Earlier this month, Nintendo hosted their much-anticipated Switch 2 Direct video which provided answers to many of the most pressing questions about the upcoming console. A few games were also announced, including the new Mario Kart World and a Bloodborne-esque FromSoftware exclusive titled The Duskbloods, as well as Switch 2 versions of Metroid Prime 4, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, Hades II and Cyberpunk 2077. Though there was much shown in the presentation to make the multitudes of eager Nintendo fans happy, the days and weeks following the Direct have seen a rather significant amount of fairly vocal dissatisfaction with some of Nintendo's announcements.
First and foremost, the pricing of the console, which at US $450, puts it not only pretty well above industry expert expectations, but also pretty well outside of the price range of your average children's device (which, let's be honest, is what a sizable quantity of Nintendo consoles are purchased to serve as). Not only is the console itself overpriced, but the games too, with some announced to be as high as $80. Again, well above the price of your average children's birthday party gift.
In that same Direct, Nintendo also unveiled an introductory game for the Switch 2 called Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, a sort of interactive guide to the system's features not unlike Astro's Playroom for the PlayStation 5. What is unlike Astro's Playroom, which came pre-installed on every PS5 console as a free bonus, is the fact that Nintendo will be audaciously charging new Switch 2 owners $10 for their digital tour. While you could maybe try to chalk the high hardware and software prices up to the economy or it simply being a reasonable amount to ask for the type of tech that Nintendo is offering, it's extremely difficult to see them charging for an instructional guide to their hardware as anything other than straight up greed.
First and foremost, the pricing of the console, which at US $450, puts it not only pretty well above industry expert expectations, but also pretty well outside of the price range of your average children's device (which, let's be honest, is what a sizable quantity of Nintendo consoles are purchased to serve as). Not only is the console itself overpriced, but the games too, with some announced to be as high as $80. Again, well above the price of your average children's birthday party gift.
In that same Direct, Nintendo also unveiled an introductory game for the Switch 2 called Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, a sort of interactive guide to the system's features not unlike Astro's Playroom for the PlayStation 5. What is unlike Astro's Playroom, which came pre-installed on every PS5 console as a free bonus, is the fact that Nintendo will be audaciously charging new Switch 2 owners $10 for their digital tour. While you could maybe try to chalk the high hardware and software prices up to the economy or it simply being a reasonable amount to ask for the type of tech that Nintendo is offering, it's extremely difficult to see them charging for an instructional guide to their hardware as anything other than straight up greed.