It's hard to believe now, but when Nintendo initially released its iconic Switch in 2017, there were staunch skeptics — droves of them, in fact.
In an eight-year-old thread from NeoGAF, an online forum dedicated to video game discussions, haters were all but certain about the Switch's future upon its release.
The forum thread asks a simple question: Will the Switch be a success?
The consensus among commenters was clear.
"Eventually, yes. At the current price? No way. Completely dead," one forum user chimed in.
"DOA," said another.
Another got even more precise: "I hope it does. But I think it might be finally the end of Nintendo. No killer app or Proof of Concept."
Spoiler alert: After eight years, basically all of those doubts turned out to be major misses.
The Switch is Nintendo's best-selling console despite preliminary issues with supply, Joy-Con drift, and a pandemic that put constraints on manufacturing and people's wallets.
Hindsight, of course, is 20/20, but it's not the Switch commentary that makes those big misses salient; it's that doubters of that same ilk seem to be doing it all over again.
A popularity contest
The Switch 2, definitively, without a doubt, is expensive.
When Nintendo unveiled details of the console last week, we did our own breakdown of how the Switch 2 compares historically to other releases, and adjusted for inflation, we found that it sits in third place, just barely behind the SNES.
The original NES still holds the record, but not by much. When it launched in 1985, the NES cost $179, which would be $530 today.
The Switch 2, for reference, costs $450 out of the gate, which is a lot more than the original Switch and its $299 debut.
Console | Original price | Price adjusted for inflation | Original price increase | Adjusted price increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
NES | $179 | 530 | Row 0 - Cell 3 | Row 0 - Cell 4 |
SNES | $199 | $459 | +11% | -11% |
Nintendo 64 | $199 | $350 | 0 | -23% |
Game Cube | $199 | $350 | 0 | 0 |
Wii | $249 | $394 | +25% | +12% |
Wii U | $299 | $415 | +20% | +5% |
Switch | $299 | $389 | 0 | -6% |
Switch 2 | $449 | Row 7 - Cell 2 | +50% | +15% |
And while the Switch 2 might not be the most expensive console adjusted for inflation, it's still a major price hike over its predecessor — a 50 percent increase, to be exact.
That's all to say, yes, the Switch 2 is pricey, and there's no getting around it.
Whether that price will have any impact whatsoever on the demand, however, is another story.
It's impossible to say without a crystal ball what the future has in store for the Switch 2, but if I were to indulge in a temperature test, I'd say the demand appears to be high.
A quick jaunt through the Switch 2 subreddit is populated with post after post expressing anxiety over not being able to buy Nintendo's newest console once preorders finally go live.
Sure, there are still grumbling over price, but those feel like a Cliff Note, and those clamoring to get a Switch might not be so off base.
The Switch 2 might be a major price increase of the last generation and rank at the top when it comes to Nintendo consoles historically, but the pull of Nintendo is strong. But is it strong enough to justify (gulp) $80 games?
An expensive proposition
It's one thing to ask for more money when it comes to hardware — hardware that's vastly improved over the last generation — but games... well, that's a whole different level.
And this year, Nintendo's ask on that front is a big one. New digital games like Mario Kart World will debut at a noticeably more expensive $80 while physical versions will cost an eye-watering $90.
That's, um, a lot of money for a new Mario game, to be sure, especially when Elden Ring — a graphically robust, open-world RPG with hundreds of hours of gameplay — costs $60.
But, as expensive as new games might be, they're also (unfortunately) about right when considering 2017 prices in context.
Believe it or not, when adjusted for inflation, a $60 game in 2017 comes out to about $78 in 2025 USD.
That might say more about the U.S. economy than it does video games in some ways, but unfortunately, Nintendo might have a leg to stand on.
It also doesn't mean Nintendo fans are going to fall in line and start throwing out their hard-earned money — especially because wages haven't exactly kept up with that inflationary rise — but Nintendo having a justification, no matter how small, is the first piece to that puzzle.
A long path ahead
The Switch 2 still has a long road ahead before it finds its footing in the console world.
There are looming tariffs, for example, that could easily stymie Nintendo's hopes of repeating the Switch's success.
Nintendo President Doug Bowser has already said in recent interviews that the company will be "watching tariffs closely," though more recent news this weeks suggest Nintendo could shift console production to Vietnam and end up eating the additional cost.
With those extenuating factors, it's hard to say what the Switch 2's fate will be, but if there's one thing that I'm not ready to do, it's count Nintendo out.
More from Laptop Mag
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
