Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2
A whole lot of people were mad at Nintendo during its last Switch 2 showcase when it was revealed the console would cost $450, more than most current hardware and way above last generation, and specifically its biggest game, Mario Kart World, would cost $80, an industry first for a non-deluxe version of a game.
How dare they! Nintendo thinks they can do whatever they want! Fans will not stand for this!
Well..
Pre-orders of the Switch 2 at $450 with its $500 Mario Kart bundle finally went live in the US late last night, and there were zero indicators that however it was priced, that had any affect on demand at all. Websites crashed, carts were emptied, orders were cancelled but ultimately it reached the end result of Switch 2 consoles and bundles selling out as quickly as they could be bought (without storefront errors).
It’s true that last time around, Nintendo tried to enter at a lower price point compared to its competition, just $300 for the Switch, which boosted it to be the third-best selling piece of video game hardware in history. But that was in the wake of the disastrous Wii U, and Nintendo knew they needed to turn things around after that. Now? The Switch was a monster, so the assumption is that sure, players will pay a full 50% more for a new one, if not more. And that panned out exactly as expected. They will sell as many of these as they can make for the indefinite future.
Mario Kart World
Nintendo
This also speaks to how the Mario Kart World $80 price will go. That game is A) far and away the biggest launch title for the Switch 2, so even if you don’t get the bundle now, you will almost certainly buy the game when it arrives. B) Mario Kart 8 was the best-selling game on the Switch by a wide margin. It is the most popular franchise Nintendo has, more than mainline Mario and Zelda games (and the upcoming Donkey Kong). It’s the same philosophy from Nintendo as the console itself. People will buy this despite complaining about the price and what precedent it could set. Then the question becomes what will be $80 next time? (Metroid would be my guess).
The moral of the story is that Nintendo took a swing and smacked a triple, if not another home run. Prices exist and are maintained because people will pay those prices. And despite the big increases we’ve seen here, with this pre-order launch, it has clearly done nothing to dissuade players from voraciously eating up the system and its games. I would not expect it to this whole generation.
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