It’s going to be a big week for the Nintendo Switch. At 3:00pm AEDT time on Friday, Nintendo will hold an online presentation showing off the console in greater depth. And the day after, the company is holding a hands-on event in Melbourne which I’ll be attending.
Most people have already formed a view one way or another on what the Switch looks like and what it does. But perhaps one of the biggest questions that remains unanswered: how much will it cost?
The common orthodoxy says that the Switch will come in at the same price point as the Wii U, since Nintendo will be pushing for Wii/Wii U owners to upgrade (and hence they’ll want to maintain some kind of parity on pricing). I don’t think it’s likely that it’ll cost over $500: it’s got largely the same hardware as the NVIDIA SHIELD, which is $US199 (so $270 not including shipping).
But that’s all reasoned speculation on my part. What price do you think the Switch will come in at – and what price would it need to be to convince you to buy, or what price would it have to be to stop you from picking one up? Vote below!
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30 responses to “How Much Do You Think The Nintendo Switch Will Cost?”
I’m assuming these are Aussie Dollarydoos, in which case I’d think $350-$399 will be the price point at launch. I’m actually intrigued about this one due to the game on the go options, but most importantly LoZ: Breath of the Wild looks amazing…
I think it’ll be in the $430-$500 range. I’d like it to be cheaper, but they’re still selling the Wii U at $430, so it doesn’t make sense they’d sell a new machine cheaper.
Edit: Only got a few more days to find out for sure.
Edit 2: Also, in regards to the picture which has been taken from the reveal trailer. Who the hell would play splitscreen on a screen that bloody small?
People get used to whatever screen size they’re focusing on. I see people watching movies on their /phones/ during the commute all the time. I personally wouldn’t be able to, but it works out for them.
I’d say maybe $400-$450ish given what the Wii U released at. Meh, looks awesome, I’d throw $500 at it without blinking
Nintendo have always launched games around the $350 mark I was once told, so if true, they have precedent and would expect them to continue the trend.
Mind you, the protrollers will probably be $100 clams each on launch….
I reckon it’ll be cheaper than the WiiU to convince those that already have it to make the switch (see what I did there?). So…. 300-350ish.
As an aside, I know randomizing your response lists in surveys is best practice, but you shouldn’t do it when you’re using a sequential list of values… it’s just makes finding your answer annoying.
$400-449
$250-299
$300-349
$450-499
$500+
$350-399
$200-249
If the US$215 price holds true, that should broadly translate to something near $300 on the current exchange rate. As that would be before sales tax, and hence before GST, add 10% to get it to around $330. For “local market reasons”, they round it up to $350.
Then add the Australia Tax (no justification whatsoever) for a nice $399.
Thats the “local market reasons” part. They fob it off as higher cost of doing business here, higher wages, higher insurance, exchange rates, and so forth, but thats just the excuse to put what we call the Australia Tax on.
I reckon we’re eyeing off $350 is the summary. If they really go gung ho with gouging, then yeah, $400 is that next tier we might see. I think thats pricing it out of the market though, especially when Xbones and PS4’s can be got for that.
$250-$300 – reason being is this is obviously being targeted to eventually combine the 3DS and Wii lines, so will have to be priced in line with more portable consoles.
On top of this, it’s also severely underpowered to anything console based atm, so the portability factor will need to be played up.
I’m leaning towards a complete system being closer to $500 to take home ready to play.
I’m basing this on previous Nintendo consoles: I’ve never walked out of the store with just the console itself. Always need extra controllers and some games and so on.
Also historically, the cheaper the Nintendo console, the worse the hardware inside: I’m hoping for decent hardware that could potentially play Skyrim at 30FPS (minimum).. not necessarily to actually play Skyrim, more that I can imagine the quality of the games that could use that kind of hardware potential.
USD$250 I don’t think Ninity will need to price lower at launch, I could see it going to USD$299. Any higher and I wont have a problem getting one at launch 😉
$350 or $400 including the dock. Pro controllers for $80 or $100. Games at $80 each full priced.
Hopefully see you in Melbourne, Alex!
$999 because pre-orders say so… tentatively 😛 some people I’ve met actually think this is the price even though it says TBC.
Alex, everyone:
The question we should all be asking first up isn’t to do with price.
It’s region-locking.
I do not know what I will spend on the Switch, because I am waiting for this information.
I wouldn’t be holding my breath. Nintendo consoles have been region locked for years now. Wii and wii u were, as is the 3ds
I’m hoping to find out more about that on Saturday too.
hey Alex,
any idea if its possible to get an invite to the melbourne event on the 15th?
The System itself would be $300-350.
However, that price point will need to take into account bundles and launch games and controllers and and and and…
So if you want a half decent amount of internal memory, with an extra set of controllers and 2 launch titles you’ll probably be looking at close to $500, easy.
Given the rumours are that it will be around $250 US, our dollar is circling the drain and taking into account the Australia tax I’m guessing we’ll end up somewhere around $350 – $400.
$450 I reckon.
Nintendo tend to stick to around the $400 price point but given that it’s a portable and home console I think it will be a little higher this time.
Given that the last tine our exchange rate was this woeful was before the GFC i reckon it’ll be comparable to the Wii price of $400
I’m guessing about $400. It has gotta be competitive with PS4 etc right?
But I’m less concerned about the price and more concerned about the titles that will be available upon launch and in the following months. THAT is what will decide if I buy one or not.
Be probably $349 for a base model and $449 for an upgraded model with more storage (if the rumours are to be believed).
Bring on Friday!
My guess is it’ll be around the $400 point, about the same price the Wii launched for.
Depends whether it’s Shield 1 or Shield 2. Taking a gamble on it being 2, I’ll take the high price bracket.
I highly doubt it’d be Shield 1 at this point, that’s pretty dated tech at this point, I doubt nVidia even has the dies for those chips anymore
I believe it won’t be more than $300-$350. If it was more, it would be competing with the PS4 and Xbox One. Hopefully, they can sell the console at around $250-$300, it would put the console at an advantage in pricing.
Well, that’s the big question isn’t it? Are Nintendo going to price it like a handheld or like a home console. It would surprise me to see them possibly at a later date sell the unit as a portable and remove the base station to cut costs. Hoping for around $350 but being Australia probably more.
About $3.50.