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.
This isn't the first time Nintendo tried to launch a portable with too high of a price tag.
To make matters worse, all of this pretty blatant price gouging by Nintendo is coming at a time when, at least in the US, there is a lot of increasing economic uncertainty. To be asking such excessive prices while families are trying to look for ways to pinch pennies and save money is not only incredibly tone-deaf, it's also likely setting Nintendo up for failure. The last time they nearly priced themselves out of the market was back in 2011 with the disappointing launch of their 3DS console; they actually had to knock over 30% off the asking price after only a few short months in order to save that system from an untimely demise. It wouldn't be very shocking to see something similar happen with the Switch 2.
One way Nintendo could cut costs on the console would be by offering a TV-only version of the console. They offered the opposite of this with the portable-only Switch Lite (although not until 2 and a half years after the debut of the original Switch). TV game consoles are also something Nintendo only began to not offer with the Switch. But since they never bothered to make a TV-only Switch 1, they probably aren't going to start with the Switch 2. Why? Again, the likely answer is greed. They know that they can charge more for a portable version than they can for a non-portable console with otherwise identical specs. Thus, they will likely try to avoid going down that road at all costs (some pun intended).
Another cause for concern is the games themselves. Nintendo has third-party support now, but what happens if (or more likely, when) the console sales start flagging. Even before launch, the Switch 2 is already noticeably inferior to the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. How long will it be before the major publishers decide that the console isn't even worth their time? All the big players were there for the 2012 launch of Nintendo's horrendously bungled Wii U console, and nearly all had abandoned it by the following year. It was largely due to Nintendo's own relatively sparse first and second-party support that the console was even able to limp along for it's pretty pitiful four-year lifespan.
One way Nintendo could cut costs on the console would be by offering a TV-only version of the console. They offered the opposite of this with the portable-only Switch Lite (although not until 2 and a half years after the debut of the original Switch). TV game consoles are also something Nintendo only began to not offer with the Switch. But since they never bothered to make a TV-only Switch 1, they probably aren't going to start with the Switch 2. Why? Again, the likely answer is greed. They know that they can charge more for a portable version than they can for a non-portable console with otherwise identical specs. Thus, they will likely try to avoid going down that road at all costs (some pun intended).
Another cause for concern is the games themselves. Nintendo has third-party support now, but what happens if (or more likely, when) the console sales start flagging. Even before launch, the Switch 2 is already noticeably inferior to the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. How long will it be before the major publishers decide that the console isn't even worth their time? All the big players were there for the 2012 launch of Nintendo's horrendously bungled Wii U console, and nearly all had abandoned it by the following year. It was largely due to Nintendo's own relatively sparse first and second-party support that the console was even able to limp along for it's pretty pitiful four-year lifespan.
Nintendo should probably be trying harder to avoid a repeat of the Wii U.
Nearly all of the Wii U's biggest titles found their way to a much bigger audience on the Switch, and in turn, ended up helping to provide that console with much better first-party support than it otherwise would have enjoyed. Somewhat incredibly, the Switch is the only mainline Nintendo console never to have received it's own Mario Kart entry since the series debuted on the Super Nintendo. The Switch is also the longest-running mainline Nintendo console to only ever have received a single proper Super Mario installment. That Wii U well is about all tapped out now, and Nintendo has had issues adequately keeping up with their various franchises for multiple hardware generations (there hasn't been a real new F-Zero installment in over two decades). What is their plan for maintaining proper support for the Switch 2? Do they even have one?
Nintendo could have solved this problem years ago by spending some of those insane Wii and Switch profits on new publisher/developer acquisitions. Sega/Atlus would be an outstanding fit. As would Capcom. Not to mention any number of smaller studios like WayForward, Supergiant Games, Yacht Club Games, Motion Twin, Image & Form (now Thunderful), and countless others. Any of these studios/publishers would be a boon in terms of both bringing fantastic existing properties under the Nintendo umbrella, as well as providing additional experienced in-house talent that can help to lighten the development load for them.
Microsoft and Sony both seem to have gotten that particular memo ages ago. Nintendo, on the other hand, apparently missed it completely somehow. Not unlike the way they missed out on the chance to acquire their longtime partner Rare, who was snatched up from right under their nose by Microsoft, way back in 2002. You'd think Nintendo would have learned their lesson since then. But as I've pretty clearly laid out already, Nintendo seems far more focused on taking money than spending it (or pricing their products appropriately). Despite the fact that doing so would likely only result in much greater returns for them in the long run. This, I fear, may only lead to their downfall. Sooner, rather than later, too, from the looks of things.
Nintendo could have solved this problem years ago by spending some of those insane Wii and Switch profits on new publisher/developer acquisitions. Sega/Atlus would be an outstanding fit. As would Capcom. Not to mention any number of smaller studios like WayForward, Supergiant Games, Yacht Club Games, Motion Twin, Image & Form (now Thunderful), and countless others. Any of these studios/publishers would be a boon in terms of both bringing fantastic existing properties under the Nintendo umbrella, as well as providing additional experienced in-house talent that can help to lighten the development load for them.
Microsoft and Sony both seem to have gotten that particular memo ages ago. Nintendo, on the other hand, apparently missed it completely somehow. Not unlike the way they missed out on the chance to acquire their longtime partner Rare, who was snatched up from right under their nose by Microsoft, way back in 2002. You'd think Nintendo would have learned their lesson since then. But as I've pretty clearly laid out already, Nintendo seems far more focused on taking money than spending it (or pricing their products appropriately). Despite the fact that doing so would likely only result in much greater returns for them in the long run. This, I fear, may only lead to their downfall. Sooner, rather than later, too, from the looks of things.
[Images: Nintendo]
 | [AJ Amideo] |