The Switch 2's price hike channels an earlier gamble with the Nintendo 64
Nintendo consoles used to be pretty pricey, and history is now repeating.
After years of rumours, we have just about everything we need to know about the long-awaited Switch 2. Thursday at midnight — Australian time — Nintendo revealed the console's launch date, features and, crucially, its launch price.
As predicted by analysts, Nintendo has used the Switch 2 launch as an opportunity to push the ceiling of its console prices. The new Switch 2 will set Australians back around $699 at launch — roughly just $150 less than the PlayStation 5's launch price, despite the unit housing significantly less processing power — if that at all is any indication of what's valuable in a gaming console anymore.
At a glance, it's a sharp increase from what we've come to expect from Nintendo consoles. As the chart below shows, they've typically been priced around the $300 to $500 mark, often cheaper than both PlayStation and Xbox. It's worth keeping in mind that Nintendo aims to make a profit both from its console sales and games sales — unlike other gaming device makers. So perhaps this hike is to be expected?
(Editor’s note: I could not reliably find Australian launch prices for consoles earlier than the Nintendo 64, so I’ve excluded them from the analysis.)
Looking at the prices in real terms, however, reveals something interesting. Real terms account for inflation. So for example, $1 in 1990 is worth $2.07 by today's standards due to the gradual increase in prices and wages. (If you are game, you can calculate this yourself using the Reserve Bank of Australia’s handy inflation calculator.)
Real prices help us determine whether something is actually more expensive or if it's just increased in price to account for inflation.
Factoring this in, Nintendo's latest Switch 2 price is actually comparable to that of the Nintendo 64 — launching for around $400 in the 1990s, which in today's money is more expensive than the Switch 2. Interestingly though — as you can see in the chart — Nintendo actually recoiled on its pricing soon after launch.
The game makers originally priced the console at around $400 but then a month after its debut, slashed it to $299, and offered those who purchased the console at launch a free game as compensation. (You only had to fax your address and game request to Nintendo Australia.)
It's unlikely that the Switch 2 will be discounted again here due to weaker demand. And with tariffs dominating the headlines today, who knows what consumers will actually pay come June 5 — especially in the US.
What do Australian game developers think about the Switch 2?
In addition to crunching the numbers I reached out to a few Australian developers to ask for their take on the new console — especially the new mouse-like controller — which may open up the market for more PC oriented games to find their way onto the Switch 2. Here’s what they had to say:
Jordan Mochi, CONSCRIPT
For me personally, mouse functionality is definitely appealing as games are obviously developed on PC where I'm using the KBM 99% of the time. Not really a game changer for the genre of games I like and make, but nice regardless. I imagine for those who make more PC-centric games it'll resonate more.
More interested in the increased power. I can only speak from experience with Conscript as it's my only game, but even porting that to Switch gave us some extra headaches and roadblocks that weren't issues on other platforms. And Conscript isn't some graphical powerhouse, it was just struggling in the memory department when you have a large amount of textures and sounds that need to be loaded. So on that front I'm excited, even though I imagine Switch 1 will still need to be supported for at least a few years due to the install base. Once that period of cross-platform support ends I imagine performance concerns won't really be an issue for most indie devs.
Joe Gibbs, Fall of an Empire
For the mouse functionality, I think it might be interesting but for me it feels more like a gimmick without a keyboard. I think it would be difficult to play strategy games like mine - you can either move the mouse to click on things or move the mouse to the edge of the screen to move the camera. It also seems a bit of an awkward shape to use as a mouse. Ultimately, I think that when you're porting a game to a different platform - whether that's PC, mobile, console, or anything else - you need to consider how most people use the platform and the idioms of user interaction on that platform. Even just between PC and Mac - on PC you're minimising, maximising or closing a window; and closing a window closes the program. On Mac it's minimise, fullscreen or close window - but closing the window doesn't necessarily close the program, it stays open on the dock. If you have a Windows program and port it to Mac people think you're doing it wrong unless you follow those idioms.
Games like Age of Empires 2 were ported to Xbox One and Series X and nowadays tend to do a lot better on console than they would've done 20 years ago because the control scheme is better adapted to those systems. Even Crusader Kings 3 was successfully ported to console despite how much data is getting shown to the player there and how complex it is. I do think that for most indie games the Switch 2 is going to be just what developers are looking for - since they're not really in that race-to-photorealism like AAAs the larger user base is going to be a killer for them in comparison.
Some other final thoughts:
The new Mario Kart reminds me of Need for Speed and Diddy Kong Racing: Mario Kart World debuted overnight too. It's a launch title for the Switch 2. Other Mario Kart titles really focused on track-based racing, however, this game is an open world racing title. The nearest comparison I've played was Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2005), where police would attempt to bust you for racing. While that would be hilarious in a Mario Kart context, we're unlikely to see that here. It's also giving me Diddy Kong Racing and perhaps Crash Bandicoot Racing vibes, both of which featured over world areas that you drove, explored and found secrets in between races. Nothing too expansive though.
Anyone else pumped for Donkey Kong — but not for his new look? Am I psyched for a new Donkey Kong game? You bet I am! Finally, an original title in what feels like a decade of remakes! The last 3D platforming game was Donkey Kong 64 (1999), and it not only featured the ape himself but four other playable Kong brethren. Only Donkey Kong was featured in the trailer, but I'm a much bigger fan of the other Kongs (Diddy, Dixie, but not really Cranky). They may appear, but asking them to be playable is likely a stretch. If only the big ape didn't hog all the spotlight! But before moving on, I can’t go past Donkey Kong's new face. He was recently redesigned to look more 'cartoony' and possibly more expressive. I'm personally not really vibing it, but happy to be convinced otherwise.
If Mario and Donkey Kong won't sell you, The DuskBloods will. I am a giant child when it comes to all things Nintendo — I can recommend first-party Nintendo games enough for any and all age groups. However, those with a more mature gaming palate likely appreciated the new FromSoft game The DuskBloods. Nintendo played its hand well revealing this alongside the console — and as an exclusive title too. While it's not a sequel to Bloodborne, it certainly feels like a spiritual successor of sorts.
And finally, a focus on online multiplayer. The Switch 2's focus on both chat and video — via a camera you can attach to the console — seems to hint it's taking this space seriously. But I don't know how I feel about turning my gaming sessions into video calls? I do enough of them already for my day job!
What do you think about the latest Nintendo console? Has the price of it given you pause? And what games and features are you hyped for? Let me know in the comments.
In our research into the monetisation of children in the digital games industry, we consistently found that Nintendo was viewed by parents very differently to other platforms because the games dont feature (what they described as) predatory monetisation. I think the new price reflects the strength of the Nintendo brand with families, and will hopefully ensure Nintendo games continue to not have extensive microtransactions.
Nintendo also quickly discounted the 3DS after launch when they saw it was bombing. The lower price turned things around allowing the 3DS to become the hit handheld we all know and love today.
I don't expect them to panic discount the Switch 2 but I also don't see it flying off shelves here in NZ with its $799 price tag.