Poll of the Day > video game companies right now

(+) Yeah! (+)

Switch 2 games are going to cost $110 Canadian each, up from $60 on the Switch 1 like 5 years ago.

On the plus side, most of the games most of the major studios are shitting out these days are hot garbage or bland dreck, so I feel no real pressure to pay their higher prices regardless.

They can charge whatever they want, they'll still just be getting $0 from me.

At this point in my life, if it isn't on XBox Live or Humble Bundle, I will probably never play it. I just don't get excited for new games like I used to, unless it is a re-release of something that I was interested in 20-30 years ago but never got a chance to play.

Probably time for you lot to get some new hobbies.

Under 40 spent last year on

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
Might and Magic 6-pack Limited Edition
Phantom Brave PC

No purchases yet this year. I guess I'm not really part of the market anymore.

faramir77 posted...

Switch 2 games are going to cost $110 Canadian each, up from $60 on the Switch 1 like 5 years ago.

That was a bit more than 5 years ago, given that the jump to $80 CDN was reflecting the fact that the dollars were no longer at par, and the last time they were at par was 10+ years ago. There was definitely a lag on updating Canadian MSRP for that exchange rate, but the exchange rate has pretty consistently been in the $1.30-1.40 range since 2016ish (hence the Switch 1 was 300 USD and 400 CAD) and expecting Canadian MSRP to stay at $60 was never realistic in that context. $110 is also the price for games that are 80 USD, with 70 USD presumably converting to 90 or 100 CAD as has been the standard for other 70 USD games.

It's painful, certainly, but don't act like they doubled the price overnight. As with the MSRP update from $60 to $80 CDN, it just reflects market trends and the only thing we can really do is buy fewer full-price games to account for the fact that our disposable income hasn't seen the same increase.

Sashanan posted...

Under 40 spent last year on

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
Might and Magic 6-pack Limited Edition
Phantom Brave PC

No purchases yet this year. I guess I'm not really part of the market anymore.

Almost every video game purchase Ive made in recent years has been on bumble bundle, so I wonder if that counts

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/88ee894b.png
I barely play video games now.
Since December, I have finished basically just Hades + AC7. I have some time (over 10 hours) in WoA, and Tales of Arise but not any meaningful amount. Other games are all less than 10 hours.
I really do suggest finding other hobbies, video games are mucho boring.

Oh ignore my 8200 hours in Star Trek Online, I created a bot to play that game for me.

adjl posted...

That was a bit more than 5 years ago, given that the jump to $80 CDN was reflecting the fact that the dollars were no longer at par, and the last time they were at par was 10+ years ago. There was definitely a lag on updating Canadian MSRP for that exchange rate, but the exchange rate has pretty consistently been in the $1.30-1.40 range since 2016ish (hence the Switch 1 was 300 USD and 400 CAD) and expecting Canadian MSRP to stay at $60 was never realistic in that context. $110 is also the price for games that are 80 USD, with 70 USD presumably converting to 90 or 100 CAD as has been the standard for other 70 USD games.

It's painful, certainly, but don't act like they doubled the price overnight. As with the MSRP update from $60 to $80 CDN, it just reflects market trends and the only thing we can really do is buy fewer full-price games to account for the fact that our disposable income hasn't seen the same increase.

"Let's be the first to raise prices just because we can".

in this case, nintendo would be the second to raise them.

ConfusedTorchic posted...

in this case, nintendo would be the second to raise them.

Tears of the Kingdom was first.

no.

take-two started it when they released nba2k21, in 2020, for $70, upon which everyone followed suit. tears of the kingdom wouldn't exist until three years later.

nintendo is the second company to try and raise prices by $10 again.

But don't you know that Tears of the Kingdom was the first $70 game ever?

It's worse in the 3rd world you have to pay for any kinda decent data plan. And they aren't great. 120gb game download welp

The prices bleh erg. I'll only buy on steam and only on sale, no rush.

Sticking to fun indie games mostly. Besides nothing has been as good as rdr2 for me, anyway. Every modern game has been average for me.

There are other options, but I got modded last time I mentioned them.

Flappers posted...

There are other options, but I got modded last time I mentioned them.

What do you mean, Ro- *banned*

ConfusedTorchic posted...

no.

take-two started it when they released nba2k21, in 2020, for $70, upon which everyone followed suit. tears of the kingdom wouldn't exist until three years later.

nintendo is the second company to try and raise prices by $10 again.

Nobody did that.

Revelation34 posted...

Nobody did that.

Really? No other companies began charging $70 for their games? Are you sure that's the route you wanna go instead of just admitting that you were wrong and/or misspoke?

I've been given 50+ PC games for free on Epic Game Store. There is no point in owning a console anymore.

adjl posted...

Really? No other companies began charging $70 for their games? Are you sure that's the route you wanna go instead of just admitting that you were wrong and/or misspoke?

Not until a huge company did it.

Revelation34 posted...

Not until a huge company did it.

Take Two doesn't count as a "huge company?"

faramir77 posted...

Switch 2 games are going to cost $110 Canadian each, up from $60 on the Switch 1 like 5 years ago.

Then don't buy them.
If Nintendo is stupid enough to think Canadians are paid in American dollars then don't buy their shit until they learn Canada is not the 51st state

SinisterSlay posted...

Then don't buy them.
If Nintendo is stupid enough to think Canadians are paid in American dollars then don't buy their shit until they learn Canada is not the 51st state

We're not paid in Yen, either, which is the more salient exchange rate. Nintendo, however, is, and regional pricing reflects the value of that region's currency relative to the Yen. A weak CAD means that if we only paid $60 CDN while Americans paid $60 US, Canadian customers would have less value than American ones. If pricing according to the exchange rate were seriously cutting into sales, there might be a discount, but realistically the Canadian market just isn't a large enough portion of the NA market to exert that kind of influence.

Given the relatively open border between Canada and the US (at least until recently), if the Canadian price were significantly cheaper than the exchange-adjusted US price, that would also create an incentive for American retailers to buy Canadian copies and resell them at close to American prices, resulting in significant lost revenue.

adjl posted...

if the Canadian price were significantly cheaper than the exchange-adjusted US price, that would also create an incentive for American retailers to buy Canadian copies and resell them at close to American prices, resulting in significant lost revenue.

That would be a first in so many ways that it wouldn't happen. Your entire plan hinges on Americans even knowing where Canada is, and having a passport, and staying a full day in Canada each time to get the $800 exemption.
Instead they would just region lock it

SinisterSlay posted...

Your entire plan hinges on Americans even knowing where Canada is, and having a passport, and staying a full day in Canada each time to get the $800 exemption.

I'm not so much thinking about individuals crossing the border to buy games (though for anyone living in a border town, that would 100% be an option and cross-border shopping is a significant enough source of revenue for border towns that you can watch the prosperity shift across the border as exchange rates change) as I am thinking about store owners doing so, or ordering shipments from Canadian shops so they don't have to go themselves. It's not likely to be people coming up from Texas or Florida or anything, but a day trip from, say, Buffalo to St. Catharine's or Detroit to Windsor is nothing, and being able to buy games for $80 CDN ($58 US) and resell them at $80 US could yield enough of a profit margin to be worth the trip.

Of course, this is discounting whatever nonsense Trump's trade war has introduced to cross-border shopping, since that's a mess and changes too frequently to keep track of.

SinisterSlay posted...

Instead they would just region lock it

The logistics of producing an entirely separate, region locked Canadian version instead of a single NA version aren't really worthwhile, particularly where the Switch isn't region locked in the first place. Again, the Canadian market just isn't large enough that losing some sales by pricing games according to the exchange rate will justify all the extra risks and hoops that will need to be jumped through to make lower prices work.