Did Nvidia Misjudge the Market?
Nvidia finally appears to be lowering prices on the upper end of its RTX 30 lineup in an attempt to clear inventory before its next generation of video cards, according to sources at Benchlife. While price reductions in the context of an upcoming launch make sense, it’s the massive $500 price cut to Nvidia’s topline RTX 3090 Ti that suggests the company may have misread market conditions. So far the price cuts seem to cover the three or four most premium of Nvidia’s 10-product Ampere family.
- RTX 3090 Ti: $1,999 to $1,499
- RTX 3090: $1,499 to $1,299
- RTX 3080 Ti: $1,199 to $1,099
- RTX 3080 (12 GB): $799 after previously not having an official MSRP
Nvidia has yet to confirm or change pricing on its website, but partners and e-commerce sites appear to already be reducing prices. Best Buy, the company’s exclusive Founder’s Edition partner in the U.S., has the RTX 3090 Ti for $1,599 ($100 over MSRP, but bundled with four games).
Cutting It Close
Instead of gradually lowering the price of something like RTX 3090 Ti over time, Nvidia elected to shave 25% off overnight. It’s all but confirmation that something didn’t go as planned for Nvidia. Whether it wants to blame unexpected geopolitical developments or delayed RTX 30 production, Nvidia feels it has too much unsold ultra-premium inventory and not enough time to sell it. This move also sheds some light on its strategy to close out 2022.
Instead of gradually lowering the price of something like RTX 3090 Ti over time, Nvidia elected to shave 25% off overnight. It’s all but confirmation that something didn’t go as planned for Nvidia. Whether it wants to blame unexpected geopolitical developments or delayed RTX 30 production, Nvidia feels it has too much unsold ultra-premium inventory and not enough time to sell it. This move also sheds some light on its strategy to close out 2022.
- The RTX 40-series is coming within the next few months, likely beating AMD to launch.
- More affordable RTX 30-series products are unlikely to receive major price reductions before the holiday season. Game bundles are more likely.
- The most premium launch RTX 40-series product (a 4090, so to speak) is likely to be closer to $1,499 than $1,999. That leaves room for the all-but-guaranteed 4090 Ti to slot in closer to $2,000.
