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Any ideas why Overcooked 2 physical is 10$ more expensive on Switch than on PS4/XB1?

John Konstantin

John Konstantin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,250
Spain
I was checking close releases for Switch on Amazon and I've just noticed than Overcooked 2 costs 39.99 $ on Switch and only 29.99 $ on PS4/XB1, that's a 33% price increase on Switch. But if you buy the game digital, price is 24,99 $ on all plattforms (PS4, XB1, Switch, Steam). We already knew than the big Switch carts are more expensive than a blu-ray (the infamous Switch tax), but IIRC people speculated than the price of a 8 GB Switch cart was around the same as a PS4/XB1 blu-ray. Overcooked 2 size doesn't even reach 2 GB, so either past speculation was at least partially wrong and there are more factors heavily involved in a Switch cart cost than just the size or Ghost Town Games and Team17 are charging 10$ more because they can.
 
Alex840

Alex840

Member
Oct 31, 2017
5,120
Because the developers think they can get away with it. So far, it seems that developers are able to charge more on Switch, especially for physical games, and it not affect sales.
 
Shodan14

Shodan14

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
9,410
Switch users are obviously willing to pay more. Shows the power and reach of the system.
 
Ossom

Ossom

Member
Oct 31, 2017
821
edit. didn't read full OP.

I guess if people are generally doing it then other will follow regardless of whether the actual cart cost requires it.
 
darthpaxton

darthpaxton

Member
Jun 20, 2018
1,697
Shodan14 said:
Switch users are obviously willing to pay more. Shows the power and reach of the system.
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It doesn't show the power and reach of the system. It shows the difference in the cost of physical media for the device and how antiquated Nintendo's thinking can be. Overcooked 2 is from an indie developer who can't afford to buy physical media (especially the Switch's expensive cartridges) in bulk for a discount. This is just another way Nintendo is short-changing indie developers with the Switch. More information is available here.
 

Deleted member 7044

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
386
Just Team 17 being shit.

They did the same thing with Yoku's Island Express recently despite that game being about 1.5GB in size.
 
J-Skee

J-Skee

The Wise Ones
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,110
$10 more on Switch, huh? I know the Switch version has some exclusive characters, but is there any other reason to grab it over the other console versions, other than the obvious portability?
 

Fonst

Member
Nov 16, 2017
7,070
I imagine it does cost a bit more to make a custom plastic cart than a bluray disc but doubt it is $10 difference. Maybe the extra five is the Switch case?

I mean Xbone & PS4 are both discs and have the same size discs, I could see that streamlining the process and price a bit.
 
Jade1962

Jade1962

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
4,259
Probably has to do more with the how many carts they can afford to buy. Also publishers get a percentage of a retail sale so them adding $10 doesn't mean they are taking home all $10. That difference probaly gets them to the same level of profitability of the PS4/X1 skus.
 
Shodan14

Shodan14

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
9,410
darthpaxton said:
It doesn't show the power and reach of the system. It shows the difference in the cost of physical media for the device and how antiquated Nintendo's thinking can be. Overcooked 2 is from an indie developer who can't afford to buy physical media (especially the Switch's expensive cartridges) in bulk for a discount. This is just another way Nintendo is short-changing indie developers with the Switch. More information is available here.
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Why can't they sell it online only then?
 
dragonflys545

dragonflys545

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,419
New York
Because it's perfect for Switch... /s

I think it's because Switch owners will buy it regardless. Also indie games now have a much harder time selling on other consoles.
 
Wamb0wneD

Wamb0wneD

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
18,735
Fonst said:
I imagine it does cost a bit more to make a custom plastic cart than a bluray disc but doubt it is $10 difference. Maybe the extra five is the Switch case?

I mean Xbone & PS4 are both discs and have the same size discs, I could see that streamlining the process and price a bit.
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Yoku's Island express was 1.5 GB big. They still charged more. I can assure you that a 2 GB card doesn't cost 5 or more bucks to produce. Team 17 is just being greedy.
 

Alcibiades

Banned
Feb 3, 2018
630
darthpaxton said:
It doesn't show the power and reach of the system. It shows the difference in the cost of physical media for the device and how antiquated Nintendo's thinking can be. Overcooked 2 is from an indie developer who can't afford to buy physical media (especially the Switch's expensive cartridges) in bulk for a discount. This is just another way Nintendo is short-changing indie developers with the Switch. More information is available here.
Click to expand...
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Don't make up stuff. Besides, Microsoft doesn't offer options for publishers who can only buy in small quantities, hence why many indie games skip the platform entirely for physical releases (and often also digitally).
 
OP
OP
John Konstantin

John Konstantin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,250
Spain
darthpaxton said:
It doesn't show the power and reach of the system. It shows the difference in the cost of physical media for the device and how antiquated Nintendo's thinking can be. Overcooked 2 is from an indie developer who can't afford to buy physical media (especially the Switch's expensive cartridges) in bulk for a discount. This is just another way Nintendo is short-changing indie developers with the Switch. More information is available here.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I don't think the situation is as clear as you paint it. Overcooked sold very well on Switch, so even if it's an indie game, the number of cartridges they bought from Nintendo should be quite big. And we are talking about 2 GB cartridges. If even in this situation, cartridges are just more expensive, I think it changes (for the worse) our previous understanding of Switch physical media cost.
 
fourfourfun

fourfourfun

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,684
England
It may be cart cost, it may be licensing costs to release, it may be benchmarking against other software, it may be a "what would people pay". Any or all of those.
 
K Samedi

K Samedi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,990
Cart prices are way higher than discs. With retailer margins , shipping costs and licensing fees they wouldn't make any money from the physical version.
 
Sphinx

Sphinx

Member
Nov 29, 2017
2,377
what I find really peculiar is that ERA is a forum with insiders everywhere, people who could explain exactly where this premium comes from.

but everyone prefers to remain silent.

is there some NDA for this kind of info?
 
Wamb0wneD

Wamb0wneD

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
18,735
fourfourfun said:
This is an absolute assumption though. We don't know how much Team 17 are being charged for their media.
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You could make that argument for 16GB cards or more. If you really think they have to pay 5+ for a 2GB cart, then I don't know what to tell you. This isn't making assumptions, this is using common sense.
And even if there was a world where 2GB carts cost that much there's no excuse for them charging more digital.

They are being greedy, straight up. That's ok it's a business after all. Doesn't change it though.
 
OP
OP
John Konstantin

John Konstantin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,250
Spain
Sphinx said:
what I find really peculiar is that ERA is a forum with insiders everywhere, people who could explain exactly where this premium comes from.

but everyone prefers to remain silent.

is there some NDA for this kind of info?
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ZhugeEX (among others) said almost a year ago that 8 GB (or less) carts cost similar to PS4/XB1 blu-ray.

I'm pretty sure there are NDA involved, but just like there are NDA for any kind of restricted info like games on development.
 
Rei no Otaku

Rei no Otaku

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,351
Cranston RI
John Konstantin said:
But if you buy the game digital, price is 24,99 $ on all plattforms (PS4, XB1, Switch, Steam).
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Wamb0wneD said:
You could make that argument for 16GB cards or more. If you really think they have to pay 5+ for a 2GB cart, then I don't know what to tell you. This isn't making assumptions, this is using common sense.
And even if there was a world where 2GB carts cost that much there's no excuse for them charging more digital.

They are being greedy, straight up. That's ok it's a business after all. Doesn't change it though.
Click to expand...
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But it is cheaper digitally. If they were being greedy wouldn't they also have increased the digital price? Seems like it has to do with the physical side of things.
 
RockmanBN

RockmanBN

Visited by Knack - One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,989
Cornfields
Switch game cartridges are expensive? It doesn't seem like a $10 more expensive. Though I've never seen a US retail game start for $X5. They alwasy round to a 0 usually.
 
Wamb0wneD

Wamb0wneD

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
18,735
Rei no Otaku said:
But it is cheaper digitally. If they were being greedy wouldn't they also have increased the digital price? Seems like it has to do with the physical side of things.
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Ooooh for some reason I thought I read a higher price for Switch digital as well. My bad.
Yeah then it is. We don't know how big Overcooked 2 is right? Maybe it's justified then.
 
Rei no Otaku

Rei no Otaku

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,351
Cranston RI
Minsc said:
If they were doing that, there wouldn't be an increase, see post 23.
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If you continue reading the Twitter thread that is linked you can see that ZhugeEX goes on to say that the increase could also be due to the relationship between the publisher, the dev, and Nintendo. Frankly unless we get an official statement from Nintendo on cart prices we can't be sure.
 
Tito

Tito

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,030
Worst part of it is that the best selling retail version of this game will probably be the Switch version, by a huge margin.

It may have something to do with cart costs, but I think in this case, it's just the publisher doing it because they can.
 

Frankie_baby

Banned
Feb 11, 2018
628
John Konstantin said:
ZhugeEX (among others) said almost a year ago that 8 GB (or less) carts cost similar to PS4/XB1 blu-ray.

I'm pretty sure there are NDA involved, but just like there are NDA for any kind of restricted info like games on development.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

8gb carts cost the same sort of price as a ps4/xb1 blu ray for a full price game, budget priced titles get their blu rays cheaper, now obviously a 2gb switch cart would also be cheaper but in comparison we don't know, however I suspect the difference isn't that much and this is as much a case of team17 trying to make some cash from physical switch buyers seeing as it'll likely sell best on switch overall and physical switch buyers gave shown they'll pay high prices, I suspect most people will just buy digital for this game anyway though
 
OGlol

OGlol

Member
Jun 4, 2018
1,405
RockmanBN said:
Switch game cartridges are expensive? It doesn't seem like a $10 more expensive. Though I've never seen a US retail game start for $X5. They alwasy round to a 0 usually.
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They're much more expensive than blu-ray and you have to pay different prices depending on the size of the cartridge, which is why you seem games like Megaman X collection bundle and Bayonetta bundle are 1 cartridge + 1 download code and not both games on one cartridge.
 
Minsc

Minsc

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,124
ShinUltramanJ said:
Cartridges have always cost more, and that gets passed along to consumers.
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Even with DS and 3DS games? Were they also similarly marked up (asking honestly here)? Like an indie release on the DS/3DS is typically $10 more than it was elsewhere (granted, I'm not sure how many multiplatform DS/console games would be applicable here, but surely some are).
 

feroca

Banned
May 12, 2018
823
Though the topic of cartridges and Switch is really weird. Like, Capcom and Mega Man Legacy Collection. Both could fit in 2GB yet, one was a code.

Saves go directly to the internal memory, so is not as if memory needs to be allocated on cartridges for games.

Heck, there are 3DS games bigger than Switch games and yet, this never became a problem. Even when Atlus started charging more for 3DS, was because of the extra money to sped up translation and they included extras on the games.

So the process in some games is weird. Has Been Heroes costed the same across all versions, so is not around all indies. Who knows.

Overcooked is still a day one purchase digitally because of how popular it has been among us. :p
 
OP
OP
John Konstantin

John Konstantin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,250
Spain
Also, this game and Yoku show that price parity between physical and digital might be encouraged by Nintendo but it's not an absolute rule. And they have not included any extra physical stuff like the OST to justify the price increase to retailers.
 
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