According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on Wednesday, the next-generation model, which Nintendo has unveiled for the first time in eight years, is priced at 49,980 yen per unit in Japan. However, it is traded at prices exceeding 100,000 yen at online shopping malls in Japan such as Rakuten. Some sellers offer up to 128,000 yen. The price is 2.6 times the regular price.
This phenomenon occurred when products sold by lottery before launch were posted on the used market. It is believed that consumers who won the lottery registered online to resell game consoles at a high premium.
In response to this situation, LineYahu posted a warning on its platforms, including “Yahoo Auction,” that it could ban product registration before launch and take hard-line measures such as account suspension.
However, under Japan’s current law, the items banned from resale are limited to some, such as paid concert tickets, and electronic products such as game consoles are not subject to regulation.
Nikkei said a similar resale occurred in the past when Nintendo Switch and Sony released “PlayStation 5.” The newspaper pointed out, “Not only is it difficult to clearly distinguish the boundary between resale and used transactions, but there is a concern that the secondary distribution market itself will be denied when collectively regulated.”
Nintendo Switch 2 features a larger display and significantly improved storage space compared to previous models. Nintendo has set a goal of selling 15 million units of the device by March 2026.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
