Retail pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 will begin on April 24, 2025. At launch, the price for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will remain as announced on April 2 at $449.99, and the Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle will remain as announced…
Prices for accessories will be increasing to compensate for tariffs.
It’s only “outrageously” priced compared to its predecessor, and only if you don’t think about it too much. Considering under the hood it’s basically a phone or tablet, it’s very fairly priced considering the specs.
The Switch 1 is basically a tablet from 2017 being sold for $300. It never received a price drop despite it using 8 year old technology, it actually received a price increase with the OLED model. An iPad 5th Gen from 2017 sells for $50 on eBay, for comparison purposes. Not like for like as that has a way higher res screen and less RAM, but it’s fairly close.
As it’s a new chip with an expected 10 year lifespan, it’s likely on 3nm process which means it has to fight for manufacturing time with TSMC because they’re the only ones who can fab that sort of chip.
All that, plus the expectation that they will be absorbing some tariff costs for now means it will likely never see a price drop, and honestly doesn’t seem that bad in terms of pricing. It’s the cheapest console on the market with the exception of the very underpowered and useless Series S, and it’s competitively priced in terms of the tech under the hood.
So if it will be the cheapest console of its generation, is already cheaper than its ancient competition, is cheaper than a mid range GPU by itself, and is cheaper or comparably priced with similarly specced devices, then how is it so overpriced?
The only argument I’ve heard yet has been “consoles are sold at a loss because the games are expensive” but that hasn’t been true for the industry since the PS4 era, and it’s literally never been true for Nintendo consoles, they always make a profit right out of the gate. So I honestly don’t get it.
I agree with most of what you said, I don’t think the price is as high as people make it out to be, but:
So if it will be the cheapest console of its generation
Cheapest version of the Steam Deck is still cheaper for very comparable hardware, and while generations don’t align I think the Deck is closer to the Switch 2 than to the switch 1, and a Deck 2 would be miles ahead of a switch 2.
While the Switch 2 has better hardware, that’s only a tiny piece of the value proposition. The Deck is leagues better in value. I guarantee it will be able to play new release games for another 10 years. You can’t say that for the Switch 2. It won’t be able to play all of the new releases, sure, but thousands more than the Switch 2.
And that’s not to mention the tens of thousands of games the Deck can play now that the Switch 2 will never be able to play.
The truth is that hype and FOMO are powerful drugs that push gamers to constantly shell out their hard earned money to chase the newest things.
And, to an extent, I get it. There is something to be said about playing games when they come out and experiencing that moment with other gamers. There’s a sort of fraternal feeling about it.
But if you can step back from that and be patient, you can play all the games you have time for and not play into their trap.
Who would I be astroturfing for? You can’t just point at anybody you disagree with and go “astroturfing” as if it’s a magical incantation that makes them go away. A lot of people are critical of Nintendo, I know you know that. My stance should not be all that surprising even if you disagree with it.
I just think Nintendo charges way too much for their games and they charge too much for hardware that is long in the tooth at launch. I get it, the only way to play a Nintendo game is on their hardware and they’re so good they justify the cost. I’ve heard theargument, I respect it, But ultimately I just think the prices are ridiculous either way.
The reason I think it’s astroturfing is because there’s a lot of people who are critical of Nintendo, while simultaneously giving Sony and Microsoft a free pass for doing the exact same thing, or even just making things up outright to bash Nintendo, like your claims that it’s ‘hardware that is long in the tooth at launch.’
… It’s using modern hardware, with specs that are entirely reasonable for being a handheld. The fuck are you expecting, a ps6 that you stick in your pocket for $200?
Then what exactly are you expecting?
The market for new consoles is currently:
Switch 2: $449
Xbox Series S: $299, less resolution/less fps, less powerful than the switch 2
Xbox Series X: $499, more expensive, same resolution/fps, more powerful (tflops) than switch 2, 15.7x the size
PS5: $499, more expensive, same resolution, more fps, more powerful (tflops) than switch 2 but less so than series x, 24x the size
The switch 2 was positioned, and announced, as a portable console capable of similar power levels as one console generation ago, and it overdelivered- the common comparison is that it’s more powerful than a PS4. For a handheld, that is absurdly good, and the price is certainly in line with the rest of the market. The literal only outlier is the Series S being significantly cheaper, which tracks considering the switch 2 is more powerful than it, while being a handheld.
PS5 digital - which is exactly the same but no disc drive - is $400. I don’t know why you left that out except…well yeah it’s obvious why. Because it’s cheaper than a switch 2.
I can also guarantee you you’ll get a Series X for $450 before you’ll get a switch 2 for that price, which will inevitably be scalped to hell for months to come. So the switch 2 will be the 3rd most expensive console on the market behind the PS5 Pro and the Xbox Series X at best, likely just the PS5 pro.
Also: neither Sony nor Microsoft charges $80 for a standard edition game. And let me tell you, I hate Microsoft in particular so it chaps my ass to give them any credit.
Series S is $299 here, unless you’re getting used.
PS5 digital is hardly apples to oranges, considering the Switch 2 isn’t offering a cartridgeless version.
I also like your arguement about the switch 2 somehow being lesser because it’s going to get scalped, very pointedly ignoring the PS5-shaped scalper elephant in the window. I guess I spoke too soon in the other post- you didn’t manage to delete all examples of cutting Sony and MS a break, you’ve got one right here!
As for the price, sony and microsoft charge $70 for a standard edition game, but also often incomplete and requiring extra money from ‘DLC’ or ‘premium/deluxe’ editions to actually be properly playable/have the baseline plot/lore, which nintendo doesn’t do.
Have you seen the specs of the switch 2? Why does Nintendo keep getting away with charging premium for dated hardware with mediocre specs? I get the games are good but come on
The hardware really isn’t dated though. Remember this is a handheld, not a console, and it’s using a newly designed custom Nvidia chip. Mainstream audiences aren’t going to be deeply analyzing the specs. They’re just going to look at the games. And the games look very good and are running at 4K.
Indeed I should have said “up to 4K” and of course that is usually going to require using Nvidia’s excellent DLSS tech. But at the end of the day, the results are a visual treat. Again, mainstream consumers don’t think about stuff like this. It’s a solid upgrade over Switch. Thing is going to sell out instantly and be hard to get for a year just like the original regardless of what we think.
people buy them for the motion sensors and the games. the tech is irrelevant. The NES was ancient tech when it came out.
Most of the games on PS are too hard and/or inappropriate for children.
You’re gonna have a very hard time convincing me that even a proportionality of switch owners bought it for the motion sensors. Let’s see some numbers.
I also don’t understand how you can say that and “the tech is irrelevant“ in the same comment? Those two ideas bump.
If your argument is “Nintendo is for kids“ I think you’re going to have a hard time selling me on that one too. “PS is too hard and inappropriate for children” is definitely a novel argument I’ll give you that.
No the greatest strength Nintendo has is its first party library. Full stop. Want to play Mario? Gotta have a Nintendo. Want to play Zelda? Still Nintendo. Etc
It’s the fault of people that bought the Switch 1 from scalpers. It basically showed to Nintendo that people were willing to pay a lot more and that they could’ve charged a lot more. The Switch 2 will also be in short supply and Nintendo rather wants that a buyer pays them $500 than a scalper.
It’s amazing that this made you all forget how outrageously priced the switch 2 was to begin with.
It’s only “outrageously” priced compared to its predecessor, and only if you don’t think about it too much. Considering under the hood it’s basically a phone or tablet, it’s very fairly priced considering the specs.
The Switch 1 is basically a tablet from 2017 being sold for $300. It never received a price drop despite it using 8 year old technology, it actually received a price increase with the OLED model. An iPad 5th Gen from 2017 sells for $50 on eBay, for comparison purposes. Not like for like as that has a way higher res screen and less RAM, but it’s fairly close.
As it’s a new chip with an expected 10 year lifespan, it’s likely on 3nm process which means it has to fight for manufacturing time with TSMC because they’re the only ones who can fab that sort of chip.
All that, plus the expectation that they will be absorbing some tariff costs for now means it will likely never see a price drop, and honestly doesn’t seem that bad in terms of pricing. It’s the cheapest console on the market with the exception of the very underpowered and useless Series S, and it’s competitively priced in terms of the tech under the hood.
So if it will be the cheapest console of its generation, is already cheaper than its ancient competition, is cheaper than a mid range GPU by itself, and is cheaper or comparably priced with similarly specced devices, then how is it so overpriced?
The only argument I’ve heard yet has been “consoles are sold at a loss because the games are expensive” but that hasn’t been true for the industry since the PS4 era, and it’s literally never been true for Nintendo consoles, they always make a profit right out of the gate. So I honestly don’t get it.
I agree with most of what you said, I don’t think the price is as high as people make it out to be, but:
Cheapest version of the Steam Deck is still cheaper for very comparable hardware, and while generations don’t align I think the Deck is closer to the Switch 2 than to the switch 1, and a Deck 2 would be miles ahead of a switch 2.
While the Switch 2 has better hardware, that’s only a tiny piece of the value proposition. The Deck is leagues better in value. I guarantee it will be able to play new release games for another 10 years. You can’t say that for the Switch 2. It won’t be able to play all of the new releases, sure, but thousands more than the Switch 2.
And that’s not to mention the tens of thousands of games the Deck can play now that the Switch 2 will never be able to play.
The truth is that hype and FOMO are powerful drugs that push gamers to constantly shell out their hard earned money to chase the newest things.
And, to an extent, I get it. There is something to be said about playing games when they come out and experiencing that moment with other gamers. There’s a sort of fraternal feeling about it.
But if you can step back from that and be patient, you can play all the games you have time for and not play into their trap.
Honestly I just have to wonder if it’s not astroturfing, or the results of astroturfing.
Who would I be astroturfing for? You can’t just point at anybody you disagree with and go “astroturfing” as if it’s a magical incantation that makes them go away. A lot of people are critical of Nintendo, I know you know that. My stance should not be all that surprising even if you disagree with it.
I just think Nintendo charges way too much for their games and they charge too much for hardware that is long in the tooth at launch. I get it, the only way to play a Nintendo game is on their hardware and they’re so good they justify the cost. I’ve heard theargument, I respect it, But ultimately I just think the prices are ridiculous either way.
The reason I think it’s astroturfing is because there’s a lot of people who are critical of Nintendo, while simultaneously giving Sony and Microsoft a free pass for doing the exact same thing, or even just making things up outright to bash Nintendo, like your claims that it’s ‘hardware that is long in the tooth at launch.’
Where did I give them a free pass? Show me
I can’t, because you went and deleted it lmaooooo
I haven’t done a comment purge in almost a week so you are lying. Unless you’ve stalked me for almost a week?
Lmao outrageously priced. It’s higher than it was, yes, but I remember the PS3 announcement.
Now THAT was outrageously priced!
$950 for the 60gb model after inflation!
For how long in the tooth the hardware is/how dated the specs are? Yes, outrageously priced.
… It’s using modern hardware, with specs that are entirely reasonable for being a handheld. The fuck are you expecting, a ps6 that you stick in your pocket for $200?
that’s outrageous example request makes it clear you’re not actually entertaining any sort of counter argument
Then what exactly are you expecting? The market for new consoles is currently:
Switch 2: $449
Xbox Series S: $299, less resolution/less fps, less powerful than the switch 2
Xbox Series X: $499, more expensive, same resolution/fps, more powerful (tflops) than switch 2, 15.7x the size
PS5: $499, more expensive, same resolution, more fps, more powerful (tflops) than switch 2 but less so than series x, 24x the size
The switch 2 was positioned, and announced, as a portable console capable of similar power levels as one console generation ago, and it overdelivered- the common comparison is that it’s more powerful than a PS4. For a handheld, that is absurdly good, and the price is certainly in line with the rest of the market. The literal only outlier is the Series S being significantly cheaper, which tracks considering the switch 2 is more powerful than it, while being a handheld.
I don’t where you are but in the US:
Switch 2 will be $450
Xbox Series S is $250, not $300
PS5 digital - which is exactly the same but no disc drive - is $400. I don’t know why you left that out except…well yeah it’s obvious why. Because it’s cheaper than a switch 2.
I can also guarantee you you’ll get a Series X for $450 before you’ll get a switch 2 for that price, which will inevitably be scalped to hell for months to come. So the switch 2 will be the 3rd most expensive console on the market behind the PS5 Pro and the Xbox Series X at best, likely just the PS5 pro.
Also: neither Sony nor Microsoft charges $80 for a standard edition game. And let me tell you, I hate Microsoft in particular so it chaps my ass to give them any credit.
Series S is $299 here, unless you’re getting used. PS5 digital is hardly apples to oranges, considering the Switch 2 isn’t offering a cartridgeless version.
I also like your arguement about the switch 2 somehow being lesser because it’s going to get scalped, very pointedly ignoring the PS5-shaped scalper elephant in the window. I guess I spoke too soon in the other post- you didn’t manage to delete all examples of cutting Sony and MS a break, you’ve got one right here!
As for the price, sony and microsoft charge $70 for a standard edition game, but also often incomplete and requiring extra money from ‘DLC’ or ‘premium/deluxe’ editions to actually be properly playable/have the baseline plot/lore, which nintendo doesn’t do.
Where is “here”?
The PS5 digital omission was massive and you know it.
deleted by creator
$50 in 2007 is $77.62 in 2025. The outrageous thing is how little the working class has been given to compensate for it.
I don’t think $500 for a Switch 2 and Mario Kart World is outrageous at all.
Have you seen the specs of the switch 2? Why does Nintendo keep getting away with charging premium for dated hardware with mediocre specs? I get the games are good but come on
The hardware really isn’t dated though. Remember this is a handheld, not a console, and it’s using a newly designed custom Nvidia chip. Mainstream audiences aren’t going to be deeply analyzing the specs. They’re just going to look at the games. And the games look very good and are running at 4K.
I guarantee you anything that is “4K“ on Nintendo requires a lot of caveats
Indeed I should have said “up to 4K” and of course that is usually going to require using Nvidia’s excellent DLSS tech. But at the end of the day, the results are a visual treat. Again, mainstream consumers don’t think about stuff like this. It’s a solid upgrade over Switch. Thing is going to sell out instantly and be hard to get for a year just like the original regardless of what we think.
Oh so you don’t like it when other people seem to pull arguments out of their ass but then it’s ok when you go ahead and do it?
Ok, please describe your playtesting experience with 4K games on Switch 2.
What on earth are you referencing and what’s with all the hostility? Ease off the gas dude
Just an FYI, Sony is raising the price of the PS5.
I knew that. Is this supposed to be some sort of trap to show I’m inconsistent or something?
people buy them for the motion sensors and the games. the tech is irrelevant. The NES was ancient tech when it came out. Most of the games on PS are too hard and/or inappropriate for children.
You’re gonna have a very hard time convincing me that even a proportionality of switch owners bought it for the motion sensors. Let’s see some numbers.
I also don’t understand how you can say that and “the tech is irrelevant“ in the same comment? Those two ideas bump.
If your argument is “Nintendo is for kids“ I think you’re going to have a hard time selling me on that one too. “PS is too hard and inappropriate for children” is definitely a novel argument I’ll give you that.
No the greatest strength Nintendo has is its first party library. Full stop. Want to play Mario? Gotta have a Nintendo. Want to play Zelda? Still Nintendo. Etc
It’s the fault of people that bought the Switch 1 from scalpers. It basically showed to Nintendo that people were willing to pay a lot more and that they could’ve charged a lot more. The Switch 2 will also be in short supply and Nintendo rather wants that a buyer pays them $500 than a scalper.
I think I will seek other means to play their games