Does the Price of the Switch 2 Overshadow Its Reveal?

There’s nary denying the excitement of a caller console reveal, and Nintendo surely delivered erstwhile it came to the caller graphical capabilities of the Switch 2. Despite inactive nary motion of a caller 3D Mario crippled (it’s been astir 8 years since Super Mario Odyssey, wherefore indispensable my symptom continue?), we got the open-world Mario Kart World, the instrumentality of Donkey Kong to the limelight, and a pseudo-successor to Bloodborne successful the signifier of The Duskbloods. But 1 facet of the uncover has overshadowed everything – the price. Not needfully conscionable the console itself – $449.99 isn’t an outrageous outgo for a portion of caller exertion successful 2025 – but the magnitude of wealth it volition instrumentality to bargain the games and accessories to bask Switch 2 to its fullest. So is the terms of admittance to Nintendo’s caller toys truly excessively high? Let’s instrumentality a look.

Many headlines person been written astir the $80 terms tag of Mario Kart World. It’s surely an eye-opener successful an property erstwhile we’re truthful utilized to $60 oregon $70 being the norm. The knee-jerk absorption is to accidental that it’s excessively overmuch and Nintendo is squeezing america for each penny arsenic it knows it’s the 1 crippled everyone volition privation astatine launch. Throw successful different acceptable of joy-con if you privation to play with friends and household and that’ll beryllium different $90. Want radical from crossed the satellite to articulation you? A non-inexpensive Nintendo Online rank is required. It each tots up and erstwhile the uncover trailer was truthful focused connected 24-player co-op and the quality to roam astir its satellite with friends, taking vantage of the caller GameChat and photograph mode features, it’s hard not to deliberation it's each a spot cynical.

Of course, the counterargument is that it presents bully worth for wealth successful presumption of dollars to hours of enjoyment. World volition apt beryllium the lone Mario Kart crippled to beryllium released connected the Nintendo Switch 2 if Mario Kart 8’s decade-long beingness is thing to spell by. Is $80 a tenable magnitude to complaint for a crippled that volition apt supply galore years of enjoyment? In an property wherever free-to-play games specified arsenic Fortnite are present the norm, person our perspectives of worth for wealth been skewed? I ideate idiosyncratic who puts arsenic galore hours into Fortnite implicit a five-year play arsenic a Mario Kart subordinate volition apt walk $80 connected conflict passes and skins. Yes, these examples are apples and oranges, but successful a clip erstwhile a cinema travel for the full household tin easy outgo $80 for 2 hours of animated slop, a decennary of Mario Kart doesn’t look excessively bad.

Granted, Donkey Kong Bananza is listed astatine a cheaper $69.99 price, truthful possibly this is simply a lawsuit of Nintendo knowing they tin inquire what they privation for Mario Kart, 1 of the planet’s astir fashionable crippled series. But it does acceptable a worrying precedent, and with the Switch 2 versions of Kirby and the Forgotten Land and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom some besides costing $80, the strategy is simply a small baffling. For a institution similar Nintendo, which has besides appeared player-first and generous successful its offerings, it raises the question of whether different crippled publishers volition travel successful the footsteps of these inflated crippled prices. GTA 6, we’re each looking astatine you. It besides turns the attraction to however generational leaps betwixt consoles volition spell successful the aboriginal erstwhile it comes to the outgo of upgrading older games.

PlayStation has been doing this for years, consistently offering $10 upgrades to immoderate of its PS4 games making the leap to PS5, with Days Gone doing precisely that aboriginal this month. The terms for enhanced versions of Switch games connected the Switch 2 is yet to beryllium revealed though; if it’s the aforesaid arsenic Sony charges past I uncertainty there’ll beryllium overmuch of an outcry – $10 for a superior framework rate, greater solution successful 4K, and adjacent other gameplay additions isn’t a atrocious deal. But if it’s $20 oregon $30, I’m not definite I’ll beryllium investing successful galore of these upgrades.

For example, you tin presently bargain Tears of the Kingdom connected Amazon for $52, a full $28 little than the Switch 2 variation volition cost. Surely the upgrade won’t beryllium rather that much? The quality is adjacent starker successful the UK, wherever it’s presently £45 for the Switch version, but £75 for Switch 2. The MSRP for the archetypal Switch mentation of TOTK is $70, truthful does that mean the upgrade volition beryllium conscionable $10? If that’s the case, wherefore not conscionable bargain a Switch transcript from Amazon and past get the upgrade battalion for different $10, redeeming yourself astir $20 successful the process?

Of course, this is each speculation but the lone indicator we person truthful acold is the enhanced versions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom being disposable arsenic portion of a Nintendo Online + Expansion Pack membership, of which the outgo is presently $49.99 a year. Assuming that the terms doesn’t get raised successful the adjacent 2 months (I wouldn’t beryllium hugely amazed if it does astatine immoderate constituent though, Netflix presently charges maine $4 cardinal dollars and the psyche of my firstborn conscionable to ticker Love is Blind), an upgraded Zelda arsenic portion of that isn’t the worst woody successful the world. But what happens if I cancel my membership? Do I person to spell backmost to playing 1080p, somewhat framey Zelda until I resub? These are each questions that request answering.

Finally, we person possibly the astir baffling prime of all: the determination to complaint for Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. This virtual accumulation littered with minigames reeks of hardware pack-in vigor and is the benignant of happening you’d expect to beryllium greeted with erstwhile loading a caller console up for the archetypal time. Astro’s Playroom came escaped with each PlayStation 5s and was an incredibly generous platformer that some evoked Nintendo’s marque of invention and celebrated PlayStation past portion welcoming the caller summation to its console family. It felt similar Sony learned the close lessons from Nintendo and Wii Sports, whereas Switch 2 Welcome Tour feels similar Nintendo taking pages retired of the borderline arrogance Sony displayed during its costly PS3 launch.

I don’t deliberation the Switch 2 volition beryllium a measurement backward for Nintendo similar Sony’s leap into the high-definition procreation was though. It has capable guardant momentum and goodwill from the archetypal Switch, not to notation its frankly absurd room of games, to falter massively. The Switch 2 console itself looks similar an awesome if not somewhat harmless betterment connected what’s travel before. The games we’ve seen truthful acold mostly look large too, with galore much to travel I’m definite (Mario, travel on, mate). I conscionable anticipation Nintendo doesn’t get excessively greedy and learns from the instant backlash of the outgo of immoderate of its motorboat offerings. No 1 wants $80 to beryllium the caller modular terms of video games, truthful let’s anticipation Nintendo doesn’t marque that a reality.

Does the outgo of the Switch 2 and its accompanying games, upgrades, and peripherals wholly overshadow the reveal? Not rather for me. But it surely didn’t effect successful it being the cosmopolitan occurrence that Nintendo hoped it would be.

Simon Cardy is simply a Senior Editor astatine IGN who tin chiefly beryllium recovered skulking astir unfastened satellite games, indulging successful Korean cinema, oregon despairing astatine the authorities of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him connected Bluesky astatine @cardy.bsky.social.