With the reveal of the new Nintendo Switch OLED being met with mixed reactions from consumers and industry professionals alike, the response from other console developers has been something many have been waiting to see. With shifted expectations for fans looking for a Nintendo Switch Pro and a larger price point for only minor additional features, the Nintendo Switch OLED is being monitored closely by Sony, to see the precedent the new handheld might set for console pricing.
Nintendo is a company that marches to the beat of its own drum, with its last few generations of consoles eschewing raw CPU and GPU power for interactivity and a focus on unique design like the Wii's motion controls, the Wii U's attempts at portability, and the Switch's perfection of the concept. In all cases, there has always been a pocket of fans that hope Nintendo will release a more powerful console, with the original Wii's standard definition in the age of high def being an example of Nintendo's adherence to a design philosophy of distinctive features over power.
This is a notion that Nintendo is clearly sticking to, with the Switch OLED offering no tangible upgrade to performance over its predecessor, aside from an extra inch of screen space and slightly more storage (64gb base vs the 32gb of the switch.) What Sony is intrigued by is the price point, which sits at $50USD more than the original Switch, despite the lack of new features. Importantly, a report from Bloomberg has indicated that the production costs for the Switch are notably minor, with the OLED only costing around $10 more to make than the original Switch.
With Nintendo making $40 more per unit on the new console, sales of the OLED will be something Sony and Microsoft will be intrigued to see, as older generations of consoles have generally only seen their prices drop the older they get. The Switch on the other hand has maintained its price, and the OLED will see a higher price point for little iteration on the concept. On top of that, the global pandemic has been such a huge boon for the gaming industry that the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles have barely been able to stay on shelves, indicating that Sony could have offered the PS5 at a higher cost and still seen similar continual sales.
The decision by Nintendo to release the Nintendo Switch OLED has been met with extremely mixed responses from fans, with some questioning its purpose if it offers no increase in performance over the Switch. Despite its detractors though, with the Nintendo Switch's history of incredible sales since launch, it would be a mistake to assume that the new OLED won't perform, especially when considering how many people are looking for ways to escape the ever-present lockdowns due to the pandemic. If the OLED performs well, it could mean that console prices remain higher for longer, or that they could start at a higher general price point across the board.
Source: Nintendo Life