Why is Switch 2 so expensive? Nintendo explains

Polygon:

We spoke with Nintendo’s Bill Trinen to get to the bottom of the Switch 2’s price point.

[gamerz]

Wrote a little poem about the current switch 2 pricing situation:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Enjoy your $80 games,
You greedy ducks,
I'm skipping the 2!

Thank You, thank you, I'll be here all week.

[stupidusername]

80 is bad but here in Norway the game price for Switch 2 games is almost doubled from Switch 1.
Mario Kart World is listed at $101. (NOK1099) While Donkey Kong is listed at $92 (NOK999) Previous switch games were from $55 - 65 (NOK599-699)

Not to mention that the Switch 2 itself is $618 without MKW and $688 with. (NOK6695 - 7449) The first Switch was $320 (NOK3500) when it released in 2017.

The spike is insane. I really want one, but it’s hard to justify the price and the future investment in games.

[DaCajun]

Just don't give in, be strong.

Unfortunately most gamers tend to be weak willed and usually give into FOMO even though they cry and complain. A lot say they won't buy it but they always give in, too many weak will people out there. They will pay the high prices validating these companies practices which screws over everyone else.

[VenomUK]

I’m not denying anybody’s right to be upset that the price of the Switch 2 and its games are too expensive. However, do not mistake complaining online with other online bros as a movement because it isn’t. The reality is the Switch 2 is going to sell out on day one, and it’s going to be a big hit.

The price of a small chicken doner at my local Turkish take away has gone up £3. THREE POUNDS. That’s not right is it? But the owner is under no obligation to sell it at the price I prefer, it’s his business he sets the price at what’s right for him and people who don’t want to pay or can’t pay don’t get to buy one. Likewise with Nintendo, it sets the price of the Switch 2 and if it’s too expensive for the majority of people it will not sell out. However, even if there are tens of thousands of people unhappy about the price and they try and campaign by downvoting its YouTube videos, and leaving immature comments like ‘I can’t pay reduce the price DROP THE PRICE’ and down voting sensible comments- if there are many more people that WILL pay the price then Switch 2 will sell out.

[VenomUK]

If you’re a 12 year old kid and you’re wondering if it’s too expensive for your parents to afford it because it’s too expensive I get that, but if you’re an adult 18 years older or over, you’re not owed the right to buy it. In Western countries eg the US, mainland Europe and the UK you can afford one of these and a bunch of games by working a minimum wage job for two weeks.

[PapaBop]

^^ That's some pretty wild logic. You think people on minimum wage can afford to just save all their money up to buy games?

[Bathyj]

699 in Australia.
For reference you can get a PS5 slim Astrobot bundle for 604.

[Profchaos]

@dacajun if people want to buy it what's it to you it's their money we had this same thing with the ps5 pro people wanted to tell others what they should do with their money.

If you want it and have the money the get it

If you don't want it don't get it

Consoles are only going to get more expensive afterall

@venom well said lately all I see is mass downvotes for any positive comments about the switch like there's a subset of users here that just want people to not enjoy things

@papabop can people on minimum wage simply save up and buy one. If you're on minimum wage and scraping by week to week then you wouldn't buy the system if it was 200 dollars and the games were 40 it'd still be to much. It's a luxury item don't get it twisted video games are luxury items they are not needs. I think what venom was saying is if your a teenager living at home working and don't have to pay to sustain yourself yeah you could pull enough money together for a system at least that was my takeaway

[VenomUK]

@Profchaos, your summary is good.
And it’s right to underline it’s a luxury item.

@PapaBop the bottom line is as adults we all have to make decisions and if a person cannot afford it, then they cannot afford it and will have to save longer until they can buy it. No one is owed the right to buy a luxury item at a price THEY would like on the day of release.

[Cellblock11]

Now when you say "ducks"............. ........?

[Chocoburger]

You don't need to bother clicking the link, I have your answer right here: GREED and HUBRIS.

[Ps5conehead]

It’s called a company that sells products to make. Money if you don’t like the price then do not buy it. It is not grid. Everyone thanks companies should give there products for free well it don’t work that w

[babadivad]

How does that boot taste?

[Muigi]

These people don’t understand what inflation is forgive them.

[ABizzel1]

People BUY gaming consoles every generation, it has nothing to do with getting free products.

Nintendo has been NOTORIOUS for the past several generations for using old tech and selling it at an extreme premium.
Wii was an over clocked GameCube which was selling for $49 EoL, and Wii launched at $249. (2005)
Wii U was a PS360 level GPU with more memory and a worse CPU 6/7 years later $299-$349. (2012)
Switch 1’s Tegra 1 is 2015 tech, that launched at $349 and still being sold now with an OLED for $349 (2025)
All prior Nintendo handhelds used tech much lower than what was available at the time.

Games for handhelds were $40 or less up until the 3DS, with Switch they jumped to $60 which….okay fine expected. The $40 / $60 game was the standard set since the PS2/GC/Xbox generation, into the PS360Wii generation, and into the PS4/XBO/Wiiu-Switch generation.

So their history with gimping and using less than ideal hardware to maximize funds has been well documented. But the reason it wasn’t as much of an issue is because the cost of the console/handhelds were still manageable by the masses and the games were good, nostalgic, and priced fairly.

None of that is the case with the Switch 2, and THAT’S the issue people have.

Personally, I would say the hardware itself isn’t the problem, outside of regions where it’s $550 / $600 that’s ridiculous. But $450 in the US isn’t bad, it’s just not great or mass consumer friendly price like the majority of their other platforms. It definitely could have been $399 and closer to that mass consumer pricing, especially with them having a $350 Japan exclusive version.

But games going from $60 to $80 and $90 is highway robbery and PURE GREED, and that’s the biggest issue.

[OtterX]

I'm getting a Switch 2, but man I'm not happy about the prices either.

Your response was barely legible. Please proofread before hitting send next time please, because I'm not even going to bother trying to decipher your chickenscratch. It gave me a headache.

[b00mFargl3]

I don't think you realize how asinine that comment is. Companies, while yes, they are out to make money, they shouldn't price gouge or price out their consumer base. If they do, they will sell less, decrease demand, and lose loyalty.

[SoloGamer1]

🙄

[Smellsforfree]

Your audience here is mostly children who can't afford video games anymore on their parent's $20 allowances.

[Gridknac]

@ABizzel1
You nailed it right on the head and its the exact reason every Nintendo system since the GC has been hacked with in months of new system launching. Its the same shit, so hackers port over knowledge from the last console and bam, Nintendos systems get hacked fast! How long ya think it will be until switch 2 is running on pc? Or "One key card to rule them all!"lol

[PRIMORDUS]

Wait until the new price is announced with the tariffs, easily over $500 w/o Mario Kart included.

[northpaws]

The switch itself is fine, it is the games and the $9.99 welcome tour that makes people feel they are greedy.

[Profchaos]

Converted the prices I'm getting charged for switch 2 games in Australia they are hitting 70 USD seems fine to me.

[CDbiggen]

Yeah well UK £75 converts to $95.

[H9]

That's the most terrifying argument, there's a lot of narcissists in the gaming industry who think they are changing the world with their games and won't hesitate to prove their games at 80$
For the players they can judge whether the value to them is worth it, I would buy Sekiro for a kidney, but to turn pricing into a lawless topic where whoever feels like their game deserve 80 can do it is horrible

[NotoriousWhiz]

There's wasn't a set price for games until the PS2 gen. I remember new N64 games ranging in price from $40 to $120.

[H9]

Variable pricing is a good idea if devs are honest about the value of their games but we all know this won't happen and everything will be priced like crazy

[Profchaos]

This is a great point historically games being on carts caused prices to vary so much because larger capacity carts or carts that requires special chips to run the game like NES mappers or the super FX or Sega's virtual racing cart increased the cost of production more than say ice climber on the nes that ran on a standard cart.

So production costs varied wildly until disc became the standard even PS1 made it possible for games to be produced in large capacity ultra cheap and fast so at that point we saw the industry real the benifits of disc games and standardised the pricing model because it did away with crazy variations on carts.

It also meant to core system couldn't be expanded upon but it was worth the trade off as systems were powerful enough by that point

[Profchaos]

It's insane ok yeah sure GTA vi might be worth more but are you can bet there's execs out there going hey this madden 2030 totally double the content pay up

[Knushwood Butt]

'I think we’re also seeing smart devices now… I wish they were not nearly as expensive as they are. They’re certainly a lot more expensive than they were when they originally came out in the mid-2000s. So as you add more technology into a system, especially in this day and age, that drives additional cost.'

Lol, what?
This is only a thing if you are adding brand new tech that isn't mass market yet. What is the Switch 2 adding? A mouse ball?

[Dandalandan117]

Right? It sounds like they're adding something revolutionary on the device that's why it's expensive but obviously that's not the case.

[wiegraf]

To boost emulator devs' drive

[babadivad]

Greed

[Baliw]

But Japan is 350€

[Taero]

Yep, and I imagine it's that low because it's that high in the rest of the world, they're effectively subsidizing their home country. We'll see if it pays off. Are the games also cheaper there?

[badz149]

Nope. It's actually the other way around. The Switch 2 is profitable at $350. Nintendo just decide to overcharge the other markets for more margins. Pure unadulterated greed.

I don't want to make the comparison, but this is eerily similar to Sony pricing the PS3 so high at the back of the PS2's success. May Nintendo get humbled the same way too this time.

I said I don't want to make the comparison because at least the PS3 came with new techs especially as a networked BD player at the time when other standalone BD players with the same capabilities were selling for $1000. The PS3 also launched with PS2 hardware included and HDMI, HDD, Wifi included too when the main competitor didn't. The Switch 2 on the other hand is outdated all around. So the comparison with the launch PS3 is doing the PS3 a huge disservice.

[NotoriousWhiz]

^ Why do you think the Switch 2 is profitable at $350 when sold overseas?

[anast]

They want more money from their customers. The reasons don't matter because they will never say 'why' anyway.

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

Nintendo is the greediest video game company despite what their drones say

[gold_drake]

again, totally missing the point haha.

u cannot tell me, that nintendo is spending so much money on their games. there is no way. we saw pkmn and what kind of disaster the last two were.

also, they are still a gen behind. i just dont understand why i should be spending more money on a mario kart game, that looks empty asf, instead of buying a game of the current gen game makers and their games with fantastic graphics music and and gameplay.

its just so nonsensical to me

[CrimsonWing69]

Yea the explanation is they think it’s worth $80.

What it really means is they’re using variable pricing on games they know are popular and highly in-demand and will charge their consumers more and test how successful sales are.

Once it’s happened enough they will shift the market into making that price the standard.

It’s quite disgusting, in all honesty. You literally can’t justify value like that because it’s perceived value. If your dev costs are too f*cking high and warrants an increase in price, you f*cked up. It’s on the industry to drop dev costs so product sales make up for them and bring in a profit. You don’t increase the damn price, but let’s be real, the tech in these games will be 2 generations behind, so you can’t tell me that’s the case to justify this price hike.

It’s corporate greed and nothing more.

[__y2jb]

I'm not spending £75 on a single videogame. It really is that simple.

[Huey_My_D_Long]

Shits coming. And its not gonna be just Nintendo. Not just gaming either

[kayoss]

Nintendo is the Apple of the gaming world. Small upgrades that comes with a higher price. Also, their accessories (Nintendo Games) rarely goes down in price.

[derek]

It's like Nintendo hasn't been the subject of online discourse/ criticism for the last 8 years, which they haven't.

[Knushwood Butt]

This.

Also Hades 2 is a timed exclusive for Switch 2, but let's see if they get any flack for that, or if it's OK because it's Nintendo.

[UnbreakableAlex]

Looks like we have to spam DROP THE PRICE more in Nintendos live streams.

[RhinoGamer88]

No OLED and cartridges?! #failmiyamoto

[Knushwood Butt]

Miyamoto has been too busy figuring out how to fleece customers at Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios. I'm surprised they don't charge for the oxygen you use while queuing to go on their rides.

[gigoran8]

"Inflation is Affecting Everything"

except the wages people are expected to use to buy your new price hiked game standards. If this becomes the new norm I'm going PC exclusive. they will rise too, but still cheaper

[Eltorrero]

FUCK YOU NINTENDO 🖕🖕🖕

[Profchaos]

I don't think it's that bad for the system I'll buy it with the mkw bundle along with a pro controller and a pre-order for DK.

There's so much misinformation for game prices flying around.

Thing is about switch 1 my favourite example is that I spent 100 hours playing tears of the kingdom and had an experience that not even my very capable of or ps5 could give me and that's the thing about Nintendo and why I'm not even hesitating to buy a switch 2

[Benjaminkno]

All I’ve heard the last 2 decades from the Ninty haters have been “no thanks, come back when it has more power, better graphics” now are saying it’s too pricey. Pick a lane