Later this year, the Nintendo Switch OLED will go on sale, and apparently Sony will be "closely monitoring" the system's sales with great interest. In a report from The Japan Times, Ace Research Institute analyst Hideki Yasuda says that Sony is very interested in Nintendo's pricing strategy for the new model. The Nintendo Switch OLED will launch for $50 more than the current version of the system, despite offering few improvements over the model that's been out for four years. Yasuda claims that this "could set a precedent for charging more across the industry," if the Switch OLED performs well for Nintendo.

It's not unprecedented for Nintendo to release new models for its platforms after a few years. While the company's consoles tend to remain the same, its handhelds have frequently seen upgrades, including the "New Nintendo 3DS." As Nintendo Life mentions however, it is unusual to see a price increase for a console after several years on the market, as opposed to a price drop. Meanwhile, Sony has also been known to offer new models for its hardware, but typically at a lower price point. If the reporting is accurate, Sony could make a similar move for a more expensive PlayStation 5, at some point.

It will be interesting to see how the Switch OLED performs, regardless of Sony's interest in the platform! While the Switch OLED isn't quite the "Switch Pro" that many were expecting to see, the prospect of a better, brighter screen certainly seems promising for those that predominantly use the system in handheld mode. Whether or not that will result in strong sales is hard to say, but the Switch has been nothing short of a massive success for Nintendo. Even if most players don't want to upgrade their consoles, it stands to reason that the majority of newcomers will spend an extra $50 to get a superior version of the hardware.

Of course, even if the Switch OLED is successful, it's hard to say whether or not this would be indicative of a new trend for the industry; just because it works for Nintendo, it doesn't mean it will work for other console manufacturers. For now, we'll just have to wait and see what happens!



Posted: Jul 20, 2021 5:30 pm
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/playstation-nintendo-switch-oled-sales-ps5-model/