r/memes 1d ago

Leave them alonešŸ¤¬šŸ¤¬šŸ¤¬

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657

u/Avnesya 23h ago edited 22h ago

Is there actually "people" unironically defending em at this point?

Legit asking

edit : typo

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u/Apprehensive_Foot139 22h ago

I remember when people were out for Palworld's devs' blood when it came out. I remember people rejoicing when nintendo finally filed for a lawsuit. I don't get these people tbh

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u/ImNotSkankHunt42 21h ago

Which is stupid because patents donā€™t belong in games, but fanboys gonna do

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u/BobTheKekomancer 22h ago

The church of nintendo has THE WORST, most braindead fanboys you could imagine.

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u/LightbringerOG 22h ago

Nostalgia is a powerful drug.
Same thing would be Sonic fans, only difference is Sega is not an asshole company, not that I know of.

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u/ExiledFromSpace 22h ago

Sega banished their collective assholes to "work on" Phantasy Star where they can't hurt anyone (except fans of Phantasy Star).

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u/misterfluffykitty 20h ago

Iā€™m still mad at sega for new genesis

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u/IllurinatiL Royal Shitposter 20h ago

fans of Phantasy star

Those exist?

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u/SenorSnout 21h ago

I'd say Disney fans are a more apt comparison.

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u/Roger_Weebert 19h ago

10+ years ago there was definitely some SEGA copyright strike drama, but they do at least seem like reformed assholes nowadays. Honestly for quite a while it seemed like they would end up going the way of Atari. Iā€™m happy they turned it around

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u/Justinbiebspls 19h ago

companies aren't people

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u/ReadShigurui 21h ago

Playstation fans are up there though

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u/MightBeTrollingMaybe 21h ago

AFAIK Palworld shrugged the lawsuit off by just slightly modifying the game mechanics anyway.

Game's still there, perfectly healthy. And by the looks of it its graphics are still gonna be better than the upcoming new PokƩmon game anyway.

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u/Petrol1991 22h ago

Because fanbois gonna fanboi

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u/LuckyBlockReddit 22h ago

I don't really care too much about Palworld, but as an artist I don't like that they took designs from PokƩmon and changed a few things, then called it a Pal. I'm no fangirl for PokƩmon, but I'm not a fan of plagiarism either.

Though the hate isn't justified. I dislike the game, but I wouldn't say I hate it to the extent I want the developers sued. Those people need to grow up.

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u/stache1313 19h ago

I agree. Although I'm okay with the lawsuit after I saw Moon Channel's video about it. Supposedly Palworld is exempt from its plagiarism because it technically counts as a parody which is protected in both the US and Japan. And Nintendo wasn't interested in suing Palworld, until Sony partnered with them to create an new Pokemon style company.

Plus the more I learn about Palworld's creators, the less I trust them.

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u/LuckyBlockReddit 19h ago

Wait, so what did the developers do?

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u/stache1313 18h ago

For one, the studio has four games in early access, and none of them are close to being finished. With Sony buying Palworld I would imagine that they would want the game to be finished at least, instead of abandoning it.

The studio head has also talked about how coming up with new ideas is difficult and that he would rather just copy what's popular. Which I at least give him credit for his honesty.

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u/ZeeDarkSoul 21h ago

I was never against Palworld, but it did kind of annoy me how Palworld defenders, would ignore the strikingly similarities the game has in designs and mechanics.

Like yeah it wasnt copy and paste, but it obviously isnt some completely uniquely thought game, and the pal designs take HEAVY inspiration from Pokemon. You really cant say they didnt.

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u/CrescentShade 18h ago

it was an insult to the creature collector genre with the most banal derivative designs possible getting propped up as the greatest thing ever while many other games *actually* in the genre with actually good monster designs just get ignored

everyone clamoring over it because "competition for Pokemon" clearly never cared about the genre in the first place

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u/Findict_52 22h ago

Not so much defense, more like "uhh, yeah, things cost money, inflation exists, welcome to the real world", and I can't disagree honestly. People gotta use an inflation calculator on old games.

This meme does have real "too late, I drew you as the soy cuck and myself as the chad!" energy.

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u/ElmsVidsOff 21h ago

Anytime who has been a gaming adult for any length of time understands that, overall, gaming is cheaper than the past.

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u/smallfried 8h ago

PC games are so extremely cheap nowadays, that most gamers have too many games.

The meme during a steam sale is always that everyone's backlog is overflowing but they still buy new games because they're so cheap.

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u/Yohnavan 21h ago edited 21h ago

Definitely. The only "defense" I've seen is people reminding others that inflation exists and how many nes and snes games were $90+.Ā 

Hell, there is even a Simpsons clip from 30 years ago where Marge refuses to buy Bonestorm for Bart, citing how new games cost "upwards of ninety dollars"

"You reminded me inflation is real! Stop defending a billion dollar company. Ya'll are so brainwashed and cannot think for yourselves" - Guy who spent hundreds of hours online trying to tell people they were wrong for liking Tears of the Kingdom.

Of course, the solution for this new generation of gamers is to release the game for $30, then make a killing on in game transactions they are stupid enough to make. Then use the money from those transactions to actually finish the buggy game they releasedĀ 

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u/Thrasy3 20h ago

I assume along with the ā€œThere a no good games todayā€ crowd itā€™s mainly people too young to remember the snes and the days before YouTube(rs) existed.

I only bought a switch last year because was travelling and havenā€™t had a Nintendo since the N64 - but I was under the impression Nintendo still puts out quality, finished products.

I mean at least Iā€™ve never heard of the Nintendo equivalent of Anthem, Cyberpunk or Concord.

And Iā€™m part of the crowd that only buys games on discount when itā€™s packaged with DLC and the bugs have been fixed.

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u/RhynoD 19h ago

"Today they release half-finished games full of bugs and then spend years patching them to be playable!"

Yeah and 20 years ago they released half-finished games full of bugs and then didn't do shit to fix them. Because without the internet being as pervasive as it is now, they could sell out the game before word got around that it was shitty and not worth buying. Some of the most beloved games from that time are horrendously broken.

Doesn't make it ok for studios to release unfinished garbage today just because they can patch it to playable later. Just saying it was often shitty back then, too. Nintendo charging too much for their games isn't their fault, it's the fault of the political party that's been fighting against unions and raising the minimum wage and has been crashing the economy once a decade at least since I've been alive. Nothing wrong with pointing out to Nintendo that we can't afford these prices, but be mad at the people who are making wages stagnate.

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u/Thrasy3 19h ago

I dont believe I said anything like that? Unless you were adding to my comment ofc then nvm.

In fact Iā€™m personally glad patching exists, for the reason you state - Iā€™m usually the person questioning the very idea of ā€œgood old daysā€ without bugs.

My point was comparatively Nintendo seem (the context of my comment was asking for evidence to the contrary) to be putting out ā€œqualityā€ games and maybe thatā€™s partly because they always charge full price and donā€™t feel the need to rush things out and add microtransactions.

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u/RhynoD 19h ago

Sorry, I was agreeing with you and making a jab at the same people you were, because the same people who say "no good games today" are the ones complaining about buggy releases as if that's new. Apologies that I wasn't clear that we're on the same side šŸ™‚

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u/Izenthyr 14h ago

Wait until they learn wages havenā€™t kept up with inflation.

They wonā€™t because they donā€™t believe it

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u/House-of-Raven 21h ago

Also, comparatively, itā€™s still one of the cheapest forms of entertainment. You buy a movie ticket and it costs you $25-30 for an hour or two of entertainment. I bought BG3 for $80 and have 400 hours on it (so far) and will very much have more on it. That averages out to 20 cents for an hour of entertainment. Even factoring in a need for a console, $400-500 spread out over thousands of hours ends up being a cheap investment.

Iā€™m not defending Nintendo, they do lots of shady stuff and their controllers are shittily made these days. But the price of games these days isnā€™t entirely outrageous.

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u/A2Rhombus 19h ago

Yeah I imagine myself breaking 100 hours in Mario Kart, as far as I'm concerned $80 is a steal šŸ¤·

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u/DaaaahWhoosh 20h ago

This is something I run into with a lot of hobbies. Wanna play Warhammer 40k? Prepare to pay at least $500 for miniatures (even if you're 3d printing, still need to buy that printer). Wanna do historical swordfighting? Prepare to pay $1k for protective gear and a sword. I know people who like shooting and I'm just like, I already paid for a sword and I don't need to pay $20 to reload it. Hell, even in video gaming there's people who've dropped hundreds of dollars on gatcha games.

At the end of the day it's capitalism and it's economics. Companies will charge the price that will make them the most amount of money, if they charge less than that then scalpers will buy up their stock and resell at the 'correct' price, if they accidentally charge too much then they'll eventually be forced to bring prices back down, or go out of business.

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u/Loud_Interview4681 22h ago edited 22h ago

They no longer have to make and ship cartridges to distribute them. They just let you download said game. The margins are insanely large. Add in they not longer subsidize consoles and release a new one every few years... yea. also the technology isn't improving that much as we have reached a pretty big limit on screen size etc. No more big innovation to make graphics look perfect- it is just art style now and most of the games reuse what works.

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u/Itkillsmeinside 22h ago edited 22h ago

The hardware margins are insanely large, but how can you calculate the software costs? Software engineers aint cheap. Iā€™m not defending Iā€™m just understanding that its not free to sell video games. Iā€™m not buying an 80$ game.

80$ likely pays for around an hour of one engineers time, if that

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u/Loud_Interview4681 22h ago

When you sell a million copies and rent the development platform vs build it from the ground up as most games do now a days?

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u/Itkillsmeinside 21h ago

I swear Iā€™m not trying to justify this but youre not making a great argument, i can understand 1 million man-hours: building the game engine for a new console, building an expansive video game, polishing it, debugging and playtesting, marketing. I can see it. Nintendo doesnt release unfinished video games.

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u/muzlee01 22h ago

Considering that super mario bros 3 cost 70million+ to make (adjusted for inflation) I wouldn't be surprisd if the new game costs more.

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u/pablank 21h ago

They do. Looked it up for the discussions around this topic. Odyssey was around 50-100mil budget. The Switch Zeldas were apparently 100-150mil. Miyamoto once said, they'd need to sell at least 2mil copies to even make it out the red (x60-70$) with BotW. And that money needs to be spent before a single copy gets sold. Generally, we're talking $15'000 a month per developer on your staff + marketing + admin etc.

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u/Reapper97 21h ago edited 21h ago

Two million sales are still at indie range nowadays, AAA games get multiple times more than that, AC Odyssey sold 14 million and it wasn't that big of a hit.

BotW sold almost 33 million copies bro, Super Mario Odyssey 29 million, PokƩmon Sword and Shield 26 million....

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u/pablank 21h ago

Odyssey sold 14 million and it wasn't that big of a hit.

Super Mario Odyssey 29 million

That doesn't make sense, which one is it? My point was, that by his statement, we can estimate what the general ballpark of development cost was for those games, despite Nintendo being very secretive about their development cost in general. Didn't try to say anything about successfulness

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u/Reapper97 21h ago edited 21h ago

That doesn't make sense, which one is it?

The first one was Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

we can estimate what the general ballpark of development cost was for those games, despite Nintendo being very secretive about their development cost in general.

It is nowhere near the profit they make, my man, they made 1.7 BILLIONS from Super Mario Odyssey alone, that's 10x what Cyberpunk 2077 cost to develop; there's a reason they have been having record profits for years now.

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u/Few-Requirements 22h ago edited 19h ago

The margins are insanely large.

Pfft, that's a great joke.

Oh, you're serious.

I really want to see what "margin" you are specifically thinking of.

AAA game dev is one of the highest risk industries in the world. Games generate losses constantly. 2023 and 24 saw about 50'000 layoffs across the industry. With 1500 more in 2025.

One of the biggest game publishers in the world is on the brink of shuttering.

So please, be specific. What margins?

Edit: Go figure, the person I responded to mentioned nothing about "margins" and instead claimed "We have better tools, AI and Unreal Engine so games are easy and cheap to make now". What a fucking moron.

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u/theturtlemafiamusic 21h ago edited 21h ago

Mario Kart World is absolutely not a high risk release.

Mario Kart 8 made about 3 billion dollars on an estimated 100 million dollar budget.

Following your logic Mario Kart World should cost less than the average game, when it's actually more expensive than a riskier game they're releasing (Donkey Kong Banaza). The most recent Mario Kart (Tour) was also free to play.

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u/NazzerDawk 20h ago

Wouldn't it be sensible to put the higher price on the sure thing than on the game that seems far riskier? People WILL pay for Mario Kart. They won't pay a higher price for a 3D Donkey Kong.

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u/DrDiablo361 19h ago

The big releases like Mario Kart subsidize other games

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u/Castleprince 13h ago

No reason arguing with these people. They just think higher prices = bad. There's no logic about it.

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u/Bea-Billionaire 21h ago

You referring to Nintendo, the $80Billion company?

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u/Few-Requirements 21h ago

Microsoft and Sony's gaming divisions are among their smallest, and Nintendo's valuation is so low that Microsoft wanted to acquire them before buying Activision.

Which shows you how small the biggest games companies are.

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u/Minimonium 21h ago

AAA game dev is one of the highest risk industries in the world

Do you have a source for that?

The fact that some businesses make poor decisions is not a reflection of an industry. It doesn't make the industry "high risk" if they are bad at doing business.

The companies which take record profits are doing layoffs no less than companies which sabotaged their bottom line with poor investments.

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u/falcrist2 22h ago edited 20h ago

2023 and 24 saw about 50'000 layoffs across the industry. With 1500 more in 2025.

Corporations are just as likely to lay people off when they're making record profits. The more executives and shareholders are involved, the more likely that a major layoff will happen. Board of directors need their new yachts.

Watched it happen at companies like Blizzard for decades now. They'd hit a new record for revenue and still lay off hundreds of people from dev teams and customer service.

EDIT: Search the internet for something like blizzard record profit layoffs. You will see a VARIETY of articles from the 2010s and 2020s talking about each of the years where Blizz hit new records for profit and profit margins, and still laid off hundreds of people at a time.

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u/Few-Requirements 22h ago

These were not record profits.

Most of these layoffs happened because of low game and franchise sales.

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u/falcrist2 20h ago

These were not record profits.

Yes. They were seeing record profits. Literally more profit than in any previous years.

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u/Hades2580 21h ago

Yes there were you dumbass, layoff happened because ceos during the pandemic thought that the gaming/streaming boom would last forever, so they recruted a shit ton of people that are now costing them since gaming has regressed to usual levels of play, Multiple Gaming companies have recorded their best financial year of all-time last year. Youā€™re an idiot if you really think that

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u/Dovahkiinthesardine 20h ago

Nintendo doesnt reveal their development costs but their most expensive is breath of the wild, estimated to have cost 60-70 million USD

It sold 32 million units so at ~ 3$ per game they'd make money of a digital copy. There are obv some more costs like servers and a cut when sold through other stores and such but at 60 USD they obv made a shit ton of profits

Their other games mostly cost way less to make (e.g. mario kart, pokemon etc) while selling 67 million and 26 million respectively

The layoffs happened regardless of how much money the companies made, some of them had record profits, the main issue is the unpredictability of how successful a game will be, thats not an issue with Nintendos top franchises though

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u/Ketsu 16h ago edited 16h ago

I really want to see what "margin" you are specifically thinking of.

Nintendo had a 24.8% net profit margin as of Q3 this year.

The info's readily available; probably could've found it yourself if you weren't so busy being a cockhead.

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u/BearMethod 22h ago

It is not one of the highest risk industries in the world.

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u/Few-Requirements 22h ago

Financially, it is. It is extremely volatile and requires absurd upfront cost for the chance of generating revenue.

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u/UpperApe 21h ago

I love reading comments from redditors thinking they understand industries they have zero experience in lol

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u/Few-Requirements 21h ago

Funny because my resume has Rare, Guerilla and Epic on there. What about yours?

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u/UpperApe 21h ago

EA/Blackbird, Sony, Riot, ran my own personal studio, and retired early. Does that count?

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u/Doctor_Kataigida 21h ago

So you're both qualified to speak on the matter?

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u/ElmsVidsOff 21h ago

Hundreds of millions of dollars and 5 or so years before the project gets released?

It's not #1 riskiest but it sure as fuck is pretty high up.

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u/Loud_Interview4681 22h ago edited 21h ago

Losses due to better tools making game development easier. It wasn't unique to the gaming sector- everywhere the tech industry experienced layoffs. Things are getting better automated. Nintendo for 100% sure isn't struggling when even their bad games sell so well.

Edit: Lol guy posted and blocked, somehow thinks software development is a continuous process of reinventing the wheel. Libraries get more features, tools are made to make things easier. Whether a company reinvests that time into adding new features is up to the company, but things are getting more and more automated. Software engineers check google before creating something from the ground up.

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u/RelativeSubstantial5 20h ago

better automated. Nintendo for 100% sure isn't struggling when even their bad games sell so well.

Yes, because they are a low risk company that strives on giving you a product you will enjoy. That's the reason why the switch beat the other consoles. Becuase if you like Nintendo games you know for sure you'll get a product you're happy with.

Whether a company reinvests that time into adding new features is up to the company, but things are getting more and more automated. Software engineers check google before creating something from the ground up.

You mean like Unreal engine going from 1-5? So, yes, they are reinventing the wheel. You're so wrong on so many accounts that I don't understand how you think you're even remotely correct.

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u/mmf9194 21h ago

Things are getting better automated

0 industry knowledge detected

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u/Few-Requirements 22h ago edited 21h ago

Game development is not easier, and definitely not automated in the slightest.

In fact, methodology has only become harder over the last decade. Every new AI or procedural tool baked into programs like Painter3D, Houdini or Zbrush is half useful on implementation, and you have to learn 5 new optimization techniques to stay ahead.

Please take your head out your ass and clean the shit out of your eyes.

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u/SirCollin 16h ago

Lol yeah and I'm sure that game ai, complex animations, and high quality textures just make themselves with a click of a button!

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u/Casey_jones291422 18h ago

around fifteen to twenty people worked on Mario Kart 64, and adjusted to inflation it would cost right around $80 in todays money... how many people do you think worked on mario kart world?

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u/Reapper97 21h ago

Game devs are not the people who actually pocket billions of revenue and profit every year lil bro.

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u/Few-Requirements 21h ago

You understand that game publishers are still part of the game development industry, right? The term is catch-all to the main service.

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u/ElmsVidsOff 21h ago

"graphics can't get much better" has been a lie for decades

It's certainly not the truth now.

Also... ironic that you mention cartridges, because the Switch 2 games will absolutely be cartridge-based, just like the switch.

Nintendo games might but have to pay for retail space, but they are definitely still being manufactured.

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u/237throw 22h ago

Bro do you know what the cost of labor is for a well polished game?

The upfront cost is enormous.

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u/Loud_Interview4681 22h ago

They are no longer writing their own engines or coding said games in assembly. They use/rent etc said engine and work from there.

Compare:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_Nintendo_Switch_video_games

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_video_games_to_develop

Nintendo wasn't hurting at 50-60$ at all.

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u/f-ingsteveglansberg 21h ago

They are no longer writing their own engines or coding said games in assembly.

Depending on the game, Nintendo do use in house engines. It's been decades since anyone wrote anything in assembly. You really sound like you know a little and are acting like that means you know a lot.

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u/Only-Butterscotch785 22h ago

Nintendo most likely still write their own engines. And their games were only coded in assembly back when coding in assembly was easy. Writing 16/8bit assembly isnt some amazing ability, its just tedious. You can explain it to a university student in like 4 classes.

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u/Loud_Interview4681 22h ago

Sure, but they share them for all their games and output a ton of games. Writing assembly isn't easy. It is anything but - fewer tools doesn't mean the job is simpler. Things get complex quick when you are writing for specific hardware that may or may not change.

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u/akcrono 21h ago

They also add far more content to games than back when they were written in assembly. The time to develop games is much higher now, and that's with larger development teams.

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u/ElmsVidsOff 21h ago

Licensing the engine isn't that much of a cost-saver. The budgets and the up-from investment requirements have only gotten bigger. GTA 6 will literally cost over a billion to make

Yes, they'll definitely make a profit, but the barrier to entry is MASSIVELY bigger than any other entertainment industry.

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u/Digitalion_ 22h ago

Development costs are higher than ever. With the progression of technology, it takes more time and effort to take advantage of that extra power. This is especially true with Nintendo games who are specifically known for putting a "Nintendo polish" on all of their games. That polish doesn't come cheap. And this is despite their consoles being less powerful than other modern consoles, meaning they have to put additional resources into overcoming technological obstacles.

Now add in inflation and wage increases (in Japan where these games are being developed) into the equation and you start understanding why they need to raise prices on their games.

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u/Loud_Interview4681 22h ago

We have hit a pretty big soft cap in regards to game technology. Monitors only get so big. This isn't like the rush in the 2000's where every game had to push graphics boundaries to make sales. We have been at that point for a few years now. There is little desire or use in 8k+ monitors outside marketing. You just can't see it really unless said monitor is massive. Game engines are rented vs developed for the game by the studio.

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u/Reapper97 21h ago

The market has expanded way more than costs have, an average PokƩmon game gets over 20 million sales...

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u/Money_Echidna2605 21h ago

meanwhile 1 dude made stardew valley. pretty obvious u can make games that sell for less and then use the income to fund big games that are risky. or u can ignore that for ur shit argument defending huge companies making millions off u.

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u/hiddenpoint 22h ago

The production and distribution costs of those cartridges are pennies in the bucket compared to the actual development costs, there's a reason the switch to digital hasn't really impacted the cost of games meaningfully.

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u/Gizoogler314 21h ago

Itā€™s a video game, not a life saving drug, food, housing, or something that impacts your wellbeing

There is no margin that is immoral on a video game

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u/BLSS_Noob 22h ago

Back then the market wasn't so large that's why they were more expensive, more consumers menat lower prices. Now they just want to push the boundaries and make more money, idk how people can defend large companies like Nintendo at all.

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u/TheBigness333 22h ago

The markets growing is why games havenā€™t gone up in price for 20 years. That growth is slowing down and the 60$ is no longer sustainable.

Also, it doesnā€™t matter anyway because if people will pay more for a product, thatā€™s what the product costs.

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u/11711510111411009710 21h ago

Can you show me that the $60 is unsustainable for Nintendo, super giant multi billion dollar corporation?

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u/TheBigness333 20h ago

No. I explained why the industry is shifting its prices. Just reread my post if you need the information again.

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u/11711510111411009710 20h ago

And your explanation is faulty. Does Nintendo need to raise its prices? Did the staff suddenly stop getting paid?

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u/TheBigness333 20h ago

Yes. They need to AND want to. Because theyā€™re a business. Their entire existence is to make money, not give cheap toys to people whining on the internet.

They have an obligation to their business and to grow their market and brand, lest they stagnate and decline. Thatā€™s what businesses HAVE to do to survive. They arenā€™t worried about NEETs and their inability to not spend $20 extra on games they canā€™t stop themselves from buying.

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u/11711510111411009710 20h ago

They don't need to, but they do want to. Are they not making billions right now?

Do you want to have a conversation or are you just here to troll and ignore the point?

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u/TheBigness333 17h ago

its both. they're a business so they want more revenue. Countless luxury products have massive profit margins.

Being rich doesn't obligate them to give you cheap products. Lamborghini's net worth is in the billions, that doesn't mean they own you cheap luxury vehicles. Sony is worth 150 billion. They aren't obligated to sell you cheaper anything.

Do you want to have a conversation or are you just here to troll and ignore the point?

Asking this makes you more of a troll than me. You pretending to not get the most simple and basic concepts of business and finance makes you a troll. The fact that you're getting smug that you have to pay $20 extra for a toy makes you a troll.

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u/RelativeSubstantial5 19h ago

So you think that companies should not give raises to their employees to combat inflation? Because that's what you're saying lmao.

https://en.as.com/meristation/2023/02/08/news/1675888328_490410.html

Sounds to me like they are. You're the one that sounds like you don't understand basic global economics.

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u/El_Giganto 21h ago

the 60$ is no longer sustainable

They've been so profitable the past few years, what makes you think this is unsustainable?

Higher prices don't necessarily lead to higher revenues or profit either. We'll see how sustainable this new price is if people aren't buying enough games.

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u/TheBigness333 20h ago

You can still be profitable and pricing can be unsustainable.

And everyone said the same thing when games went to 60$. People will still buy their games, including 90% of the shitposters here. Blame the all the consumers for the price.

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u/El_Giganto 20h ago

How can something profitable be unsustainable?

Can you give an actual answer this time?

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u/RelativeSubstantial5 19h ago

Because inflation exists and isn't a fictional thing like half other redditors here like to pretend it is. You need to give your employees raises to combat CoL as well.

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u/El_Giganto 19h ago

Their profits have increased in recent years. You can't just ignore that like the other half of redditors who act like they understand the economy but actually are clueless.

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u/BLSS_Noob 22h ago

Tell me how 60$ isn't sustainable. They would probably still make a shit load of profit. These price increases are just ridiculous.

If you just account for inflation, the games would cost around 75$ for physical games but wages don't grow with inflation so Nintendo will make even larger profits since they probably pay a shit wage to their workers so their development cost won't be that much higher than a few years ago.

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u/TheBigness333 22h ago

Easy. Companies saw the cost of everything increase, so they increase the price of the product.

Youā€™re just insisting prices shouldnā€™t change and that video games should be the exception from every other industry. Inflation isnā€™t a 1 to 1 math equation. Games are more expensive than ever to make, and the teams making them are more massive than ever. Games are also more global than ever, and the cost of marketing, advertising and distributing to more countries costs more. All This one top of the growth of games sale slowing.

I get youā€™re annoyed that things cost more. But youā€™re wrong that it shouldnā€™t be happening. It is what it is. Itā€™s a part of life and how the luxury products industry works. There isnā€™t some great evil being committed here.

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u/ZeeDarkSoul 20h ago

Honestly, people just expect things to stay the same price forever?

And its funny, because most of these people in 2 months will buy the Switch 2 anyway. I mean look at PS5, they raised game prices, people complained, and then guess what? People bought them anyway

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u/balatro-mann 22h ago

it's less defending the company and moreso expressing general annoyance at gamers who throw a fit everytime nintendo does a totally expected fuck up.

like there are people genuinely surprised that a console in 2025 is 450 bucks, and i'm not allowed to point fingers at them? nintendo fans are notorious for setting themselves up with horrid expectations and being upset when they're ultimately not met.

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u/ElmsVidsOff 21h ago

And the blatant inconsistency of the complaints.

How many of these people happily buy, and re-buy PlayStations?

When you factor in inflation, Sony has NEVER released a console this cheap (handheld don't count).

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u/Ghosts_lord 22h ago

the fact its the "real world" (pretty much a shitty one) doesnt mean its a good thing

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u/Justtounsubscribee 22h ago

No one is saying itā€™s a good thing, but crying about it constantly on the internet is really annoying. If $80 is too much, donā€™t buy the game. If you buy the game, then $80 was not too much. Itā€™s really not that hard.

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u/RubiiJee 22h ago

I'm honestly so so so bored of this. Like so bored. The thing is, most of the complaining is coming from people who have no interest in buying the game. It's just yet another example of the unfiltered Reddit gamer rage. Bored.

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u/Justtounsubscribee 22h ago

I think a lot of it is from teenagers who are going to buy the game anyway and really chafe at the extra $10. Also, Steam Deck guys who think there is a non-zero market of people cross-shopping a Switch 2 with a Steam Deck.

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u/ElmsVidsOff 21h ago

A lot of it is from young people who are relatively new to paying for their own stuff and DEFINITELY haven't been through any of the price increases before.

Anyone applying logic and numbers understands that, while annoying, it's perfectly reasonable.

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u/SmilingCurmudgeon 22h ago

Itā€™s really not that hard.

You're right. It's not. People are pissed that they're being priced out of something they used to enjoy.

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u/iDrinkRaid 20h ago

How many games do you fucking buy that 20 bucks extra per game is pricing you out of the hobby???

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u/SaltyArchea 19h ago

It is same as people complaining, that there are no good/original movies anymore. Dude, shop around, so many great games that are dirt cheap. Hell, game pass is like one Nintendo game in a year and you have hundreds of games to chose from.

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u/Urnotsmartmoron 21h ago edited 20h ago

Breath of the Wild was 80$ on launch inflation adjusted. If 10$ is pricing you out, you have bigger problems

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u/Life_Ad_7715 22h ago

I'm glad it's annoying. Them pricing an entire class of people out of the hobby is much worse

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u/Steelers711 21h ago

It's non Nintendo doing that, it's the general economy doing that. Be mad at the people screwing up the economy or the people not paying better wages. Video games are a luxury product that costs a ton to make. Yes it sucks when prices go up but it's not like Nintendo is just deciding to increase it for no reason. Inflation has been massive the past 5 years

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u/akcrono 21h ago

It takes fewer hours of work for you to buy an $80n game in 2025 than it was to buy regularly priced games at almost any point in history. If anything, fewer people are priced out now.

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u/Life_Ad_7715 21h ago

No it doesnt? You're just lying now.

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u/concblast 21h ago

Fuck Nintendo and their pricing as a whole of course, but this argument is ridiculous.

While no one likes prices going up, is an extra $20, or "3 games for the price of 4 on the switch 1", on a platform that costs $500 up front really pricing an entire class of people out of a hobby?

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u/ZeeDarkSoul 21h ago

No one is happy to pay more genius

But we arent going to complain about something that is naturally going to happen. Inflation is a thing, its not surprising companies want to adjust for inflation. I am honestly surprised we havent seen MORE price hikes in gaming. Its a luxury they arent going to make it affordable to everyone

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u/TheBigness333 22h ago

Itā€™s a neutral thing.

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u/DrScience01 22h ago

The whole "inflation exist" is moot when the wages are still the exact same

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u/AaronsAaAardvarks 22h ago

Development costs are not the same. Manufacturing costs may have gone down, but games in the mid 90s cost had far smaller, cheaper teams. Games today are like Hollywood movies.

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u/RubiiJee 22h ago

GTA6 has what, a two billion budget? Game expectations are high. Even by inflation standards, they should be priced at around 130. Games used to be 70 when I was a kid. All this is is people who don't understand economics or the industry having a meltdown and then when you try correct them or explain some logic behind it they start foaming at the mouth about shills and bootlickers. You can't have a normal conversation any more. Everything is either you're with me or against me. Gamers are exhausting.

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u/SmilingCurmudgeon 21h ago

GTA6 has what, a two billion budget?

Wow that's crazy. If Wikipedia's page on the most expensive games to develop is anything near accurate, that puts GTA6 at twice as expensive as the next most expensive ever developed. Wonder how that cost compares to the cost of, say, porting Tropical Freeze to another system?

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u/11711510111411009710 21h ago

It's not people who don't understand economics. It's people who understand economics, and understand that gaming is the most profitable industry in the world, and understand that Nintendo stands at the top of that industry and does not actually need to raise prices.

What is this disingenuous take I keep seeing that people don't understand that inflation exists? That's such a ridiculous take. That's exactly why this is an issue. Everything is more expensive, and the companies that can handle it, like Nintendo, are also making their products more expensive. People simply don't want to spend money on only foodā€”they like playing video games, so they're allowed to be upset that the greed of a corporation is making that harder.

Nintendo can handle the inflation. If this was some small indie dev, it would actually be fine, but that's not who it is. It's Nintendo.

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u/Excellent_Egg5882 15h ago

It's not people who don't understand economics. It's people who understand economics, and understand that gaming is the most profitable industry in the world, and understand that Nintendo stands at the top of that industry and does not actually need to raise prices.

Aka you don't understand economics. "Need" has nothing to do with it. This is profit optimization.

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u/Hades2580 21h ago

Use your own logic for a second, Mario Kart did not cost 2b dollars yet it is still gonna be the most costly game of the generation so far ? Shy is the Company that has the lowest budget per AAA games gonna have the priciest games ? Why does Nintendo makes you pay for your own Internet via pair-pair connection ?

Itā€™s so easy to brush over those question by saying ā€œmuh economicsā€ and acting exactly like the people you describe.

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u/MattR0se 22h ago

https://www.statista.com/statistics/200838/median-household-income-in-the-united-states/

It's stagnating since 2019, but before that it made a pretty high jump from 2014. Meanwhile, video games already cost $60 in 2014, so for someone with a median income, a $80 game is still as cheap today as a $60 game in 2014.

Now, for a truly rigorous comparison you would have to factor in all other expenses as well, because video games are a luxury item, while rent and food are not. Maybe someone else can look into those statistics?

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u/Yamabikio 22h ago

I don't really think anyone is saying it doesn't suck for the consumer. It's not really Nintendo's fault that wages are stagnant. I personally would like for the price of games to be relative to how much time and effort goes into them. I'm fine with paying more for games that they take a few more years to make and polish.

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u/DrScience01 22h ago

And BG3 cost 60 dollars with the amount of time and care to create the game. I'll assure you, you will spend more time in bg3 than any other Nintendo game

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u/Yamabikio 22h ago

Yeah I think a lot (most?) of Nintendo games are overpriced. I guarantee a lot of the $80 games don't belong at that price point. The PokƩmon games definitely don't.

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u/DrScience01 22h ago

And the fact that Nintendo doesn't lower the price of games that came out years ago is pretty shitty practice

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u/Yamabikio 22h ago

It's pretty inconvenient for us, but if people are still paying that price I don't see why they would stop. Same thing for them pumping out low quality PokƩmon games every year.

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u/ElmsVidsOff 21h ago

I see you've never played Animal Crossing

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u/akcrono 21h ago

[citation missing]

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u/GlitteringStatus1 22h ago

You have every right to be mad about wages being stagnant, but, that is not Nintendo's fault or problem. You are angry at unchecked capitalism.

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u/TheBigness333 22h ago

Consumers Wanting cheaper toys is unchecked capitalism, too.

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u/eltroeltro 22h ago

A participant of the system could still have a human soul. They just don't.

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u/GlitteringStatus1 22h ago

They can not. Publicly traded companies are required to maximise their profits or they will get sued by their shareholders.

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u/mapledude22 21h ago

Glances at TSLA

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u/GlitteringStatus1 21h ago

I mean, I guess it's always an option to have completely deranged shareholders.

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u/eltroeltro 20h ago edited 19h ago

Glances at digital extreme.

Glances at Larian Studios, who made a game of higher quality than 90% of AAA. With NO dlcs

Glances at Helldivers 2 at 40$ and extremely fair microtransactions.

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u/DrScience01 22h ago

Nintendo is still part of the unchecked capitalism

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u/GlitteringStatus1 22h ago

Sure, but they neither can nor particularly want to do anything about that. That is up to the rest of us.

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u/DrScience01 22h ago

Yes. Don't buy any Nintendo games until they lower the price

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u/mapledude22 21h ago

Wait, you canā€™t boycott Nintendo! Itā€™s just inflation bro

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u/Annie_Yong 22h ago

But they're not still the exact same. US average and median wage values have both risen by about 37% since 2017 for example.

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u/muzlee01 22h ago

Moot your ass. That is literally what inflation means. If prices go up and so does the wages then the prices didn't go up.

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u/Lehk 21h ago

Wages are not the same, not anywhere in the US

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u/Ok-Bug-5271 21h ago

But wages aren't the same, wages have kept pace with inflation. When people say wages are stagnating, they mean post inflationĀ 

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u/Digitalion_ 22h ago

Nintendo develops their games in Japan. Their wages are not stagnant. People keep looking at this from a very US-centric angle only.

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u/Kindly-Eagle6207 22h ago

People keep looking at this from a very US-centric angle only.

Real median wages are up in the US so people looking at it from a US only angle are just as stupid.

Further proof of said stupidity is the number of idiots that are going to respond to this comment without understanding what the word "real" means.

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u/DrScience01 22h ago

Because they are selling it at US perspective prices. The switch 2 and games cost significantly less in japan than other countries

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u/PlaquePlague 22h ago

Donā€™t bother getting into this discussion with Redditors. Ā The people who will engage with you are either NEETs living with their parents or single guys earning in the top 10% at their IT job. Ā Either way, you wonā€™t be talking to someone who engages with the economic realities of the world like an average person, and whatever position they are espousing will be 100% dictated by whatever particular brain-rotted polarized filter bubble theyā€™ve been sorted into.Ā 

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u/RockTheBloat 22h ago

Wages aren't still the exact same. You have no point to make.

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u/Pakushy 21h ago

puts on devil's advocate glasses

paying 80 dollar for a high quality piece of media that hundreds, if not thousands of dedicated artist worked on for years is not that weird. I mean, furry commissions go by 100$+ and they are much less effort than a new mario kart. the issue is just that many AAA games are not worth 60 dollar, let alone 80. Nintendo is one of the few developers who can get away with this shit, because their games are (mostly) consistently good. pricing them that high leaves a bitter impression, even if the games are worth 80 bucks.

Keep in mind the switch 2 itself is going to be around half as expensive as the PS5 and actually have games. It's still scummy and greedy, but much less so than many people claim. Nintendo is a company. They want (and need) to make money.

And despite Nintendo online being a fucking joke (rip anyone trying to play the Duskbloods multiplayer), putting Gamecube games on the switch 2 is FUCKING based.

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u/Oromis107 22h ago

It's actually so crazy. You don't have to go far back either. If Mario Kart 8 was $60 in 2014, then inflation says it should be $80 in 2025.

Whether or not Nintendo scales their developer's salaries is another matter worth further research, but generally speaking, don't we want companies to be able to pay their developers well? Game companies get their money from games. If we as consumers expect to pay 2014 prices, then game companies can only afford to pay developers 2014 salaries.

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u/11711510111411009710 21h ago

Inflation doesn't say anything should be priced at anything. The company looks at various factors and decides on the cost. They can almost definitely sell these games at $60 and make a profit. I've never seen Nintendo's numbers but they're a multi billion dollar corporation. They would be fine.

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u/maxdragonxiii 22h ago

I do agree and with the Switch 2 specs being close to PS4 Pro (which honestly is a huge upgrade from the OG Switch) the price is a bit high for my Canadian ass, but realistically I don't need it now. I may be getting it in a year or two later like the usual or near the end of the lifecycle as i did generations before the Switch.

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u/Legal_Weekend_7981 22h ago

Internet arguments themselves don't matter. If people won't buy games for 80$, the devs won't sell games for 80$ regardless of inflation.

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u/concblast 22h ago

Games that cost $60 back in 2005 would cost $120, I really don't care if big games cost $80 today.

That said... a lot of Nintendo games don't justify AAA pricing and they pretend a 4 year old game deserves release price. At least Sony/MS ran their greatest/platinum hits later in a game's cycle.

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u/SuperBackup9000 22h ago

100%. OP is fighting ghosts because they subscribe to the thinking of ā€œif youā€™re not actively attacking this, that means youā€™re defending itā€

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u/pragmaticzach 21h ago

I just don't really care? It either works out for Nintendo and they were right, or it doesn't. People will either pay the price, or they won't.

There's nothing to defend here, in my eyes. If you don't like the price, don't buy it. If enough people agree, Nintendo will have to react.

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u/milf-hunter_5000 18h ago

its not a defense of nintendo for me. its a matter of common sense. inflation has an impact on everything, but gamers seem to think games should only ever cost $60.

it would be a fairer conversation if we knew the actual cost of games translated to a paycheck for the people who deserve it, but we all know the people at the top get richer while they cut costs and people.

but think about it, games should cost about $100. they don't, so you're getting fleeced with dlc and battle passes to try and claw the other $40 at least out of you.

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u/Cyclonitron 21h ago

Not so much a defense more of a, "wow, I'm surprised it took until now". I'm an older gamer. When I was 11, I bought the original Final Fantasy for $39.99. That's the equivalent of ~$97 today. I'm frankly amazed game prices have been so resistant to general inflation for so long.

Here's where I will get indignant: I'm sure this price hike will be followed by the industry as a whole, so $80 games will be the norm, but microtransactions won't go away. I don't buy games with microtransactions, but fuck them for existing anyway.

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u/Metal__goat 22h ago edited 16h ago

I'll criticize them for never putting games on sale, even a decade later! But, It's almost to the penny with (US) inflation.

49.99 AAA game in 2004 comes to $86.

If 80 is too much then don't buy it, wait for a used copy at your local game store.

Not buying stuff is voting with your money, if their sales take a hit, shit will come down.

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u/Longjumping-Crazy564 22h ago edited 22h ago

I "defend" it because I, as a consumer with a functioning brain, can simply choose not to buy a luxury good if I deem it not worth my money.

Admittedly I only got a B in my high school economics class over 20 years ago, and never want to college, so it's entirely possible I simply don't understand any of this.

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u/labree0 22h ago

And we, as consumers, can also complain about the pricing.

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u/Tricky-Statement-395 22h ago

CongratulationsĀ 

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u/labree0 18h ago

Thank you

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u/Constant-Parsley3609 22h ago

and nobody is taking that right away from you.

You can complain about any aspect of a game or a company, but other people are allowed to think you're melodramatic for doing so.

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u/labree0 18h ago

I never said anyone was taking that away from me. It's more melodramatic to assume that I was because I made a one line comment

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u/StaraptorLover19 16h ago

And OTHER people are allowed to think you're the subject of the meme for doing so

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u/McMorgatron1 21h ago

Yeah I'm the same.

I can afford it, and it looks fun, so I will buy it.

If it didn't look fun or worth the money, I wouldn't buy it.

Simple.

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u/Constant-Parsley3609 22h ago

Exactly. If you're so hooked on Nintendo that you NEED to buy the new mario kart, then it sounds like Nintendo is more than justified in increasing the price.

Hell, if it's really unthinkable to you that you'd simply not buy mario kart this time, then maybe the price should be even higher than it is.

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u/h0t_gril 13h ago

If someone complains about the price of Mario Kart, it's probably because they're buying Mario Kart, thus contributing to proving Nintendo's pricing.

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u/OwnLadder2341 21h ago

Defending? No.

Understanding? Sure.

Games are still dirt cheap compared to what they used to be for far more content.

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u/stprnn 22h ago

Have you ever been in a Nintendo sub?

It's pathetic.

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u/ZantaraLost 21h ago

Not really defending it persay. But you take in global inflation the new price is comparable to where most of the Big Three have priced their games in the past.

It kinda sucks everyone's getting dragged into a self inflicted global recession right now but it would not surprise me if Xbox & Sony have been debating this price point for some time as well.

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u/Constant-Parsley3609 22h ago

There's nothing to defend. There's no specific price that a game is supposed to be. That's entirely up to the company to decide.

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u/okcup 22h ago

Theyā€™re just setting expectations before the tariffs hit

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u/GetEquipped 22h ago

I didn't think it was too bad since I remember the N64 game cartridges costing like 50-60 bucks in the 90s.

Yeah, a bit high on release, but I'll pay a premium for physical media instead of a piece of cardboard with a redemption code.

I was called a fanboy, but I'm still gonna wait for the price to drop

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u/ThatCoolBritishGuy 22h ago

Yes. Seen it with my own eyes and it was ridiculous

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u/Hades2580 21h ago

Absolutely, on the switch subreddit I argued that Iā€™m not gonna 40$ for GameCube games that I can play better on emulators and they said, that Nintendo could sue me and that emulation was illegal

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u/Nyazoo 21h ago

I gotta be honest, I am one of those people. I want them to pay the devs really well, all of them, not just some. I can't say I know if they do, but more expensive games could translate. We won't really know until we hear from the devs themselves though, not that I think they would ever tell us how much they make exactly. If the profits are only going to the company, that depresses me.

My reasoning, I pay $20 for an hour movie ticket usually, $30 for a pizza, or even $60 for Doordash. Game prices seem low in comparison to how much time and enjoyment I get out of it.

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u/f-ingsteveglansberg 21h ago

Console price isn't bothering people so much. Game prices have people annoyed.

I haven't seen people defend it because it's Nintendo. But I have seen people, not quite defend it, but say it has been a long time coming with inflation, production costs ballooning, etc.

So I haven't seen anyone sensible say "Hey, leave Nintendo alone, they can charge what they want" but I have seen people say "Welp, end of an era. The writing was on the wall about this for a while. Guess it's finally catching up with us".

But mostly I've seen fans just be annoyed.

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u/Valid_Username_56 21h ago

The point has been made that $80 today equals $60 some years ago.

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u/FlatOutUseless 21h ago

Have you checked inflation lately?

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u/ImNotSkankHunt42 21h ago

Yes, thereā€™s always been and will. Nintendo fanboys are a special breed, Sonyā€™s may have intercourse with their consoles but Nintendoā€™s are exactly this meme personified.

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u/MyUltIsMyMain 21h ago

People are attacking Nintendo for a problem they didn't cause. In the USA the economy is fucked by the current government and everything is more expensive. We should be rallying against them for fucking up our shit not the individual companies that have to price things according to it.

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u/Mean-Effective7416 21h ago

Real person here. Probably getting perceived as defending Nintendo specifically, more just pointing out that this was inevitable. When a product gets more and more expensive to create, and you run out of distribution overhead to cut, the options are grind the people making it to dust, or charge more for it. If games kept up with inflation youā€™d already be paying $120 for them. Also earthbound was $80 at launch on the fucking NES.

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