Two former employees of Nintendo America, Kit Elis and Krista Yang, explain in a podcast the philosophy of Nintendo and why the company’s games are so rarely available at a lower price.
This is the situation: PC gamers know: On Steam, hardly any game is sold at full price. You just have to wait a few weeks, and games are discounted by 20%, 40%, or even more during one of the 343 alternating sales.
But Nintendo games are rarely or never discounted during a sale. Most of the time, you have to bite the bullet and pay full price.
Two former marketing leads from Nintendo have now explained why.
Who are the insiders?
- Kit Elis was with Nintendo for 13 years, ending as Director of Social Media Marketing.
- Krista Yang was even with Nintendo for 14 years, reaching the position of Senior Manager of Creator Relations.
So, these are two people who know how Nintendo operates.
At Nintendo, the price is the price
This is what the insiders say about Nintendo’s pricing philosophy: In an episode of their podcast on YouTube, the two Nintendo insiders share that influencers often asked them to get Nintendo games to test or give away. But when they took these ideas to their superiors, they often had to listen to a long sermon.
Nintendo’s motto is: Value is value.
Products from Nintendo have enormous value. We must always respect this enormous value. That’s why these products never go on sale. Value is value, and we take the concept of “honoring the value” of what we do very seriously because it is something special.
Elis jokes: “We’re not at Ubisoft” and laughs.
Nintendo fans know: If I want a game, I don’t need to wait for a sale
What does this mean for customers? Krista Yang explains that since every Nintendo fan knows the games don’t go on sale, the fan is conditioned to the idea. If I want the game, I might as well buy it at full price because it won’t be cheaper in a sale.
Fans pay the Nintendo tax
Is that justified? For the two Nintendo insiders, it apparently is. They talk about a “Nintendo tax.”
Many other full-price titles are rubbish, but Nintendo games have the quality, dedication, and polish that justify the price: Therefore, one must also emphasize the premium quality and underscore this premium status through pricing: That’s why the pricing model of the Nintendo Switch 2 is even worse than you think
