Featured Image Credit: Nintendo
Topics: Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
When it comes to the Nintendo Switch 2, there’s just one topic on everybody’s lips: its cost.
The recent Nintendo Direct left the vast majority of us incredibly impressed.
Mario Kart World was unveiled as a launch title, while The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were announced to be receiving new enhanced versions.
GameCube games are set to join Nintendo Switch Online, FromSoft announced a new exclusive IP, and the Switch 2 itself will introduce a new chat feature as well as target 120fps.
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There were so many incredible reveals to take in.
And then the hype all came crashing down shortly after the showcase ended when Nintendo lifted the lid on its pricing.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is due to retail for £395.99, or you can bundle it with Mario Kart World for £429.99.
Mario Kart World will cost a whopping £74.99 for a physical copy on its own.
I likely don’t need to tell you that that's a fair bit more than the OG Switch cost which launched in the UK at £279.99.
That price rise is a tough pill to swallow, made worse by the fact that analysts are saying that the Switch 2 could easily have been made cheaper.
As reported by TweakTown, two analysts have explained that while Trump hadn’t yet announced his tariff plans when the Switch 2’s pricing was made public, it was still likely something taken into consideration by Nintendo given that the word tariff has been thrown around by the US president for some months now.
"Nintendo made assumptions on tariffs when setting the $449 price (around 20% I think) but actual tariff is 46%/54% and hence why the potential to revise up prices,” explained MST Financial senior analyst David Gibson via Twitter.
“If there was no tariffs, we would be looking at potentially $350 launch price,” he continued.
Niko Partners’ director of research and insights replied with a simple: “Agreed.”
If Nintendo had set a $350 price tag pre tariffs, that would’ve made the console around £273 here in the UK - in line with what the original Switch cost.
Of course, in addition to Nintendo opting for a higher price point, it’s now looking like US consumers will have to pay those additional tariff charges.
I should stress that these analysts can’t be 100% certain as to what Nintendo’s thought process was so I’d advise you to take this information with a pinch of salt.
Perhaps it’s easier to not dwell on what could have been.