Nintendo Switch 2 Prices Are a Major Red Flag For the Future of Gaming

Discussions about Nintendo’s long-awaited full reveal of the Switch 2 are currently being dominated by the topic that has come to define most other aspects of modern life: how expensive everything is. 

While Nintendo didn’t reveal many price points during their Switch 2 Direct presentation, gamers soon discovered the hard numbers behind the hype. The Nintendo Switch 2 console (which is set to launch on June 5) will retail for $449.99. That price point came as quite a shock given that industry analysts previously predicted the Switch 2 likely wouldn’t cost more than $399 at launch. While the Switch 2 still costs less than the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 did when they launched for $499 in 2020, the devil is in the details. 

It’s no surprise that the Switch 2 will be less powerful than the PS5 and Xbox Series X, but some of the device’s specs feel downright odd from a value standpoint. The Switch 2 will only ship with 256GB of internal storage. That’s far less than the 1TB of storage that is quickly becoming the industry standard and made worse by the fact that the Switch 2 will no longer support MicroSDXC expansion cards (you’ll instead need to use MicroSDXC Express). So while the Switch 2 will be backward compatible with “most” Switch games (another instance of ambiguous messaging concerning the console’s functionality), you may not be able to use the cards where your Switch game data is currently stored. 

The Switch 2’s built-in LCD screen is also an odd choice given that Nintendo released an upgraded OLED version of the Switch in 2021. It’s undoubtedly a better LCD screen (and the Switch 2 will thankfully support 4K resolutions when it’s docked), but that LCD screen invites direct comparisons Nintendo would probably rather avoid. Notably, you can currently get a 256 GB Steam Deck device with an LCD screen for $399. For that price, you gain access to thousands of Steam titles, emulation/modification possibilities, and processing power and battery life that is at least comparable to the Switch 2 (based on what we know). While the Steam Deck was previously considered a premium product compared to the Switch, the Switch 2’s clearest advantage over the base model of Valve’s handheld now seems to be its library of exclusive titles. 

But if the Switch’s hardware pricing is raising eyebrows, then the console’s software pricing is simply raising ire. We recently learned that the Switch 2’s biggest launch day exclusive (Mario Kart World) will retail for $79.99. You can buy a Switch 2 bundle that includes Mario Kart World for $499.99 (assuming scalpers don’t snag them all, of course), but we’re still talking about an $80 launch game in the already controversial age of $70 new releases. While another upcoming Switch 2 exclusive (Donkey Kong Bananza) will retail for $69.99 when it launches on July 17 (which is still on the high end by Nintendo standards), Nintendo is undoubtedly preparing us for the age of $80 Mario and Zelda titles at the very least.

That’s hardly the end of the Switch 2’s pricing problems. Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour (an interactive exploration of the console’s features filled with minigames) looks like a free pack-in title similar to what Astro’s Playroom was for the PlayStation 5. However, Nintendo revealed it will actually be a “paid downloadable launch title.” The Switch 2 will offer enhanced versions of certain Nintendo Switch titles, but Nintendo has yet to reveal how much those upgrades will cost. Even the Switch 2’s enhanced native voice chat functionality (a feature that the original Switch honestly should have launched with) will only be free until March 31, 2026. After that, it will become part of a premium Nintendo Switch Online membership program. 

Through all of this, Nintendo is preparing to launch the Switch 2 with one of the weakest lineups of true exclusives we’ve ever seen from a sheer quantity standpoint. Outside of the $80 Mario Kart World, the “premium” Welcome Tour, and the upgraded versions of Nintendo Switch titles, the only true exclusive the Switch 2 will receive at launch is Konami’s survival title Survival Kids. Additional exciting exclusives are coming later in 2025 and throughout 2026, but if Nintendo is going to bring their console prices closer to their competitors’ standards without also offering comparable hardware upgrades, perhaps they should also offer more than one truly notable launch game at an inflated price point. 

While industry analysts and insiders have warned us that the age of the $70 game is inevitable, given the rising costs of development, Nintendo seems ready to blow right past all of that. Like 2K Games before them, Nintendo seems to be selling us on the idea that their premium price comes with a premium product. It’s the same argument that has led many to predict that Grand Theft Auto 6 may cost as much as $100 when it launches later this year.

Of course GTA 6 reportedly cost an absurd $1 billion+ to develop. Does anyone really believe that Mario Kart World was so much more expensive to develop than Mario Kart 8 Deluxe that Nintendo simply had to raise its price by $20? For that matter, does Mario Kart World really look more “premium” than the $70 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which was released less than two years ago? 

The fact of the matter is that these Nintendo Switch 2 price points are about familiarity rather than familiar products. Nintendo had enough sense not to reveal those prices during their Switch 2 presentation, but make no mistake that they are confident that most people who want a Nintendo Switch 2 and Mario Kart World will buy them at these price points. Right now the only standard price point in gaming seems to be “what we can get away with.”

Perhaps this will all blow up in Nintendo’s face. As the Wii U showed, they’re not exactly above overestimating the desire for a follow-up to one of their most popular consoles. Maybe people will choose to buy two or three indie games instead of one Nintendo title. Maybe they’ll consider the versatile Steam Deck as an alternative gift this upcoming holiday season. Maybe gaming’s biggest studios will have to go back to the drawing board and find a solution other than “charge more until you can’t” at a time when disposable income simply isn’t keeping up with rising costs. 

That probably won’t happen though. The far more likely scenario is that people will simply choose to buy fewer games in a given year, and one of those games will likely be the $80 Mario Kart World, exclusive to the $450 Nintendo Switch 2.

Truth be told, I’m as excited to play that game on that console as much as anyone else. But at a time when gaming’s established, top-end studios are dictating premium prices without much rhyme or reason, you can’t help but wonder what will happen to an unbalanced industry that has long been teetering at the tipping point of a collapse.

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