7 min read
Eight years after the original Switch, its successor was unveiled on April 2nd. Fans were excited – understandably so, given the reactions to the early hardware glimpse back in January. Was it the bigger screen? The hardware leaks suggesting silicon tailor-made for Nintendo? Or maybe the fact that the Switch 2 is essentially the long-rumored “Switch Pro,” with several enthusiast wish casts now confirmed? Whatever the reason, if you were a gaming observer browsing social media that day, you couldn’t escape the excitement. And maybe trying to rationalize that excitement – to make it make sense to me – is a futile effort.
Switch 2 costs $449.99 in the US and will be available on June 5. A bundled version with the Switch 2 Mario Kart game, Mario Kart World, will also be available for $499.99. It’s their most expensive hardware yet – even before adjusting for inflation. I’d argue that not even those who bought the Switch OLED were prepared for this kind of price hike. Unsurprisingly, much of the initial excitement around the software evaporated once pricing details dropped, to the point that it’s doing real damage to Nintendo’s carefully crafted messaging. I’m reminded of the PS5 Pro – a mid-gen refresh with a price tag that doesn’t reflect its actual value. And in that case, players have pushed back, loudly. That may shift once Grand Theft Auto VI arrives, but for now, the fact remains: consumers are more price-sensitive than ever. I used to think Nintendo’s hubris showed up in other parts of their business, unlike Sony’s. But this pricing misstep has brought it front and center.
Former Nintendo PR Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang give their take on the price discourse.
If the hardware price didn’t sit well, Mario Kart World costing $80 stung even more. Reportedly, Switch 2-enhanced versions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom will also carry that $80 tag. This is dangerous ground Nintendo is walking on: will every Switch 2 title cost $80? Will other publishers follow suit? Are we headed back to the ‘90s – a Wild West of game pricing before $60 became the industry standard? Keep in mind: the only Switch title priced above $60 was Tears of the Kingdom, and that’s without counting games with physical extras like those bundled with Ring Fit Adventure or Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit.
Some defenders might argue Tears of the Kingdom was worth the premium compared to Breath of the Wild, but remember – the latter’s objectively inferior Wii U version also launched at $60, the same as on Switch. So, should the Switch version have been priced higher simply because it’s the better version? And now, with the Switch 2-enhanced version of Tears at $80, is that price justified? Yes, game development has gotten more expensive. Yes, in many cases, discretionary spending on additional content already pushes the total cost of a game well beyond the $60 price tag. But that’s a choice – players opt into that spending because they see value in it. What Nintendo is doing now is trying to make that optional spending mandatory – give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile. And for what? So the chart line climbs a little faster? Price people out of the hobby, and all you’re doing is pushing them deeper into free-to-play – a model Nintendo has engaged with sparingly but never fully embraced. And what about the people you’re trying to reach? The ones who bought a Switch because it was the affordable console – enough to push Sony and Microsoft to match it? Or the ones who never bought consoles but still picked up a Wii? Gaming may be a luxury, but if the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns taught us anything, it’s that games offer some of the best dollar-per-hour value out there. Burning through customer goodwill for a quick revenue bump isn’t bold – it’s reckless.
A Kay Bee Toys ad for various Nintendo products, circa March 1996. Note the regular pricing on the SNES games.
Nintendo wants you to buy a Switch 2 at launch – that we agree on. However, outside the dangerous precedent they’re setting up with software pricing, I’d like for you to consider the following before giving them your hard-earned money:
Among their launch lineup is one exclusive, two enhanced titles, and a hardware demo sold at full price – when Sony gave Astro’s Playroom away for free. It’s hard not to feel like Nintendo’s daring fans to justify the value here.
Nintendo deliberately omitted the Switch 2’s price from the presentation because they knew it wouldn’t sit well with their customers. If the price has already been determined, why hide it? If you know the conversation will immediately turn to the price once it’s revealed, why wait? The fact that the price was disclosed the same day through third-party sources shows this wasn’t about assessing the market, but about doing pre-damage control.
Reports suggest that some Switch 2 physical titles may not even be playable from the cartridge at all. If you’re concerned about a digital-only future disrupting the hobby, I’m afraid this is just the beginning.
Nintendo’s legal team is notorious. As seen in their recent lawsuit against Pocketpair, developers of Palworld, they aren’t afraid to wield legal power aggressively. Bullying in any form is wrong, including legal bullying, and your money funds these actions.
Emulators are legal – multiple court cases have confirmed that. Nintendo, of course, insists otherwise. Just don’t mention they used one in their own museum. “Rules for thee, but not for me,” as always.
Nintendo and lost media seem to go hand-in-hand. The closure of the Wii U and 3DS eShops two years ago made hundreds, if not thousands, of digital-only games inaccessible – not to mention the thousands more lost with the shutdown of the Wii Shop Channel. I appreciate this is a sensitive issue for hardware makers with the rise of digital storefronts, and they’re trying to strike a balance between preservation and progress, yet this crass disregard for their platform legacy remains unique. Another example is Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a compilation of the seminal Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. Bizarrely, this collection was available for purchase only for six months, both physically and digitally.
Finally, remember the NES Classic Edition and its successor, the SNES Classic Edition? These wildly popular mini consoles were almost impossible to find on store shelves, creating a market for scalpers to sell them at ridiculous markups. Nintendo has long been accused of manufacturing artificial scarcity, whether with Amiibos, the Wii, or even the Switch itself. They’ll deny it, of course – but that defense doesn’t hold up well. If it’s not intentional scarcity, then it’s poor forecasting, which isn’t much better. Especially if the pattern does go back to the late ’80s. So, if you’re planning to pick up a Switch 2 – or just a game of theirs you’re excited about – don’t be surprised if it’s already sold out.
I want to believe we’re better than engaging in blind consumerism – y’know, ‘don’t ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next product.’ I’ve been let down before, but I’m hoping the current economic climate will make some reconsider whether this is worth it. The pain can only be dulled for so long before hard questions have to be asked. Hardware manufacturers ask for our money every seven or eight years in this way – I ask that we, and especially Nintendo fans in this case, start being more critical.