The Nintendo Switch is the highest-selling video game console of all time with more than 150 million units sold since 2017. With its portability, stability and exclusive games, it gave Nintendo dominance in the handheld gaming market.
When the console’s successor, the Switch 2, was announced on Jan. 16, information about the system was vague, but excitement was high.
“I was over the moon with joy,” junior Logan Tallon said.
On April 2, a Nintendo Direct shed more light on the Switch 2, showcasing its improved Joy-Con controllers with magnetic attachments and a mouse mode, as well as the bigger screen and better performance.
The event also showed off the software the Switch 2 will offer, including “Mario Kart World” and “Donkey Kong Bananza.”
Although the games’ announcement caused some fans to be excited, many others were put off by the Direct’s next announcement: prices.
The Switch 2 itself is set to cost $450 — a significant uptick from the original, but Nintendo said the price was subject to change as President Trump’s tariffs hit many nations, including the company’s home country of Japan.
With inflation rising by nearly 30% since the first Switch’s release eight years ago and the new console still being cheaper than the current PlayStation and Xbox, some fans accept the price.
“It’s expensive, but if you know you are going to use it a lot, then it would probably be worth it,” freshman Zachary Majors said.
What many can’t accept, however, is the price of the Switch 2’s flagship games. In the Direct, Nintendo announced that digital games will cost $80 and physical versions $90.
In a survey of 103 EHS students, 91.3% said they thought the games’ prices were too high.
The price hike comes just five years after basketball simulator “2K21” set the new industry standard at $70 and some worry that Nintendo’s strategy could become the precedent for a wave of $90 games.
“I can only hope that $80–90 games don’t become the new standard, but knowing how much major game companies prioritize money, they probably will,” senior Miles Noud said.
Although most detest the high costs of the console and its games, many people are still thinking about making the purchase anyway.
In the survey, 42% of respondents said they might buy the Switch 2 and 21% were certain that they would.
Others have defended Nintendo’s prices, pointing out that, when adjusted for inflation, games in the past were more expensive than they are now.
“Can they keep charging $60 forever?” Reddit user Otherwise-Bee461 said. “Like, even a $60 game with a $30 DLC is less than the full cost [of] ‘Mario Kart 64’ … when you adjust for inflation. The reality is that life is more expensive now and living is harder, and people struggle to buy luxuries. It’s not that Nintendo is overcharging for games any more than it ever has; they’ve always been this expensive.”