The $20-30 difference isn't bc of the convenience of digital, it's bc you get the game and the console at the same time. In that sense, pack-ins being digital has been standard since the PS3/360.
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I never said the price difference is because of the convenience of digital. My point has always been that Nintendo is offering such a discounted digital game bundle to get people into the digital marketplace. And bundle consoles at launch has been rare. The OG Switch didn't launch with one.
jul 23, 2025, 5:53 pm • 0 0 • view
Including a digital game with a console isn't new. Every console since the 7th Gen has done it. I doubt a physical game bundle would cost any different.
jul 23, 2025, 6:05 pm • 0 0 • view
At launch? And with such a significant discount? And again, you are missing the forest for the trees. Nintendo deliberately did a digital only bundle that was $30 cheaper. Why? Especially given MarioKart World is almost a guaranteed seller.
jul 23, 2025, 6:28 pm • 0 0 • view
I'll grant that the bundle being day-and-date with the game, and the bundle costing more than the base console are different, but I'm saying that's all that's different from any other time there's been a game bundled with a console, which have been routinely digital since digital became a thing.
jul 23, 2025, 6:49 pm • 0 0 • view
I feel like that is saying this is no different from the typical case if you ignore all the things that make it different from the typical case. Those differences plus the game key card nonsense is a lot of evidence that Nintendo is trying to get more people to buy into their digital market.
jul 23, 2025, 7:42 pm • 0 0 • view
And I agree digital bundles have existed for awhile, but those bundles are also trying to lock you into the market. It is just not as bad because usually they arrive later in the console cycle and that the discount is not that large (or you have physical sale prices).
jul 23, 2025, 7:44 pm • 0 0 • view
So how does a one-time discount on a digital game (new) with a console mean they're done with physical? It's possible to have just one digital game.
jul 23, 2025, 9:01 pm • 0 0 • view
I never said they are done with physical, even if they want to. I said they are trying to get people into their digital market. I think this plus the game key card stuff is pretty strong evidence of that view. Then add in the trend Xbox and Sony are trying to shift their customers into all digital.
jul 23, 2025, 9:51 pm • 0 0 • view
I mean the consumer, not the company. Getting one (1) digital game for less with your console is not going to get people to go all-digital, no matter how new of a release it is.
jul 23, 2025, 10:40 pm • 0 0 • view
I already said this before, but it is about getting them in the door. Nintendo messed up all the online account stuff pre-Switch. Switch they made things better, but Switch 2 is where they are really pushing it. And again, you are ignoring game key cards, which also push to digital.
jul 23, 2025, 10:49 pm • 0 0 • view
And the reason I think the $30 premium view for physical benefits works in this case is because this was literally the launch console and the only first-party Nintendo title. Pretty much everyone who gets a Switch 2 at launch is getting MarioKart World.
jul 23, 2025, 5:56 pm • 0 0 • view