Speaking in a video on their YouTube channel, former Nintendo of America PR managers Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang criticized Nintendo for the way it revealed the $449.99 price of the Switch 2 and the $79.99 price of Mario Kart World.
“I don’t want to blow things out of proportion, but this does feel like a true crisis moment for Nintendo,” Ellis said.
“It just shows some disrespect to the consumer, where, ‘oh, you just saw the Direct you’re so excited, you’re just gonna throw your money at us blindly, you’re not going to even ask the question of how much it cost because you’re so excited, aren’t you?’ "
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The only crisis Nintendo may face is selling out of Switch 2s. We all know people are going to buy them.
I bet. Switch 2 will still sell out
Them charging for a ‘tech demo’ was also a huge fumble. I’d argue worse than the price of the console.
LCD, even if it is a nice LCD is a letdown as well, OLED should have been the minimum. Yes they added features like VRR and HDR 120hz, but OLED can do that as well. There are already 120hz 1080p oled panels used in a lot of the retro handheld market.
Lol, just go watch Kit and Krysta’s video for the primary source in its context. It was actually a pretty interesting perspective!
It definitely has the possibility of causing issues much like the early ps3 era where customers hold out on buying it. The price of admittance is definitely much higher than Nintendos customers are used to. For years the company has been the ‘budget’ friendly console for parents. With it often being cheaper than the competition. Now its price is on par with the competition. It’s well known for not having steep software sales like the competition. And the software prices are going up a significant amount.
It will probably still sell pretty well thanks to Nintendos hold on the market. But it’s not likely to be the same breakout success they had with the original switch or the Wii.
Definitely overpriced given the world economy is about to crash
Baseless Prediction: Nintendo made the Welcome Tour paid in anticipation of price backlash. They will announce soon “we hear you etc etc, as a gesture of goodwill everyone gets Welcome Tour for free!”
Just as a point for people to consider, Kit & Krysta are famous for exaggerating their knowledge and involvement of the Nintendo backend (they claim to have been at the forefront of Nintendo USA, but in reality were just the face of the social media), and have previously made claims about Nintendo that were so inaccurate that Nintendo themselves had to publically call them out for it. Their viewpoint is no more expertise than anyone on this sit making those same claims.
The hardware price is fine. The games pricing can suck my dick.
I have an intense backlog on my switch 1, physical and digital.
I just gonna buy the console (thinking about the bundle whit mkw) and just play whit the enhanced graphics and frame rates.
I would not buy any 80 or 90 USD game till they drop in price or I can grab one second handed for less.
450 for a console is just fine. $90 for a physical game is absolutely insane
The fact that the JP only version is significantly cheaper is more then a bit frustrating.
I don’t understand the backlash of the console price itself. Seems reasonable. 80$ games on the other hand, ouch. I’m glad that the DK game is the “normal” 70$ at least.
I don’t think anyone would take issue with the price of the games if Nintendo behaved like other companies and lowered their prices over time. The fact that these games are $80 and that everyone who buys Nintendo games knows that they will *remain* $80 for the life of the game is a big red flag for potential console buyers.
The launch price alone I doubt is causing most of the backlash, it’s:
1. Game price increasing from $60 to $80 is a 33% jump. Add onto that $90 for physical, it is striking, particularly cause there was no effort made to justify it. Say you can invest more in devs. Say it’s due to cost inflation. Say literally anything.
2. The C button being solely for a paid service is annoying. Sure, there’s gonna be a trial period for free. Cool, still just gonna be a constant reminder when you look at your console.
3. Nintendo is charging for their system tutorial/game. FAQs are free historically and if they didn’t want to waste money creating what again is in effect a tutorial…don’t do it?
4. If they didn’t price in the tariffs already, as in the price increases to $500+ in say June, this system is going to implode.
To be honest the pricing of the console is one thing. Since I have no doubt it’s a great investment but the games man.
I want to see if I can hold out until an OLED model is released
The switch 2 right now has nothing of interest for me. It has a new Mario Kart and a new donkey Kong game a month later…. Then what after that ? Metroid prime 4 at some point for both switch and switch 2.
Games being 80 dollars is such a turn off because it’s Nintendo and you know those aren’t going on sale for years and at most might go down to 60.
What the hell have they been doing these last few years? Nothing about this new systems screams must have unless you just love Mario kart.
It’s not the price of the console, that’s completely reasonable. It’s the games
I mean the console price seems pretty reasonable. But I have no reason to spend $80 on a console game when I can get stuff a lot cheaper for my PC, since switch games NEVER go on sale
I don’t mind the price of the hand-held. It’s fair with market pricing at the moment. Everything else!?!? Go eff yourself Nintendo. It’s been a good ride but I’m out.
It’s also very bad timing. They wanted to hold off until the COVID inflation got under control but the JPYtoUSD exchange rate shot up from about 110 to around 150 (revenue profits in US down about 25%) when the US economy recovered first and outpaced the rest of the world. Now tariffs will further complicate things and this kickoff is almost dead on arrival with a lot of potential customers probably holding off until Christmas or 2026 to see what the economy does.
The gaming community beat Microsoft into submission when they got too greedy. Call me crazy but I believe they can teach Nintendo a lesson too. Force them to drop the prices for games at least the moment this is seen as a success all publishers are gonna go “I want a piece of that” and we’re fucked.
I think most people would understand a 69.99 price point for physical or digital copies. But 79.99 and 89.99 thats high.
It’s their big brain to push for more Switch 1 sales! That way it reigns supreme as the most sold console ever!
they might have actually overstepped. with the shit happening right now people have quite possibly the least amount of disposable income in decades. price hikes now are a sure bet to have people delay buying your stuff.
My wife and I already discussed not upgrading our current switch.
It’s just not worth it, and we don’t see anything that justifies the price increase Nintendo is levying when our whole family loves the current version.
I mean, I was only sort of mildly interested in the first place. I don’t care about Nintendo IPs as much as I used to, and I haven’t touched my Switch in over a year, but I do tend to buy the latest gadget and tinker with it.
So I wasn’t super hot on this in the first place, but the pricing is still sort of a wet blanket, especially with the economy being what it is right now.
I remember being excited by the original Switch release, and that excitement was increased even further by Breath of the Wild (despite its flaws (weak dungeons, dull and repetitive shrines) that game was a pretty magical experience).
But the Switch 2 ? Not in the least bit excited because of the extortionate pricing of the console and games. On the hardware side it’s got some nice improvements, but the pricing ………. no thanks.
Of course the pricing isn’t being helped by the greed, selfishness, cowardice and utter stupidity of the complete idiots in charge of the US right now.
I hate to sound negative, but I’m happy that Nintendo is finally getting some backlash for all of the weird choices it makes. It seems like every time they do something totally backwards, they get a free pass on it.
The $80-90 games doesn’t make sense, at least for the Switch 2. Nintendo tends to lock their prices in and keep them there for years. Just about every Nintendo title on the original switch, even if it was an ‘enhanced’ Wii U release, has stayed at full MSRP 8 years later.
The Switch (and Switch 2) also need to find what their market is. Is it a handheld or is it a console? I see it as a handheld (with the ability to dock to a TV), and most handheld releases have been discounted in price over their console-versions. To not only charge the same amount as a PS5 release, but an extra ~20-30% on top of them? that’s just wild. The PS5 is nearly 5 years old already, and the tech in the switch 2 would be comparable to..? The PS4?
Considering all of the other costs associated with it – $90 joycons? The PS5 dualsense is already pricey at $70 and that has a lot of cool tech built into it (speakers, adaptive triggers, touchpad, headphone jack) and it’s hard to justify buying extras. Now you’re going to need a $450 console, a $200 memory card (1TB), $80-90 games, and whatever else they’re charging for?
Maybe I’m just not the audience. If this were a next-gen console (a PS6, if you will) and the games really showed some cool usage of the tech to make you “WOW”, I’d be able to justify the price jump for some titles. But when you’re essentially getting a handheld with the power of a ~10-12 year old console and paying that premium? Every non-nintendo title will assuredly look worse on it.
As much as I know the idea gets hate, I really wish Nintendo would just go 3rd party and develop for other consoles instead of running stuff their weird little ways
Just do the fucking math. It’s pure greed. They will typically sell about 60 million copies of this game. For $80 a piece, thats $4.8Billion in revenue. The game costs maybe $20million to make, if even that.
Then include all the real money from microtransactions. There’s another couple Billion.
How people are justifying this price is just insane. Nintendo fanboys are unreal.
The main reason the Switch did so well was its price point. It was the cheaper alternative to the other consoles at the time so parents went for it, with the added benefit of it having more kid friendly games.
Now it’s priced almost as high as a PS5 with games that are higher priced than PS5 games.
This isn’t going to go well for Nintendo. Furthermore, with the newly announced tariffs in the US, the prices could end up being even higher.
All switch 2 preorders have been postponed. You already thought the price of it was high the tariffs could make it higher. Crisis mode over at Nintendo
Basic Nintendo move : make a killer console and flip the next.
Yea I’m definitely not buying for my kids. Switch oled is still so good and we have so many games.
“Switch tax” was a bit of a meme with the first Nintendo Switch; the whole thing with how third party games frequently cost a little more on Nintendo Switch than other platforms. But I think it was worth it for the novel experience of being able to play them portably at a time when there were no other devices like it. But that was then.
Nowadays there’s a lot of competition in that form factor and as PC handhelds they of course play your existing PC library. Having an even bigger “Switch 2 tax” when these other options are available is going to make it a tough sell, especially for PC users.
Why is nobody in the USA understanding that the actual price is going to be drastically higher after what’s transpired over this past week? Switch 2 at $500 is going to seem like a dream scenario.
The Switch 2 is going to cost about $629CAD.
The Switch 2 is about to cost about $629USD.
Weird times.
Just want to throw this out there for everyone, the Xbox series s will become the cheapest console for consumers. Prices range from 200-300$
Yeah. I fully intended on preordering one and was super excited about it. When I saw what they were charging for the switch and Mario kart, along with the lack of new games, I’m definitely not getting one. At least not for a good while. Nintendo fucked up.
the console price i don’t have a problem with it’s the price of the games that pmo.
It crazy how people believe how Nintendo executives give a shit about the backlash…..
Are you all living in a reality where inflation isn’t happening?
My wife and I already discussed it. She said she’s glad the kids are grown and won’t be interested in this Switch.
And the zealots I see screaming “I’ll pay it! I’ll pay it! They deserve it!!!!!”…..I feel sorry for them.
One thing I’ll mention though? I remember people paying $80 for Street Fighter II on SNES back in the early 90s. Not a lot of them mind you, but I knew a few. It really was close to the arcade version and worth it. You could say that about some games, but not all. I still remember my father coming home with Pac-Man for the 2600 from a business trip and we were so excited and then I put it in and…that may be the worst port of all time. Seriously.
Gonna get a steam deck 🙂