Junior Brenden Petillo has been waiting for the reveal of the new Nintendo Switch 2 console for a very long time, as have many other die-hard fans. The upgraded console was revealed on April 2nd, and as with every other new console released by Nintendo, fans have spent endless hours online debating it.
“For some reason, I feel like I’m the only person who’s planning on purchasing [it],” said Petillo.
The topic has stirred up many conversations on daily Reddit posts and YouTube reaction videos. Many of them were filled with wave after wave of comments with fans declaring the pricing to be unfair, and pinning Nintendo as a company that is “all about greed.”
The Wii U and the original Nintendo Switch, which were released in 2012 and 2017, respectively, both had the same price of $300. The Nintendo Switch 2 will have a price tag of $450.
Many reviewers have complained that the price is not worth it for a console that is 25% larger than its predecessor.
Junior and member of Prospect’s ESports team, Bryan Ramirez, hasn’t shown much interest in purchasing the new console.
“It’s a ripoff,” Ramirez said. “I honestly think it’s better to just stick with a normal Switch console.”
The Switch 2 is scheduled to release on June 5th, with Nintendo strategically putting it on the market around the beginning of summer to ensure students getting out of school will make more time for the purchase.
Its positives include the screen being 4 K, with many games running at 120 frames per second. Compared to the Switch 1, which is 1080p and runs at a maximum of 60 frames per second.
Furthering the comparisons, the exclusive games released alongside it will be $80 for digital copies and $90 for physical ones. Compared to the original Nintendo Switch’s games, which used to be $70 for digital and $80 for physical.
Of course, the pricing does depend on the scale and size of the game, but it is mainly the triple-A titles that have been affected by an increase in price, such as Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong: Bananza, and Kirby Air Riders.
The president of Nintendo, Doug Spencer Bowser, made a statement in a CNBC interview talking about the reason for these additional expenses.
“We look at every game and experience and determine what we believe is the right price point based on that experience,” Bowser said. “We believe, based on the depth of the play and the repeatability of the play over time, the pricing we announced is the right pricing.”
Fans have utilized this interview clip specifically in their outcry – they think Nintendo covers up greed with weak excuses.
“Code word is: stop telling us to lower [the price],” Petillo said.
Many fans have speculated that the price is due to the recent worldwide tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. Ramirez agrees
“I feel like it [should] cost around $300, but I feel like the tariffs have raised it to around $450,” Ramierez said.
However, according to Bowser, the tariffs have not been the reason for the increased price.
“We didn’t consider tariffs into that equation. We felt like that was going to be the right price point for our consumers and the right value proposition, if you will, for the device that we’re creating.”
It was later confirmed that the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 was not affected by the 24% tariffs on Japan. Although it has been confirmed that the price of the console will not change, a report from Nintendo on April 2 stated that the price of the system’s Pro Controller will increase from $80 to $85. They also stated that the price for the console’s dock will increase from $110 to $120.
The tariffs have already been affecting the pre-order dates, with orders being backlogged past their intended April 4th date. On April 24th, Nintendo reopened the ordering system with limited availability ahead of the console’s widespread release.
Nintendo will also be charging $10 for the game “Welcome Tour.” This game is meant to show the user the base functions of the Nintendo Switch 2, demonstrate what upgrades it has compared to the first one, and present what flashy features have been added.
The game draws comparisons to “The Playroom” which is a game given for free on the PlayStation 4 that also shows the consumer what features that console has.
The price tag on “Welcome Tour” has brought up some concerns from many fans. They claim that it should be free, considering that the game is merely a tech showcase. Some say that they miss the Wii U era, where they “couldn’t afford charging this much.”
Petillo is one of those fans who are not pleased at all.
“They’re charging ten bucks for a literal instruction manual that I can just Google,” Petillo said.
Additionally, a membership for Nintendo Online will also be required to access the new voice chat features that are being implemented on the console. Fans have made statements that consider this outrageous and unfair. Some are calling it “A pay-to-use service for a button.”
“It’s literally Discord. The part where they show the footage of other players on screen share looks choppy as heck,” Petillo said.
Many of the showcases featuring the video chat have a significant decrease in performance and frame rate, and it makes fans wonder why Nintendo would even present it in such a state
The standard for modern games has been that most consoles should achieve 60 frames per second without many performance issues. When a player shares their screen on the Switch 2, the gameplay runs at nearly 10-15 frames per second, causing the footage to look laggy.
With all the discourse and change surrounding the release, it is difficult to say what the launch day of the switch will be like. Analysts at Bloomberg predict that the release will have nearly six to eight million units ready, with an initial prediction of 17 million units sold. DFC, a provider of industrial analysis and market forecasting, has since lowered this prediction to 15 million units due to pricing concerns.
Regardless, the Nintendo Switch 2 is still expected to sell incredibly well with it potentially being one of the biggest release dates for a Nintendo console. While fans express their complaints, it still seems they will buy a Nintendo console due to their passion for the games and the company as a whole.
