onnextflix5
Member
Whatever they are planning it’s not gonna work, it’s gonna get scalped like crazy. If they are openly talking about next gen hardware, it’s definitely coming out in 2024.
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TwiztidElf
Member
Nintendo and specialist retailers (like Gamestop) know who their core customers are through loyalty programs and online (for Nintendo).
It makes no sense in 2023 that they can't prioritise them in some way.
It makes no sense in 2023 that they can't prioritise them in some way.
GigaBowser
The bear of bad news
What the?
Just shuts up and make more Zelda and Metroid
Just shuts up and make more Zelda and Metroid
Dr. Wilkinson
Member
The quote is directly talking about hardware scalping. Your example of XC3 is a collectors edition of a game, which are normally deliberately under-shipped, with the intention of selling through to the ultra die-hard fans of a series, and normally only getting one production run. Doesn’t really have anything to do with Furukawa’s quote.
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01011001
Banned
to be fair, the only ones losing here is Nintendo themselves.
you can fire up an emulator on a chip implant in your left ass cheek at this point and have a better experience than this low effort release
and there you can also play Galaxy 2...
for Mario 64 you don't even have to emulate anymore. on PC you can play that shit natively with raytracing if you want.
That certainly would solve the problem, maybe this time they name it something unpronouncible like the Nintendo <!@&!@!>
Silver Wattle
Gold Member
2024 launch vibes.
Torrent of Pork
Banned
Allow 1 preorder through the Nintendo store for each verified account that takes priority over units destined for retail. Partner with a relevant shipping service for the area, and kick that cost to the consumer.
I will gladly pay a few extra dollars for shipping if it means I actually get the damned thing at launch.
I will gladly pay a few extra dollars for shipping if it means I actually get the damned thing at launch.
EverydayBeast
thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Scalping was a big deal early this gen 2020, 2021 because of chip shortages, low inventory and Covid.
Zannegan
Member
True, but I'm willing to bet it will continue to be a problem going forward now that scalpers have their systems worked out. It's a huge issue outside of games too.
BlackTron
Member
The scalpers price represents the maximum that the market is willing to pay for the item (unless the scalper is an idiot and getting less than that).
Zannegan
Member
True, and even Valve struggled during the launch of the Steam Deck.
If Nintendo sent out invites in waves though, with a certain amount of time to respond, they could control the traffic/load on their site.
It's not about traffic to the site although that could fail as well. I don't think Nintendo has the infrastructure to pack and ship that many online orders.
And maybe more importantly I don't think they want to bypass their retail partners that help them sell their hardware and games.
They also want to move all the consoles they can as soon as they can. They aren't going to trickle out consoles just to try and cut down on scalping. And that would probably backfire because it would raise the price on the "black market."
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ZoukGalaxy
Member
Onlyfans didn't exist at the time of the Wii U launch.
Zannegan
Member
Oh, I agree that the bulk of their business would be through their retail partners. They'd absolutely kill the console's sales if they went exclusively through their own storefront--no visibility, no cross-promotion, nothing.
However, if they held back a small percentage of their year one stock and allowed paying account holders to buy directly from them, I think it could work. They do still ship a good deal of physical merch directly, so I think they could manage that, especially if the customer must bear the burden of shipping. Even with the additional cost, they'd still garner a good deal of goodwill and do something to alleviate the scalping issue.
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
It'd be wise not to use Switch at all. Look at the photo in OP, OLED Switch is Switch 2? Numbering consoles won't look good for Nintendo. They can vow not to allow scalping with the upcoming console...the Nintendo SuperCube.If only Karen knew while taking this photo.
Let's hope the new console won't be named Switch U or something similar.
But then there is little to no point. It would do next to nothing for scalping. It would only reward a few NSO members. ...
And it's not like they don't already sell consoles direct online. So selling a few consoles direct starting at launch wouldn't be a change from now.
Only change would be treating the new console like they treat sales of the retro controllers - NSO members only.
So I would file such a move under status quo.
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Umbasaborne
Banned
Good on them, more companies should. But like also, good luck? Dont see how you can stop that
Sleepwalker
Member
Make it so only Wii U owners can buy at launch
Gambit2483
Member
The true way to stop it is to also include "In-store" ordering/purchase. Online is where the bots rule.
Also make sure only one credit card account per order, per store. If someone wants to take out 10 different credit cards just make a few bucks let them go through the hassle.
Also make sure only one credit card account per order, per store. If someone wants to take out 10 different credit cards just make a few bucks let them go through the hassle.
archangelmorph
Member
Fastest way to prevent scalping:
- Allocate a stockpile of 20m units pre-launch
- Strategic partnership with Amazon to handle verified distribution
- All eligible accounts KYC’d via Onfido (or an equivalent)
- 1 console per verified account & allocate 70% of global stock through Amazon
- Customers pays the excess for shipping (BAU for Amazon)
Amazon have the largest global distribution network in the world. There will be soo much stock fulfilment through them (that they can handle) that scalpers will have no incentive to try because the sales UX will be night and day.
- Allocate a stockpile of 20m units pre-launch
- Strategic partnership with Amazon to handle verified distribution
- All eligible accounts KYC’d via Onfido (or an equivalent)
- 1 console per verified account & allocate 70% of global stock through Amazon
- Customers pays the excess for shipping (BAU for Amazon)
Amazon have the largest global distribution network in the world. There will be soo much stock fulfilment through them (that they can handle) that scalpers will have no incentive to try because the sales UX will be night and day.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Gambit2483
Member
Amazon can get hit hard by the bots too.
This ONLY got this bad because of Covid and online purchase became the ONLY way to get these things where people were in direct competition with scalpers and their army of bots.
Again, put the console back IN-STORE. Unless scalpers can clone themselves or hire someone to physically be in a dozen places all at once this cuts them off at the legs.
archangelmorph
Member
KYC’d accounts can’t be botted.
It’s literally impossible as bots can’t prove their identity with a valid (automatically verified) passport/driving license/national ID card.
All of this technology exists and whilst Amazon may not have KYC verification integrated they sure as shit would invest in building this into their platform for the sheer windfall of multibillion dollar sales this would push through their platform, which they could then sell to Sony, MSFT etc as the defacto approach to doing console launch distribution going forward.
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Gambit2483
Member
Bots can fill waiting lines too...you may have just gotten lucky and squeezed in between a dozen bots as I know plenty people that either couldn't get into the line or got into it just to not be able to actually order anything in the end.
jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Nintendo can't even keep their N64 Switch controllers in stock - and those are "members only, limit 1". And has been on the market since 2021. I swear, they only make like 100 of these things at a time...
Minsc
Gold Member
You're still missing the main point, letting your customers order your product regardless of inventory. There's absolutely no reason they couldn't do this, and it would satisfy most people this way. You go online (whether Bestbuy, Gamestop, or if those guys don't want to change things, directly from Nintendo), you add the system to your cart, it shows your current ETA and takes your money and you're done. You now know you're getting the system in exactly 5 or 9 or 14 months. You're done hunting and playing games. There's no more checking online every random hour of the night for a refresh or anything really.
It's so simple I cannot for the life of me understand how it doesn't work that way. People want to buy (pre-order) a product and you refuse to sell it to them. That's crazy. At least Apple thinks so.
True, but I would add the price the market is willing to pay is somewhat effected by the starting price (retail price). If the system was listed at $500 and scalpers were selling at $1000, true that doesn't mean if Sony priced it at $800 scalpers would see $1300 (or more if you're doing a % increase instead of flat). But it also doesn't mean people would still make the ceiling $1000 in their heads. Now instead of $1000 being 100% more than MSRP, $1600 is 100% more than MSRP. So maybe $1100 (just $300 over MSRP) is feasible, maybe even $1150.
yurinka
Member
In that case scalpers would have sold it at $1000 or $1200. Also, scalpers asking people for that money doesn't mean that most people is open to pay that money for them.
In fact, some people find it too expensive and wait for a price drop.
diffusionx
Gold Member
no, that's not the way it works. Scalpers charge the maximum price people are willing to pay. If Sony did it, then there would be no scalping. Of course, then you could make the reasonable argument that Sony would now be the scalpers.
yurinka
Member
The whole 'scalpers' narrative is only a excuse. Millions of consoles are put in the market, only a few hundred or thousand consoles may be sold at abusive price. Scalpers can't buy millions of consoles.
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jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
That sounds good, but would suck for people like me who have legitimately purchased 7 Switches for me and my family.
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BlackTron
Member
What you're saying is kinda true, if PS5 launched at $1000 maybe scalpers could get $1100, but this MSRP is so pushing the max ceiling of what anyone will pay for a playstation, with too small risk for the investment, that the scalping problem would go away.
I'm not advocating it, we are replacing the problem of scalpers jacking up consoles with jacking up the MSRP instead. It doesn't solve anything for the real customer, but it WOULD work to ruin scalpers day
Well it would be depressing to know you're not getting your Switch 2 for 25 months lol (or 14 months or 9 months or even 5 months.)
and if I had to wait for such a long period of time ...I don't think I would find that to be a better model.
Also iirc retailers did pre-orders for the Switch. Just for launch day tho.
I guess they could easily do pre-orders for successive waves of consoles. AS it is, if you pay a little bit of attention to a deal site, you can learn when the major chains get product in. I don't think it requires too much work. I think any work one is willing to put is commiserate with their interest/desire which doesn't seem like an unfair way to do things.
But not sure any of that addresses scalping.
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Minsc
Gold Member
Yeah I mean that should probably be a good problem, say they got 70 million pre-orders upfront and really sold out for 2 years... That's like 21 billion dollars, I think with that kind of revenue upfront they could afford to increase capacity much earlier on, but you're right once you start getting pre-orders for 2 years out... scalpers could get their game back.
But it's an honest system. If there's really 70 million people that want to buy it day 1, and pre-orders are showing 2 years down the road, then you honestly know how long it will take for the console to be available - it will take 2 years at the rate Nintendo is producing them to catch up with the demand at launch. Now you can actually decide what those two years are worth to you in money.
Again the difference in my example is the pre-orders carry a full payment. I fully believe scalpers cannot front 21 billion dollars to Nintendo to lock out the market for 2 years, and even if they could this can be further improved by implementing the suggestions mentioned about 1 per user etc etc.
Ultimately though in the example I quoted where it was said they should launch with 20 million units and go through Amazon to verify sales etc etc make sure no scalpers can get one, that still does nothing with a 70 million demand. In that example there are still 50 million desperate people looking to pay triple or quadruple what Nintendo is selling them at. What happens is regular non-scalpers start to see the incredible demand and scalpers will find a way so to speak.
At least the way Apple does it is they manage their demand in a reasonable window. I'm not convinced Nintendo couldn't do the same, where we'd be seeing their factories fully booked out 2 years from day 1, but who knows. I just know that whole find the deals and subscribe to discord channels and get texts to be notified, none of that worked ever for me and was super frustrating.
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Bumblebeetuna
Member
I’ve seen resellers walk out of stores with 50+ laptops or boxes of consoles. I don’t think it’s possible to eliminate scalping unless they repeat the WiiU launch where there was no scalping because no one wanted any 
Legend has it she is still roaming the night trying to unload them.
Legend has it she is still roaming the night trying to unload them.
supernova8
Banned
The ways to mitigate scalping are two-fold:
1) to consistently have enough supply to roughly meet likely demand at the desired price point.
2) make it as difficult/annoying as possible for scalpers to scalp.
Pretty much impossible to totally avoid it but you can minimize it such that it isn't worth their time/effort and thus even the more ruthless scalpers will give up and move onto something else.
1) Of course there is a tiny minority of people who will be willing to pay double or triple MSRP to get the console no matter what at/around launch, but the reason that the majority of more "normal" people give in to scalping is if/when they feel like it's going to be 6 months or more before they can get a PS5 (or whatever). If you knew that shops would be getting new shipments regularly, you'd be more inclined to visit said shops and try your luck as opposed to instantly giving in and paying scalper prices.
2) The other side of the coin would be to strike deals with (ie pay money to) the various flea market type websites/apps (such as eBay) stipulating that any listings for said console within a certain window (let's say... first 6 months after launch) that are priced more than the cost of the console + selling fees + shipping fees get automatically removed. Of course those platforms have no incentive to do so, which is why I suggested some sort of deal where the console makers shoulder some burden on the behalf of legit customers (which they should be willing to do if they really care about stopping scalping).
This would ensure that any legitimate owners of said console who didn't want it for some reason (and who could not just return it to where it was purchased, unopened for a full refund) could get back the whole amount they paid even after the relevant eBay-esque fees. It would make it impossible (at least on those platforms) for scalpers to make a profit and therefore a certain number of scalpers would leave "the market" (ie the total number of scalpers would recede) and the remaining scalpers would have to find other ways to sell their "wares".
Plus, the number of people willing to buy at scalper prices would also come down if they had to purchase through less secure methods. My experience has been that eBay and similar platforms usually side with the buyer, so you're likely to get a refund if something goes wrong. You don't have that safety net if you have to meet a dude in car park at night to buy your Wii for $400 (lol).
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