The price of the Switch 2, at $450, is actually not bad at all. The closest comparison to it is the Steam Deck which is more expensive and not as performant. The Switch 2 has a higher refresh rate screen with VRR that is larger in size and resolution too. It's not an OLED screen, in relation to the comparable model, but it should still be pretty good. Then you've got the actual game performance too which Switch 2 will certainly be better at, I think that's a given.

I think we all would have liked to see it cheaper, but then again I never imagined that it was actually going to be as focused on power. I thought they would MAYBE go with a 90hz screen MAX. I definitely didn't expect them to have Metroid Prime 4 dropping with 1080p 120fps support. With or without any upscaling shenanigans that's still pretty damn impressive for a handheld like that. I think the price is pretty fair.

When it comes to the price of the games, that's getting a bit more on the iffy side. $80 really is too much, I think. It's a big ask. I am still of the opinion that instead of trying to go bigger and bigger with games, causing the jumps in price (alongside the obvious issue of inflation), development teams really should focus on making extremely tight and fun experiences that can be easily replayed. Nobody was asking for Mario Kart World to be an actually open world game with like shitty secrets to find if you veer off course or anything. Keeping it at $60 or even $70 while adding in all of the amazing stuff to the actual races themselves would have been honestly so much better. I am actually curious to see how much Kirby Air Riders is priced at, because I can see that actually being a $60 game with Sakurai at the helm. Dude knows his shit.

Then again, if $80 is going to get me 300+ hours of gameplay like Mario Kart 8 DX did, I don't think it's that bad of an investment on enjoyment. You go to the movies once and pay like $15 for a 2 hour thing that cost about the same as a video game, so it does scale to a pretty astronomical level. Not to mention, the game is one purchase that can be enjoyed by a bunch of people all at once. It sucks that it is priced so high, and that our purchasing power is so low, it really does. Is it still kind of fair though? I guess if you really want the game, yeah. It's going to definitely filter some people out, though, and I think that is partially why they included it in that bundle for essentially $50 instead. People were going to buy the damn game anyway, and now they're going to pay for a $20/year subscription too.

@beardalaxy ¨
What were you smoking?

Ok, first off, I do get, that Nintendo believes themselves to have a perfect cash cow. They made an analysis, and found out, that they are the only portable console on the market.... but:

Portable PC market was literally never better.
Steam deck is and always was marketed as a luxury item. And even that is cheaper now then the Switch 2. It is CHEAPER.

And that is before you download the first free game, and play it online for free.

Sorry, but Switch 2 is literally a horrible offer in all ways. Some idiots will buy it for brand loyality. Damn, I have a collector co-worker who just buys everything nintendo just to keep it, but when it comes to gaming, I literally cannot see the value there at all.

@LukeAlmighty Steam Deck base model is $400. Switch 2 is $450. You're getting higher performance and a larger screen (size/res) with twice the refresh rate, HDR, and VRR. I was comparing it to the $550 OLED model in that post.

I think it is clear that Valve was pretty aggressive with their pricing. Nintendo is providing more performance than the OLED in every way for a lower cost. If you want to spend $50 less you can get something even less performant but that's not really my point of comparison here.

The difference is that of course you can't just plop whatever shit you want onto a Switch 2 like you can with a Steam Deck. That's always been the difference between a console and a computer and it's what makes PCs such a compelling purchase for a lot of people. It's always going to end up being more expensive right out of the gate but usually ends up paying itself off in the long run with the tremendous back catalog that is always going on sale for really good prices. It's funny because I say that, but then I realize that I have actually spent way more money on PC gaming than I've spent probably on all the consoles I've personally owned, subscription services included (and especially so when you consider stuff like the free PS+ games). I think in terms of overall cost they're about on par with each other but you CAN do a lot more with a PC and that makes it worth it.

However, a PC isn't going to be able to play the Switch 2 exclusives that I really want to play in a manner I would consider playable for another few years at the very least. I wanna' hop on Mario Kart World day one. Same thing with Kirby Air Riders. There is also the likelihood that I'd need to upgrade my PC beyond $450 worth in order to emulate those anyway. The Deck certainly isn't going to be able to. That's what makes its value important to me, and that's why I bought a Wii U and an original Switch as well.

If we're being honest, isn't everything that can play games beyond a certain level of fidelity a luxury item? I don't think a Switch 2 wouldn't be considered one just because it is Nintendo. If you want the luxury, you'll pay $40 for a single shirt instead of $5 for a pack of ten. Nobody NEEDS to play the newest games all the time in the best possible way. Nobody NEEDS the $40 shirt. But dammit, I want to play those Ninty games and I fucking hate how good they are because I would not be buying them otherwise xD