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Nintendo Switch 2 Cheaper Games
April 10, 2025
Hey, you saw the Nintendo Switch 2 presentation last week, right?
Let’s get the good news out of the way: Nintendo Switch 2 is absolutely the “Switch Pro” that the general fanbase has clamored for in the past, with better technical specs, a better screen resolutions up to 4K, better hardware, built-in voice/video chat functionality, and the ability to use both Joy Cons as a computer mouse. In more ways than one, Switch 2 is a stronger console, despite the dumb name. Do we need all of these features? No, but it will make for a slightly cooler experience.
There’s also an exciting lineup of new games coming to the console, including first-party games like Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Kirby Air Riders, Drag x Drive, and Switch 2 versions of some preexisting games. It’s shaping up to be an exciting new chapter in the Nintendo Switch lineup, and I can’t wait to play some of these new titles!
But that’s where the good news ends because there’s a LOT of things wrong with this premium game console. I could talk about how the voice/video chat can fall on its face due to Nintendo’s poor track record of online connectivity, or how most people may not have a high-resolution television to justify playing games in 4K, but I need to vent about those buttass prices (All prices discussed will be in United States Dollars).
The Nintendo Switch 2 will cost $450, and when you compare that to the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5, they both launched at a $500 price tag. That’s a steeper price compared to the Nintendo Switch (1) starting at $300, but that’s just the game console! Surely, the video games will be around the same price as the Switch 1 games—
What.
WHAT?
80 DOLLARS?? FOR A VIDEO GAME?
80 DOLLARS FOR A MARIO KART GAME?!
Dude! What the fuck?!
What’s worse is that, reportedly, game prices for physical copies could cost more than digital copies. There’s also a version of a physical game cartridge that’s functionally a game key: plug in the cartridge into your Switch 2, and it will download the game data via the internet. The game data is not stored in the cartridge, so if you don’t have an internet connection or enough storage space to download it, then too bad! This actively sucks because the big reason why I collected Switch cartridges, despite their barebones packaging, is that it helps me save on storage space on the console itself.
However, the Switch 2’s game key cards can be traded and sold like regular game cartridges because the key codes will not be tied to a particular user’s game console. Despite new reports emerging about these details, there’s still lots of confusion about how the key cards work and how much they will be priced compared to digital versions. So far, it’s not looking good for game preservationists or physical game collectors.
Nintendo’s shift to game key cards is going to incentivize people to buy more games digitally, which I wouldn’t mind if Nintendo keeps the eShop open indefinitely on the Switch family of systems. However, knowing how Nintendo wouldn’t hesitate to shut down the online storefronts for the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS if they get old enough makes me worry that Nintendo will do the same for the Switch consoles in the future. That’s not to say that other digital storefronts like Steam will be indestructible, too—or be reliable enough to preserve digital game listings—but companies like Nintendo have had a poor track record on supporting video game preservation in recent memory.
Even if you put the preservation risk aside, how is anyone gonna afford these Switch 2 games?! Perhaps, at best, I can save up enough money for the Switch 2 and at least one or two of my most anticipated new games on the console, but that’s gonna be it. I can’t buy every brand-new game that Nintendo releases if they’re gonna be $70 to $80. Hell, I already felt this as early as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the first Nintendo Switch game priced at $70, and I’m glad I skipped it because my fatigue with open-world games made me feel like it wasn’t worth my time. I also skipped out on almost everything releasing on the Xbox Series X and the Playstation 5 because most of their games were already on that $70 price track, but to see Nintendo adopt the same practice and take it $10 further is an insulting kick in the face.
The pricing for Donkey Kong Bananza is not any better.
And it especially feels like an insult now that Motherfucker Trump is imposing tariffs on all foreign goods that the United States imports, with some countries getting higher tariffs than others. Most people are specifically blaming this asshat president for driving up the costs of everything in the USA because of these needless tariffs, including the Switch 2, which had preorders postponed due to the newly introduced tariffs. Most of Nintendo’s fanbase are casual fans, myself included, and it’ll be extremely demoralizing to be priced out of the new Triple-A games that I wanted to play. Many fans were so furious about these price hikes that they took out their frustration on the live comment feed during Nintendo’s gameplay showcase livestreams by chanting “drop the price.”
In addition to that, most fans are blaming Trump’s recent tariffs on the increased price of the Switch 2, but that will impact more than just the Switch 2. However, it’s important to know that the console and its games were priced that way BEFORE the tariffs, so the timing is purely coincidental. Sure, Trump’s tariffs are going to impact the production/distribution of the Switch 2, and the stagnating wages in the US are not gonna make it easy for people to buy it, but I don’t think those are the sole reasons why the Switch 2’s prices are like that.
Corporate Greed
J. Stephanie Sterling, in her true cynical yet sagely fashion, understands that this can all amount to plain ol’ greed. In her video about Nintendo’s ghastly price hikes, Steph mentions this when comparing Nintendo’s price hikes with Take-Two’s idea for pricing Grand Theft Auto 6 at $100:
I’d expect that sort of move from a disgusting sleaze pit of a company like Take-Two, but Nintendo? Well, I guess if nothing else, it’s a hearty reminder that game corporations aren’t your friend, and there is, in fact, no such thing as a good one.
— J. Stephanie Sterling, Jimquisition
She’s right, you know. Video game publishing companies like Ubisoft, Activision, and—in this case—Take-Two have absolutely engaged in practices that overvalue the games they release or prey on people’s fear of missing out. Whether it’s preorder bonuses, DLC, premium digital editions, collectors editions, enhanced upgrade versions, or microtransactions. All of this Triple-A bullshit, and more, is all over the damn place on digital storefronts. Hell, Steph recently made a video about game publishers making the headass decision to charge extra to play a game a few days before its launch date. Triple-A companies will do ANYTHING to get more money out of gamers, and it’s sickening.
Nintendo does not engage in every anti-consumer practice as overtly (or as often) as other game publishers, but they are not immune to it. They’re also not immune to parroting hollow responses such as this quote from Nintendo of America’s VP, Bill Trinen, when asked about the pricing:
...what I would say is that we just look at each individual game and we look at the content and the value of that game, and then we say, "what is the right price for the value of this entertainment?"
— Bill Trinen, IGN interview
He said this three times in an interview with IGN recently, so if Bill’s only response to Nintendo’s overzealous pricing is a question, then that does not instill confidence. Well, can everyone buy this fancy game console if The Price Is Right? What does that mean, Bill? Do you care about your company’s fanbase, or are you being an entitled prick by accepting these steep prices?? Is he just as clueless as the rest of us?
Maybe we should be asking Nintendo of America’s president, Doug Bowser, instead:
What you see right there is variable pricing. We’ll look at each game, really look at the development that’s gone into the game, the breadth and depth of the gameplay, if you will, the durability over time and the repeatability of gameplay experiences.
Those are all factors, and there’s many more that go into consideration of what is the right price point for the game. So I think you can anticipate that there will be variable pricing, and we haven’t set a benchmark.
I think it’s less about representing the industry … this is really about Nintendo deciding the right thing to do for its products or what the pricing should be for its products overall.
— Doug Bowser, Washington Post interview
…never mind, then. Sure, Nintendo is mostly doing their own thing, but giving the greenlight to price games at $80 is going to enable other companies to do the same, especially those who are scummier than Nintendo. It will happen. Trust. That will not do any good for anyone except for the corporations that produce their overpriced games. Doug’s statement is also vague because “doing the right thing” could be interpreted as Nintendo doing what’s right for their customer base or doing what’s right for themselves only.
“Fair” Cost
The actual cost it takes to make such a high-quality Triple-A game is irrelevant when it becomes so overpriced that most people’s first response to buying it is apprehension, regardless of context, regardless of the state of the economy, and regardless of the company’s justification. As Steph Sterling famously quoted more than once in her lifetime: “I’ll talk about the cost of making games as soon as the industry addresses the cost of paying executives.”
Who’s gonna have the money to pay for the Switch 2 and its games? Diehard fans, at least? Maybe those with way too much disposable income? How about literally anyone who can afford it except for the poorest class of people? One part of Nintendo’s target audience is children and families, so I can only imagine how many parents will scoff at the price of the Switch 2 and think they may not be able to buy that as a birthday gift for their child.
Mr. Miyamoto when you ask him to lower the Switch 2 prices.
Sure, Nintendo’s latest console and games are going to sell copies anyway, but it’s a matter of whether those sales will meet the company’s expectations. Few may remember the Nintendo 3DS selling poorly at launch, partly because of a $250 introductory price, but then Nintendo cut the price to $170 about five months later due to poor sales. Will Nintendo do this again? Who knows, dude. All I know is that I will have to wait anyway to see if I can afford a Switch 2 and Kirby Air Riders.
I never got to learn how to save up and buy my own games until I was old enough to get them on the Wii. Back then, first-party Wii games were about $50 at most, and that’s still pretty expensive. I was too young to experience the harsh reality of video game retail pricing during the Nintendo 64 and GameCube eras, so I don’t have a good firsthand reference on that. What I do know is that nowadays, Nintendo runs in cycles of successes and failures, and the reasons that determine a Nintendo console’s performance in sales and popularity will vary. The Wii U and 3DS failed in part because of poor marketing and console gimmicks that don’t justify the price of admission. The Nintendo Switch, however, was exciting because it combined home console gaming with portable gaming—AND it was cheap!
I believe the Switch 2 is going to face a similar phase as the Wii U and 3DS: the new gimmicks and features may not be worth the steep prices that are tied to it, despite having some very exciting titles releasing on there. At least this time, Nintendo intends to continue supporting the Switch 1 alongside the Switch 2. Historically, Nintendo will only consider discounting a game or a console if it doesn’t meet their sales goals, which is why you rarely see some of the Switch’s most popular first-party titles get discounts at all. Hell, I don’t even know when they go on sale most of the time! That’s going to be a problem the more stringent I get about only buying software when it’s on sale.
But at the end of the day, as long as Nintendo remains steadfast in their video game pricing, they will pay dearly for their shitty price hikes regardless of their excuses. The expensive pricing is seriously discouraging me from getting the new console, and I may have to turn to nothing but indie games in the foreseeable future. I’m already most of the way there anyway because I do most of my gaming on my desktop computer through Steam. I have over a dozen games I wanted to finish that’s just sitting in my Steam library right now, so even if I don’t play any overpriced video games, I will still have a ton of games on hand to keep me busy.
Also, at this rate, the only reason why I still have my Nintendo Switch is to play Nintendo games. That’s it. If the Switch 2 does not change this habit of mine, then what’s the point in getting it at launch? What’s the point in getting it at all? Why do I need a bigger and better Switch console right now when I already have one? All things considered, I am currently in no hurry to get the Switch 2 as soon as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I want to play these new games! I would love to play Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Metroid Prime 4, and Kirby Air Riders. But shit, I can’t afford to buy those games if theyre all gonna be at those ridiculous prices! It’s unsustainable for all parties involved, including Nintendo.
Scallywag Says:
Remember: Corporations don’t want to make a lot of money; they want to make ALL OF THE MONEY. No Johns.
I don’t see how Nintendo can change their mind unless we, as the people, willingly choose to not buy these games at $70+, because if we do, then it will enable Nintendo, and other companies like them, to follow suit. This is a test of whether or not Nintendo can get away with highway robbery, and we must be careful not to allow them to do so. Will enough people refrain from taking the bait? I don’t know, but I hope this doesn’t become the norm. $60 for a video game was already a bit much.
Man, I’ve never been through the stages of grief this quickly over a stupid game console.
Life must be that bad, huh?
Works Cited
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