On the Switch 2 and Prices

Recently, Nintendo finally gave us detailed look at their new Switch 2 console. There was a lot to enjoy about the reveal, the system itself looks pretty good with a lot of interesting new features, I’m looking forward to what the Joycon mouse functionality could do, and there were plenty of games shown off like the new Donkey Kong and Mario Kart which look awesome.

Sure it had a lot of ports of older titles, but it still means it should have a solid line up at launch of both old and new titles. I’m looking forward to the system, though I won’t be getting it at launch. I’ll save up some money and get it a few months later so I can get the console and some accessories. And saving is what I’m going to need.

See while the presentation was mostly solid, the news of the price of both the console and the games served as a bucket of cold water for many. The console price itself is around $449.99 or £395.99 if you live in the UK like me. That’s not too bad all things considered. The console itself is a pretty decent upgrade with lots of new features and still comes out cheaper than other consoles on the market right now. It’s more than I wanted, but not much more than I was expecting.

But it’s the game prices that people take issue with. We don’t know the price of other games so far, but Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza were priced at $80 and $70 or £75 and $67 respectively. This has not gone over well at all. All over social media people are complaining about the price. It’s almost impossible to go to any Switch 2 video and not see dozens of comments on it.

It’s getting a little annoying to be honest. It’s happening so frequently it’s practically a meme. But I can’t say I don’t understand why. $80 for Mario Kart is a very steep asking price, and in a time of financial uncertainty it’s not hard to see why some people would be upset by such an increase.

At the same time though, this kind of feels like a bit of an inevitability. Inflation is going up all over the world and it was only a matter of time before it affected the games industry. Plus, the idea of making games more expensive has been a debate for several years now. There were arguments from within the industry that $60 just wasn’t cutting it anymore and that $70 was more reasonable cost of game development.

Considering the amount of copies games need to sell in order to just break even now there might be some validity to that. But I’ve also heard people say that’s a load of bullshit and I have no data to make an informed decision, so take that with a grain of salt.

My point is that game prices have been in contention for some time. Some say $60 is sustainable and others say they aren’t. But regardless, it seems like the latter side ultimately won out, since $70 appears to be the new industry standard. Most major studios are using that price point, and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon.

That’s actually what I find most fascinating about Switch 2 reactions. People are criticising Nintendo for things other companies already do. Charging more for games is one thing, but Nintendo are even charging for upgrades of existing titles to Switch 2 just like Sony did for PlayStation 5.

That isn’t to say that those other companies weren’t criticised for those things, they were, but Nintendo’s criticism seems a lot harsher to me. It could be for two reasons. One is that Nintendo is the biggest name in gaming. What they do carries more weight, and this price increase could be the thing that makes it normalised across the industry.

The second is that Nintendo have largely been removed from the wider gaming market for a few years. They’ve kind of just been off to the side doing their own thing. This is the first time Nintendo have followed what other publishers are doing. To put it bluntly, Nintendo created their own bubble that is now popped, and Nintendo fans within it are waking up to the harsh reality of the gaming industry in 2025.

Because the industry isn’t doing too hot is it. I mean it feels like every other week there’s new of layoffs or a company closing down. I mean look what’s going at Warner Bros for god’s sake. That’s on top of predatory company mergers consolidating the industry into a few select names, good luck with Tencent Ubisoft.

It’s a strange and unsettling time to be a gamer right now. But we’ve had those before and throughout it Nintendo was always one of the few bright spots. Even when they weren’t doing well financially, they still offered a fun, cozy experience away from a lot of the toxic predatory bullshit Sony and Microsoft found themselves in.

But now? Yeah it looks like Nintendo are finally joining back up with everyone. Which means there’s a chance they could do a lot of the same predatory anti-consumer moves their competitors are doing. And it’s not like Nintendo weren’t doing that already let’s be clear. They’ve made a ton of baffling decisions over the years that pissed off their customers. Even some of the stuff they’re being criticised for right now are justified. Like charging people for a tutorial/tech demo? Are you serious Nintendo? Come on.

But yeah, those game prices are not going over well. Granted I think a lot of that is due to the fact people are struggling financially. If this had happened 10-15 years ago, I don’t think the reaction would have been nearly as bad. People would be angry, but not to the same extent. Doing this now, when people are scrounging up anything they can to put food on the table was probably the most ill-timed decision Nintendo could have made.

Although, if I’m being honest, I think a lot of gamers are just really stingy. I see a lot of people saying things like “I’m not paying that much for this shit; I’m just going to pirate it instead.” Which is basically an admission that this isn’t about the morality of the whole thing, they just don’t want to pay for it.

Which I get. I’m not throwing shade, I’m also iffy on paying certain prices for games. Hell, £20 for a digital game is something I have to do a double check on. I completely understand the hesitation. But if you’re just going to pirate it, don’t try to take the moral high ground. You just want free shit at that point.

But do I think this price will affect Nintendo’s sales in anyway. Honestly not really. It might see a small decline, but I think most consumers will bite the bullet and buy it anyway. It’s Mario Kart with an open world, that’s going to be enticing to a lot of casual audiences. Yes, it is more expensive, but everything is more expensive, so it’s probably expected for a lot of people.

Plus, there is a bundle with the console and game that is cheaper than buying both separately. That will probably do extremely well. I learned a while ago that the internet commentariat is usually really bad when it comes to predicting anything. These people said Avatar 2 would flop and it was the biggest movie of all time.

People saying this will eat into Nintendo’s sales are basically just wishing that it would be the case. Again though, I understand why. It doing well could set a bad precedent in the industry. The rumour of GAT 6 being $100 might actually be true and that’s not a good thing.

It feels like some people are priced out of the hobby. But are they really? I mean gaming has always been a luxury hobby. It’s always cost a pretty penny. I know a lot of PC gamers like to say they save money with Steam sales but then you look at the price of gaming machines and you wonder how much money they’re actually saving. And then there’s all the other things that you need to consider like desks, space, all the accessories you need to get. I’ve been interested in PC gaming but the price to entry is too steep for me.

Consoles were always a cheaper option. That’s why they always did better. But even those got more expensive as time went on like all luxury goods did, remember the meme that was the PS3’s $599? Good times. But people still bought those consoles. Granted for PS3 it took a price drop for that to happen but it was still more expensive than the PS2 and people still paid for it.

That’s because people who are interested will save up for them. They’ll put some money away until they have enough to buy it. That’s what everyone does. Hobbies in general are costly. But when you’re interested in something you’ll find a way to afford it. Never underestimate a consumers ability to consume.

Is that healthy? No, but it is the reality we live in. And it’s not like people have to put themselves in debt. They just have to have patience and get it when they have the money for it. That’s what I do. I’m not exactly flush with disposable income but I find a way to buy a new console when I want one. I’ll wait for a bundle, or I’ll sell some older games to make the money, whatever the method if I want something, truly want it I will get it.

So no, I don’t think Nintendo are going to see a drop in sales. Maybe a little but it will likely bounce back and make bank with this thing. Mario Kart alone, even at $80, is going to sell systems. It will take people longer to save up for it, but Mario Kart is one of those properties that people will save up for. Have you seen how much Mario Kart 8 sold on Switch 1. Oh god we have to start calling it switch 1 now don’t we. That’s gonna be an adjustment.

Plus, let’s be honest, there are reasons this is happening. Inflation, the tariffs caused by the Cheeto in chief, the rising cost of game development; I know it’s easy to just call Nintendo greedy, and they are don’t get me wrong, but that isn’t the only reason.

Brushing the reasons why this is happening just to blame it on greed is not only ignorant to the full reality we live in, but also counterproductive. We’re never going to find actual solutions to this problem if we just blame it on greed alone. Greed is an undying evil within us all, you can’t defeat it by attacking it directly.

If game prices are going up, we need to find all the reasons why so we can bring them down again. If it’s the cost of making the games maybe it’s time to start lowering the budgets. It could also be that physical media is causing this. I remember a few years ago Switch 1 games were expensive than PS4 games because of the cartridges. With the Switch 2 cartridges being faster, maybe that’s increased the costs.

I mean the digital versions are cheaper so that could be a reason for it. I hate to say it, but if price really is an issue, maybe it’s time to go digital. I think that’s what Nintendo wants too because the Switch 2 has 8 times the storage of the Switch 1. I’ll still need to buy those new Micro SD cards since my old ones aren’t compatible, and God knows what those will cost, but in the long run you’ll save more money. Oh now I get it PC gamers.  

Basically, it is what it is and there’s nothing we can do about it. not unless we have a proper discussion about it, and that will never happen because are incapable of having any kind of nuanced discussions. I am convinced gamers are the dumbest human beings alive. Who would have thought the people who played kids games would be so childish.

So will anything come from this. no, not really. After a few days this whole thing will likely die down. The YouTube content creators will get money talking about this, people will get mad for maybe a week max, and we’ll all buy the system anyway. It happens every time this kind of thing happens and I’m getting kind of sick of it.

Look, this situation sucks. I don’t like the price increase at all, but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to the Switch 2. I’ll have to save up longer but I’m a patient man, and I want that new Donkey Kong game. It’s a new Donkey Kong in 3D by the Mario Odyssey team. I need that shit in my veins, but I can wait for it.

I don’t need it right away and a lot of others won’t either. But they will eventually get it. This is unfortunately the new norm, and we can either bitch about it or we can adapt. Or you could do both that’s always an option. Plus, if the price is too much, they’ll always be sales and second hand stores we can go to in the future. Oh wait Nintendo never puts things on sales. Well shit, maybe I could donate some blood.