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Switch OLED upgrades reportedly cost Nintendo "around $10 more per unit"

It's always interesting when a new and slightly improved system is announced to see just how much it will cost compared to the existing model which does much the same.

In the case of the Switch OLED, it's going to be $50 more than the price of the original hybrid model - bumping the total amount up to $350 USD. If it's got you wondering what it might cost on Nintendo's end, read on...

Bloomberg has published a new story about the upcoming system, which breakdowns the price to manufacture it. The new system apparently costs the Japanese video game giant "around $10 more per unit" to make.

In terms of an individual component breakdown - the new Samsung OLED screen is believed to be around $3 to $5 per unit, the upgrade storage costs an extra $3.50, and other components like the LAN port and improved kickstand are a few extra bucks.

The Switch is already making a profit, so this will only further increase Nintendo's profit margins if it is successful. Bloomberg reached out to a Nintendo spokesperson about the price breakdown and sure enough, they declined to comment.

The new Nintendo Switch OLED model will make its debut alongside Metroid Dread on October 8th.

 

Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
Nintendo is one of the few game companies whose business model is geared toward large profit margins on *hardware*, in case people weren’t aware. Which is one of the reasons why they don’t use cutting edge tech - old tech has far better profit margins.
 

Speedwagon

Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel. Yabuki turned off voice chat in Mario Kart races. True artists of their time.
So we'll see OLED on every handheld from now on, right?
 

Fredrik

Member
I’m not defending this upgrade but you can’t just add the costs for the components, there is R&D costs and doing tools for the new casing and dock and box and marketing etc etc that is all added into the total cost, with the $50 price increase they hope it’ll all be payed for during it’s expected life time.
 

killatopak

Gold Member
I’m not defending this upgrade but you can’t just add the costs for the components, there is R&D costs and doing tools for the new casing and dock and box and marketing etc etc that is all added into the total cost, with the $50 price increase they hope it’ll all be payed for during it’s expected life time.
seriously doubt the cost of R&D being this high. You have more changes in the lite than this.
 

Marvel14

Banned
I’m not defending this upgrade but you can’t just add the costs for the components, there is R&D costs and doing tools for the new casing and dock and box and marketing etc etc that is all added into the total cost, with the $50 price increase they hope it’ll all be payed for during it’s expected life time.
Considering the price of other components has probably fallen by 20-30% in the last 4 years, I reckon Switch OLED widens Nintendo's profit margins.
 

Fredrik

Member
seriously doubt the cost of R&D being this high. You have more changes in the lite than this.
Well economics is not my field of work but iirc the earnings reports showed an R&D increase, it was one reason people expected bigger upgrades. But it’s not just that but all of it. The actual components are pocket money unless there is a shortage, but every little physical change means new designs, new casing, move some stuff around and you need a new curcuit board, new prototype, new tests, new certifications, production line changes, etc etc etc. It’s a whole new product regarding the manufacturing process, marketing, boxes and packaging. At the end they try to split up the totals over expected X number units sold for expected X years with X percent plus at the end.
 
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99Luffy

Banned
I think Nintendo will pass on the savings... But not until they clear the stock on the old switch.

They do have the option of just making the original switch cheaper but then that would make the lite worth less.
 
Nintendo's profit margin is extremely impressive and it's only gonna get better it seems. The Switch has been out for only 4 years and it's already the most profitable console of all time. Nintendo stays winning.
 
$10 is ~£7 here. with 20% tax added which brings it to ~£9. they are charging an extra £30 over the current model. without tax that's still an extra £22.

shit, if they kept the price at £280 i'm sure nintendo would still be making a big profit. are we meant to feel bad for nintendo or thank them???

I am very very sceptical about the quality of that OLED display, as it took me 3 Nintendo Switch exchanges to find one without display color gradient-uniformity issues!
you're really comparing LCD to OLED?

uniformity issues on LCD panels are very common especially the bigger they are. my £500 monitor doesn't have perfect uniformity. OLED is made different and works differently to LCD.
 
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I'm not surprised. The Samsung Galaxy S4 which released in 2013 had a higher-spec OLED screen than this Nintendo Switch revision. 8-years of progress in mobile screens and yet Nintendo still finds a way to go backwards SMH
if you are comparing resolution then yeah definitely the S4 is higer resolution but you really think Nintendo is using a display from <2013? yeah that makes sense actually....:rolleyes:
 

jaysius

Banned
Sure it's $10 increase, but all the junk they're using is so bargain basement in 2021 the cost to manufacture has to have decreased across the board.

$10 seems high for a manufacturing cost for a 720p OLED screen, it'll probably be the most expensive part of the switch.
 
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Sure it's $10 increase, but all the junk they're using is so bargain basement in 2021 the cost to manufacture has to have decreased across the board.

$10 seems high for a manufacturing cost for a 720p OLED screen, it'll probably be the most expensive part of the switch.
i take it you're not buying it then...
 

GymWolf

Member
Nintendo is one of the few game companies whose business model is geared toward large profit margins on *hardware*, in case people weren’t aware. Which is one of the reasons why they don’t use cutting edge tech - old tech has far better profit margins.
Since they make game with like 1\1000 of the budget compared to sony, M and third parties and they still sell fuckload of copies, i think their profits are also pretty big software side...
 
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zcaa0g

Banned
Nintendo is one of the few game companies whose business model is geared toward large profit margins on *hardware*, in case people weren’t aware. Which is one of the reasons why they don’t use cutting edge tech - old tech has far better profit margins.

Actually, their business model is geared towards taking advantage of immature suckers and this world is sadly plagued with lots of them.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
I'm not surprised. The Samsung Galaxy S4 which released in 2013 had a higher-spec OLED screen than this Nintendo Switch revision. 8-years of progress in mobile screens and yet Nintendo still finds a way to go backwards SMH
Its Nintendo.

With tech, typically every company has to innovate with modern specs to keep buyers interested.

Nintendo gadgets are cheaply made, have last gen specs or worse and charge a lot of money for what they are (ie. $100 CDN joycons).

But hey. If people keep buying their stuff, cant blame Nintendo. It works for their business model and audience.

Notice how in old eras of gaming they were always fighting Sega or PS for best console tech. The second Wii was a giant success, they realized their gamers just care about Mario and Zelda and SSB kinds of games which dont require latest specs. No point putting in pricey tech anymore, or even solid online capabilities which 360 and PS3 did better in 2006. If gamers want to play FIFA or COD, they'll play it elsewhere anyway as shown by Wii U where they got some good launch games too like Black Ops 2 but Wii U gamers didnt care. They'd rather play it on another platform.
 
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FStubbs

Member
Its Nintendo.

With tech, typically every company has to innovate with modern specs to keep buyers interested.

Nintendo gadgets are cheaply made, have last gen specs or worse and charge a lot of money for what they are (ie. $100 CDN joycons).

But hey. If people keep buying their stuff, cant blame Nintendo. It works for their business model and audience.

Notice how in old eras of gaming they were always fighting Sega or PS for best console tech. The second Wii was a giant success, they realized their gamers just care about Mario and Zelda and SSB kinds of games which dont require latest specs. No point putting in pricey tech anymore, or even solid online capabilities which 360 and PS3 did better in 2006. If gamers want to play FIFA or COD, they'll play it elsewhere anyway as shown by Wii U where they got some good launch games too like Black Ops 2 but Wii U gamers didnt care. They'd rather play it on another platform.
They didn't just happen on this stance. They realized it after getting beaten badly by PS1 and destroyed by PS2 that they couldn't keep it up in the CPU/GPU tech race. They started thinking about the Wii then, but the fact they couldn't keep up was proven when they launched DS and Sony just casually jumped a full generation ahead with the PSP. A toy company is not going to beat an electronics company or a technology company at electronics or technology.

EDIT: They honestly couldn't even keep it up in the SNES era. Sony put the sound chip in for them after all.
 
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graywolf323

Gold Member
Nintendo probably could have just discontinued the original Switch & replaced it with the Switch OLED at $300 and still been making a tidy profit
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
I’d seriously use my Switch 10x more than I do at the moment, and would actually buy this Oled model, if there was no joycon drift.

I love dedicated handhelds, but I can’t use the Switch comfortably as I have to use a 8bitdo Pro Plus pad. It’s not even a portable in my opinion.
 
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Tiamat2san

Member
R.b15378d887f54327836aa96251d8992c
 

mcjmetroid

Member
I hope it works out but...

Wii ^
Wii U v
Switch ^
Switch OLED v

...makes sense to me
Yep this is where the downfall happens and I hope it does tbh. Since the new president took over Nintendo has plummeted in quality. As a lifelong fan I got this pissed off at the end of the Wiis life as well.

They need a fall so they'll try harder.. shame
 
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Fbh

Member
That's why a Switch pro was always doubtful.

A true Switch pro would be $600. And that doesn't work.
It's too much for the target audience, but they can't make it less without sacrificing profits which is also unacceptable.

You have to hand it to Nintendo. When most other companies went with the Printer model (make the hardware cheap, with the software/ink being the real money maker), they have had tremendous success selling expensive printers with the most expensive ink on the market.
 

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Unless you are selling wholesale parts, you don't price based on BOM..

These stories are always a little silly... the product will sell out for a long time, because consumer's think it's worth the price. The End.
 
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