PlayStation infamously reached peak hubris when creator Ken Kutaragi implied consumers will want to work longer hours to afford a PS3.
The system, which launched at $599, was considered extortionately expensive at the time.
The firm was ultimately humbled by the market, and while it’s made many missteps since – including releasing the PS5 Pro for the even more expensive $699 – it’s never acted quite as arrogantly in the media again.
Ex-Xbox boss Don Mattrick would eventually take up the mantle prior to the release of the Xbox One, when he was quizzed about the new console’s always online connectivity requirements.
“Fortunately we have a product for people who are unable to get any form of connectivity,” he said. “It’s called Xbox 360.”
And now it seems it’s Nintendo’s turn to completely lose touch with reality.
“We recognise there are some people that may not be able to afford [the Switch 2’s] price point,” Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser told CBC.
“That’s why we wanted to make the other Switch platforms available, so [people] still have an opportunity to come into our gaming universe, be a part of these characters in these worlds, and see value, if you will, in whatever rung of the platform they come in.”
This would be all well and good if Nintendo reduced the price of the original Switch and offered a line of more affordable first-party software for the platform.
But with the hardware prices unlikely to change for the time being and launch software like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild still costing $60, we’re not convinced the existing console is the easily affordable alternative Bowser is describing it as.
It would appear that all gaming hardware manufacturers require a reality check from time to time.
[source cbc.ca]
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As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.