Nintendo Switch 2: High prices cause discussions
Games & hardware have been getting more expensive for years. The Switch 2 also packs a hefty price tag – Costs for the console and games are keeping fans busy.
(Image: Nintendo)
Nintendo didn't say a word about the price of the Switch 2 and its games during its presentation livestream. Only a glance at the store revealed: 470 euros for the Switch, 80 euros for a digital copy of "Mario Kart World".
Did Nintendo not want to spoil the presentation with such unpleasant details? Or was the pricing simply not finalized when the stream was produced? After all, all developers had to conscientiously state "the day the Switch 2 is released" instead of a real date. Apparently, they were recorded before Nintendo had set a fixed date.
However it came about that Nintendo hushed up the price of the Switch in its Direct livestream on Wednesday, it didn't really help. The discussion online revolves primarily around the pricing of the new console: In the Nintendo subreddit, the game prices are causing outrage. The games subreddit complained that Nintendo was even charging for its tech demo called the "Welcome Tour" and the chat of a later Nintendo Treehouse livestream was flooded with countless "drop the price" messages.
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Games on data carriers even more expensive
Nintendo's price adjustments are hitting collectors and fans of games on data carriers particularly hard: While the digital version of "Mario Kart World" already costs 80 euros, Nintendo is even charging 90 euros for the data carrier version. It should be noted that some upcoming games for the Switch 2 cannot even be played from the data carrier – The card only triggers the download for "Street Fighter 6", for example.
The price changes become clear in a direct comparison with the Switch: the standard model of the console cost 330 euros at market launch, making it 140 euros cheaper than the Switch 2. Full-price games still cost 70 euros on the Switch and at least 80 euros on the Switch 2. Nintendo has even increased the price of accessories such as the Pro Controller.
Inflation and increased production costs
The price increases for the Switch 2 are easy to explain: Inflation has been eating into the profit margins of games companies for years, and production costs for hardware have increased. Added to this is the uncertainty about the impact of the impending trade war unleashed by the US Trump administration, which was already looming at the time of the Switch 2 announcement. We are also seeing higher prices for other gaming hardware: Sony is asking an exorbitant €800 for the Playstation 5 Pro. And if you want to put a 4K-capable graphics card in your computer, you have to spend four-figure sums.
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We have also been observing an upward trend in the pricing of video games for years: After years of establishing a price point of 80 euros for full-price games, companies such as Square Enix have experimented with higher price points for the first time. Sony now also charges 80 euros for its blockbuster games, and Call of Duty games now also cost 80 euros. The 90 euros that Nintendo charges for its physical blockbuster games is a new high point –, at least in recent years. Adjusted for inflation, games in the 80s and 90s were sometimes considerably more expensive.
All of this is a small consolation for people who were looking forward to the Switch 2 but may now be put off. But gamers on other platforms are not safe from price increases either: Epyllion analyst Matthew Ball assumes that developers are just waiting for their next opportunity to raise the prices of their games further. Many are pinning their hopes on the upcoming "GTA 6", which could push the limits with a new price peak.
(dahe)
