plenty of stuff NS1 also does so smoothly that it increases the enjoyment of the whole gaming experience. Like removing the joycons to play a game in singleplayer and then three of your friends arrive and you give one of the joycons to one friend and your two extra to the other two and they all sync and are recognized as multiple controllers without much delay. It does lots of little details perfectly that most PC handhelds don't even bother with. It's my favourite "party" console as it's so easy to transport and set up.
 
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Gaming is still probably one of the least expensive enthusiasts hobbies, unless we count shit like knitting.
Maybe, but it doesn't mean it's cheap.

Tombstone 4K UHD from Disney, distributed by Sony, is selling at $55 for preorders. The discounted $42 preorders at Amazon sold out. If movies are selling for this price, video games are cheap.
Video games are not movies, tho
 
They're selling it at $330 in Japan, there's no way it costs $400 to make.
Japan is in another universe where things are cheaper!

Considering Nintendo isn't paying retail prices for components, and is most likely getting bulk order discounts I would say it costs around 250$ to make + 50$ max per unit in marketing + distribution + retailer share.
 
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It's Nintendo, they play as safe as possible, even if by their standard, HW in Switch2 is super amazing or something, I'm sure it's between budget to avoid losing money like they always do
 
Maybe, but it doesn't mean it's cheap.


Video games are not movies, tho

Right, I'm paying $40-$50+ to buy a discounted movie that is 2 hours and 14 minutes. I sit there and watch it. With video games I get much longer playtime and interactivity. The cost/hr is significantly less for video games.
 
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They're selling it at $330 in Japan, there's no way it costs $400 to make.

It's the equivalent of $345 USD at the current exchange rate for the region locked model. Lower distribution costs aside, BOJ has indicated several times recently that they'll be raising interest rates which means the disparity between domestic prices and international prices will tighten.

Japan is arguably the most critical market for Nintendo. Series like Splatoon sell much higher domestically than abroad. Japanese consumers spend much more on games than their western counterparts so if you're going to offer anyone a discount on hardware, that's the right market to do it in.
 
They're selling it at $330 in Japan, there's no way it costs $400 to make.

Sony sold the PS3 for 599 and it cost 900 to make.

the $330 version of the Switch 2 is region locked and language locked, as a tradeoff for the low price. because on one hand they need a price like that in Japan to be successful, but on the other hand they can't afford people buying it from outside of japan.
 
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Japan is in another universe where things are cheaper!

Considering Nintendo isn't paying retail prices for components, and is most likely getting bulk order discounts I would say it costs around 250$ to make + 50$ max per unit in marketing + distribution + retailer share.
I think you're right.

I remember when the original Switch launched and then President Kimishima said it wouldn't be sold at a loss and he wouldn't be in a position to cut the price until it sold 10 million units.
If they were making a $50 profit on day one and then they could have cut the price after 10 million sold, Nintendo was likely making a $100 profit per Switch within the first year.
 
Didn't Nintendo repeatedly stated that they don't believe in selling hard at a loss?

Hard to believe, but again, a 120Hz 1080p is not common even among pc handhelds. Man, Nintendo really put a120Hz panel on a platform where most games will struggle to hit even 30fps.
 
It's bit hard to believe this BOM estimate considering $350 Japan only price. We are talking a big loss on a lot of consoles (30 mil sold I think).
 
Same stupid comments as switch launch.

"Oh How can a ps4 that's half and inch thick with its own screen and battery cost more than a series s!?" 😵‍💫
 
Same stupid comments as switch launch.

"Oh How can a ps4 that's half and inch thick with its own screen and battery cost more than a series s!?" 😵‍💫
+ a docking station and two detachable controllers.

A PS5 uses 210 watts while gaming. If the tech existed to get the PS5 internals into a handheld form factor, that would deplete the battery on the Steam Deck in less than 12 minutes but it'd burst into flames way before then.
 
Bowser said that they would earn on the hardware from day 1.

I don't believe this source. Nintendo always makes sure they earn money on hardware.
 
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Bowser said that they would earn on the hardware from day 1.

I don't believe this source. Nintendo always makes sure they earn money on hardware.
Yeah, I also saw that on that strange CNBC interview. Difficult to believe they're not running a small positive margin on each unit (shipped). Even if it was just a $30 margin to begin with a new fab…
 
I don't buy it. Nintendo selling at a lost? Probably took $200 make. To be frank, I think this is déjà vu of the 3ds original pricing.
 
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