There’s no denying the descitement of a recent console Reveal, and nintendo certinly delivered when it could to the recent graphical capabilities of the switch 2. Despite still no sign of a recent 3d Mario Game (it’s been almost eight eight years since super mario Osyssey My Pain Continue?), We Got the Open-World Mario Cards World, The Return of Donkey Kong to the Limelight, and A Pseudo-Successor to Bloodborne in the Twilight Shape. But one aspect of disclosure overshadowed everything – the price. The console itself is not necessarily – USD 449.99 is not an outrageous cost of the recent technology in 2025 – but the amount of money that will take the purchase of games and accessories to enjoy 2 fully. So is the price of admission to recent Nintendo toys really too high? Let’s look.
Many headlines were written at the price of 80 USD Mario Cards World. It is certainly opening eyes at a time when we are so accustomed to 60 USD or 70 USD, which are the norm. The reaction of the knee is a statement that it is too much, and Nintendo squeezes us to every penny, because he knows that this is one game that everyone will want during the premiere. Add another Joy-Con set if you want to play with friends and family, and this will be another 90 USD. Do you want people from around the world to join you? Nintendo Nintendo online membership is required. All this reached, and when the trailer of the disclosure was so focused on 24-gray cooperatives and the possibility of wandering around his world with friends, using the recent functions of gamechat and photographic mode, it is challenging not to think that it is a bit cynical.
Of course, the counterargument is that he presents a good quality ratio of dollars for hours of pleasure. The world will probably be the only game of Mario Kart, which will be released on Nintendo Switch 2, if Mario Kart 8 Decade Lifetime is all. Is 80 USD a reasonable amount for the game, which will probably provide many years of pleasure? In times when free games, such as Fortnite, are now the norm or have our prospects for the value of money for money have been warped? I imagine that someone who puts so many hours in Fortnite in five years, because the player Mario Kart will probably spend 80 USD on battles and skins. Yes, these examples are apples and oranges, but at a time when a cinema trip for the whole family can easily cost USD 80 for two hours of animated slope, the decade of Mario Kart does not seem so bad.
It is true that Donkey Kong Banana is mentioned at a cheaper price of USD 69.99, so maybe this is a case of Nintendo, knowing that they can ask what they want for Mario Kart, one of the most popular series of planet games. But it is a disturbing precedent, and along with Switch 2 versions of Kirby and Forgotten Land and the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom also cost 80 USD, the strategy is a bit surprising. In the case of a company such as Nintendo, which also appeared in its offer and generous, raises the question of whether other game publishers will follow in the footsteps of these overstated games. GTA 6, we all look at you. It also draws attention to how generational jumps between consoles will go in the future when it comes to the costs of modernizing older games.
PlayStation has been doing this for years, consistently offering updates worth USD 10 for some PS4 games, jumping to PS5, and the days have passed exactly this month. The price of improved Switch 2 switch games has not yet been disclosed; If it is the same as Sony fees, I doubt that there is a lot of indignation – $ 10 for an excellent number of frames per second, a larger resolution in 4K, and even additional additions to the game are not bad. But if it’s 20 or 30 USD, I’m not sure if I will invest in many of these updates.
For example, you can now buy tears of the kingdom at Amazon for 52 USD, the whole 28 USD less than the cost edition of Switch 2. Certainly the improvement will not be so much? The difference is even more acute in Great Britain, where there is currently £ 45 for the switch version, but 75 £ for switch 2. MSRP for the original version of TOTK is 70 USD, so does this mean that the update will be only USD 10? If so, why not buy a copy of the Amazon switch, and then get an update package for another USD 10, saving almost USD 20?
Of course, these are all speculation, but the only indicator we have so far are the improved versions of the Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, which are available as part of Nintendo Online + Expansion Pack membership, of which the cost is currently $ 49.99 per year. Assuming that the price will not be raised in the next two months (I would not be very surprised if at some point, Netflix currently charges $ 4 million, and the soul of my firstborn simply observing how blind love is), the improved Zelda as part of this is not the worst offer in the world. But what happens if I cancel membership? Do I have to go back to the game in 1080p, slightly Framey Zelda until I send myself? These are all the questions that require answers.
Finally, we may have the most surprising choice: the decision to load Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. This virtual exhibition littered with minigaments stuff the energy of the equipment and is something that can be expected when loading a recent console for the first time. Astro’s Play Room was free with all PlayStation 5s and was an incredibly generous platformer that recalled the brand of Nintendo inventions, as well as the notable PlayStation history, welcoming a recent addition to the console family. It seemed that Sony learned the right lessons with Nintendo and Wii Sports, while Switch 2 Welcome Tour seems to be Nintendo leaving the pages from the border of the arrogance displayed during her high-priced premiere of PS3.
I do not think that Switch 2 is a step back to Nintendo, like Sony jump to the high resolution generation. He has enough momentum and good will from the original switch, not to mention its heartfelt absurd game library to develop massively. The Switch 2 console itself looks impressive, if not a slightly sheltered improvement in what was before. The games that we have seen so far look great, and many others are certainly (Mario, Come, buddy). I just hope that Nintendo will not become too greedy and learns from the immediate reaction of the costs of some premiere offers. Nobody wants 80 USD to be a recent standard price of video games, so let’s hope that Nintendo is not becoming a reality.
Do the cost of Switch 2 and his accompanying games, improvements and peripherals completely overshadow the disclosure? Not quite for me. But it certainly did not cause that it was a widespread success that he hoped that Nintendo would be.
Simon Carda is a senior IGN editor, who can be found primarily in the open world, in the Korean cinema or despair in the state of Tottenham Hotspur and New York Jets. Follow him to BlueSky O @cardy.bsky.social.
