TheNintendo Switchsurprisingly received a price drop in Europe, leading many to wonder if further price drops were coming. According to an online exchange though, it appears that theSwitchprice cut is not coming anywhere else.
Believe it or not, the Switch has not received a price drop in its four years on the market. Since it launched in 2017, the Switch has been selling in the United States for $299.99, with occasional bundles that lift the price somewhere into the middle 300s. The news ofEuropean Switch price dropmade fans hopeful that perhaps Nintendo would be cutting the console’s price in other markets. With the OLED Switch on the way, now would have been as good a time as any for Nintendo to lower the original Switch’s price.
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Stephen Totilo of Axios Gaming announced on Twitter yesterday the Switch price drop was for Europe exclusively. Totilo reached out to Nintendo about the price drop, to which it responded, “The trade price adjustment is for the European region only.” Nintendo does not mince words here, deflating the possibility of an associated price cut in other markets. In the past, Nintendo has made other Europe exclusive business moves like special discounts on Switch compatible NES controllers and blockingEuropean retailers from selling first-party Nintendo codes.
There is more to Nintendo’s response though, proceeding to speak about the future of the Switch in the U.S. Totilo continues to write Nintendo’s response, stating, “There are no plans to change the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for any Nintendo Switch model in the U.S.” In one fell swoop, any hopes of a Switch price cut, and specifically in the U.S. were eliminated, Nintendo planning to continue charging full price for the console. It will be interesting to see how many original base Switchs sell considering theSwitch OLED will be running for $349.99.
With only a $50 price difference between the base Switch and the OLED model, it is hard to see just how the consoles' sales will play out. In one hand, the slight difference makes the OLED Switch seem more appealing for potential first time buyers, that extra money getting them a better looking screen and dock. On the other hand, by keeping the price of the original Switch so high, it might deter buyers from the OLED model (or buying a Switch altogether) with neither console being seemingly worth its money, not to mention somewhere in all of this is the docklessSwitch Lite. Well, at least the threeNintendo Switchmodels are somewhat distinct.
