Despite Being About 40% More Expensive Than in Japan,
Sold Out Crisis Leads to Premium Resale Transactions
Despite controversy over its high price point, Nintendo's new console, the 'Nintendo Switch 2', released on June 5, has become so scarce in South Korea that a resale phenomenon has emerged on secondhand trading platforms, with sellers charging premiums. Some units are being sold at prices more than 10% higher than the official retail price.
According to the gaming industry on June 9, the Nintendo Switch 2 has sold out in South Korea, with long lines of buyers, particularly among people in their 20s and other younger generations. On online secondhand trading platforms, the console is being resold at around 750,000 won, which is about a 10% premium over the retail price.
The official retail price of the Switch 2 in South Korea is 648,000 won, while the bundle including the launch title 'Mario Kart World' is 688,000 won. Nintendo set the overseas price about 40% higher than the Japanese domestic price, resulting in a significant price increase. The original 'Nintendo Switch', released in 2017, was priced at 360,000 won in South Korea, meaning the successor's price has nearly doubled compared to its predecessor.
The problem is that, due to insufficient supply relative to demand both domestically and internationally, even those willing to pay these high prices are unable to purchase the console. Nintendo Korea and domestic distributors held multiple rounds of pre-order lotteries ahead of the Switch 2 launch, but the number of applicants far exceeded the quantity originally allocated for the Korean market.
Pre-order applications through Nintendo's official website were only available to those who had maintained a paid 'Nintendo Switch Online' account for over a year, while most lottery sales conducted through domestic online and offline retailers had no such restrictions but were allocated far fewer units. In this situation, some users who secured Switch 2 units through the pre-order lottery are now reselling them on secondhand trading platforms at a premium.
Meanwhile, the response to the Nintendo Switch 2 has been enthusiastic overseas as well. In Japan, for example, it was reported that as many as 2.2 million people applied for the pre-order sale at the official My Nintendo Store (Nintendo's direct online shop). In the United States, where offline in-store sales are underway, scenes of game fans lining up at retail stores to purchase the Nintendo Switch 2 on launch day have been observed in various locations.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
