There’s still a lot we don’t know about the upcoming Nintendo Switch, so a whole lot of questions about Nintendo’s highly anticipated hybrid living room/portable console still remain. The biggest among them is the system’s price. Considering the fact that it’s a competitive gaming market out there, and Nintendo will have to provide buyers the right balance between affordability and profitability if it plans to push it’s latest console as effectively and efficiently as possible. We’ve heard
We’ve heard quite a few hints from Nintendo’s president Tatsumi Kimishima that the console will be sold at a significant profit, and also that the Switch will be priced in alignment with previous Nintendo consoles. A listing from the Canadian Toys “R” Us website (which has now been removed) puts the price of the console at 329.99 Canadian dollars, which translates to about Rs.16,000. This pricing is in line with some rumors that’ve been floating around the interwebs.
Though the basic leak/rumor caveat remains: nothing is official until it’s official, and I wouldn’t be all too surprised to find out later on that we were just being duped. Here’s Nintendo’s official statement:
At a later date, before launch, we’ll be talking about things like price, exact launch date, and of course, the games.
I personally had my money on a price range of $300-$400, which was a calculated guess given that the price of the basic Wii U SKU at launch was $299. Though $300 is still generally aligned with what one might consider a “Nintendo-like” pricing. If the leaked price we’ve got ourselves here is true, that’s amazing news for Nintendo. I can see the Switch selling pretty fast at a price such as that. As it is, there’s a lot of visible enthusiasm for the Switch, and a significantly low price point could convert all that enthusiasm into a sales record for Nintendo.
Despite the system’s handheld focus, the Xbox One and PS4 will continue to remain as the machine’s primary competition or at least the primary comparison point. Both of those are currently selling for $299 in game bundles, and that price too will going down to $250 for Black Friday in the US. And holiday pricing sometimes becomes permanent, depending upon the sales, so that’s also something to keep an eye out for.
There are also certain speculations of a deluxe/premium SKU at $299, and also worth noting is the fact that the deluxe bundle of the Wii U sold much sold a lot better than the Wii U. Regardless, I believe that the $299 pricing is both a ceiling and a completely comfortable price for the Nintendo Switch. Anything below that price range will only sweeten the deal.
