“Honey, Animal Crossing is back on the menu!” I yelled, kicking open our bedroom door, clutching my laptop like it contained the lost secrets of the universe.
Nhu, my wife, stood there gripping an electric toothbrush like a nunchuk, caught mid-motion, looking like a deer in the headlights.
“Shush, I just put Nora back to bed!” she whisper-shouted, waving her toothbrush at me like a wizard casting Silencio!
But this was important.
“I’ve been so busy, I didn’t even know they announced the Switch 2,” I said, shoving the laptop toward her. “Look at this!”
The article read:
Nintendo Switch 2 leaked price leaves fans happy: “I thought it’d be more!”
Apparently, the new Switch is rumored to launch at $350. A “steal” compared to what some people feared.
Which brings us to a brilliant marketing principle:
Have you ever felt relief when something costs JUST X dollars?
Ever gone to buy something and thought:
“Whew…that’s actually not as bad as I expected.”
That’s not an accident. It’s by design.
And Nintendo plays this game better than anyone.
The “Leak” That’s All Upside
If you follow gaming news, you know the industry leaks more than an off-brand diaper.
But here’s the thing: Most of those leaks aren’t accidents.
In Nintendo’s case, leaking the price of a new console is a win-win situation:
- If the leak makes people think the price is sky-high (e.g., “The Switch 2 is going to be $600+”), then when Nintendo reveals the “real” price—say, $350—fans feel relief. Suddenly, it’s a “great deal.”
- If the leaked price is already reasonable, fans celebrate. “Wow, it’s so affordable! We’re lucky to breathe the same air as daddy Nintendo UwU.”
Either way, Nintendo wins.
And if backlash erupts over a high rumored price?
Nintendo can simply come out later and say, “Lol, that leak was inaccurate—it’s not actually $1,500, it’s only $999.”
Result? They still come out looking like the good guys.
Why Nintendo Gets Away With It (Every. Single. Time.)
The crazy part? Nintendo should be struggling in today’s gaming world.
Their consoles are:
- Almost laughably underpowered compared to competitors. The original Switch, at launch, was barely stronger than a tablet—while Xbox One and PS4 were closer to high-end PCs.
- Terrible for multi-platform games—many don’t even make it to the Switch, and those that do often run like a PowerPoint presentation.
- Decades behind in online gaming. Sony and Microsoft have built entire ecosystems around multiplayer experiences, while Nintendo’s online infrastructure still feels like it was designed in the early 2000s.
And yet…
They keep winning.
Because what Nintendo does right, they do VERY right.
They make amazing games.
Games so good that people will ignore every other shortcoming.
The Business Lesson Hidden in a Mario Kart Box
Nintendo’s strategy proves a fundamental truth in business:
You don’t have to be perfect.
You don’t need to check every single box. You don’t have to be the most powerful, the most high-tech, or even the most feature-packed.
You just have to be the best at one thing.
For Nintendo, that’s making ridiculously good games.
For your business? Maybe you:
- Have an insanely effective email marketing strategy.
- Offer a guarantee so good, people can’t ignore it.
- Sell a product that solves one specific problem better than anyone else.
Focus on what makes you the best. The rest? Doesn’t matter nearly as much as you think.
And if you want to be the best at email marketing, I can help.
Even if…
👉 You’re dumping way too many golden coins into ads.
👉 Your website looks like the original Mario Bros. from 1985.
👉 You feel like your marketing is stuck in a warp pipe to nowhere.
The right email sequences can change that.
Want to know how?
