The Switch 2 Nintendo Direct: My Unfiltered Thoughts

The Switch 2 Nintendo Direct seems to have people up in arms about things. There are a lot of comments flying around, and I have some opinions on them - some of them gonna be unpopular, some I hope will be a voice of reason (at least from my perspective), and others I’m just downright annoyed about…

Keep in mind that my opinions are informed by my own experiences, which includes over 30 years of gaming (console, PC and handheld) and over 20 years in the software industry, with only the last 3 or so having any kind of direct gaming industry involvement (if solo indie dev counts).

The Console Price

I don’t think $449/$499 is that expensive. The Switch launched in 2017 for $299, just accounting for inflation alone that would be $389.22 today.

I think it’s been widely accepted that inflation in the last few years was not an accurate measure of cost of living increases, and tariffs and taxes need to be considered, probably putting it over $400, and that’s assuming it was the exact same machine.

It’s not.

It’s a new generation. It’s going to cost more. Even if this is PS4 Pro level performance (an assumption from the 4k60 in docked claims), at the price of a PS5, it’s still a handheld, which is different.

Is it expensive? Yes. Do I wish it was cheaper? Of course. But that doesn’t mean the price is unreasonable.

The Games Price

First, right off the bat, yes, charging for the tech demo tutorial is dumb, and I hope nobody buys it. We can all agree on that. If you are gonna copy Sony’s “paid next gen upgrade” approach, then at least also copy the “free awesome tech demo” one.

But that is the second thing, and yes, I know there are some PS4->PS5 upgrades that were free, but that isn’t 100% the case. There are titles, including popular ones like GTA5, which only had either paid upgrades or entirely new PS5 versions. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to charge for new work being done on old games.

Maybe this is just the developer in me, but getting paid for doing work seems pretty normal. And I think this goes nicely into my second point. The $70-$80 price point for new titles. Again. Is it expensive? Yes. Do I wish it was cheaper? Of course. But that doesn’t mean the price is unreasonable.

Hear me out.

Nintendo has never (that I recall) gone the microtransaction route in their first-party games. Sure, there are amiibos and things, and there are games that do it, but for first party titles, you generally pay for the game, get the full game, play the full game, and then maybe there is paid DLC.

They don’t live-service/gacha/pay-to-win milk your wallet dry like most other games today.

I just talked about inflation and increased costs. It’s gotta go up sometime. There are plenty of good articles out there on why game prices need to go up.

The C Button

This is a weird one. This button is linked to a paid feature. Sure, it’s free for like 9 months or something, then you need a Nintendo Online subscription, so you have a button on the controller that literally doesn’t work if you don’t pay. Kinda messed up.

But honestly, who doesn’t pay for Nintendo Online? It’s the cheapest (and crappiest) of the console online subscriptions.

If you play online with friends, you are probably already paying for this. If you don’t pay for this, you’re probably just gaming by yourself anyway, or doing the proper in-person co-op thing, in which case, do you need online video chat?

Again, I agree this is a weird move, I’m just struggling to see why this is such a big deal… What am I missing?

“Just Buy a Steam Deck”

This one I’m seeing a lot.

“Oh, the Steam Deck is better and Steam games are cheaper”

“I don’t see any reason why someone would buy a Switch 2, better off with Steam Deck or equivalent”

“$450 for a Switch 2? No thanks. If Nintendo wants to compete in the handheld space, they have to rethink that price.”

Boy. Nintendo doesn’t compete in the handheld space. It invented the handheld space. It owns the handheld space. It IS the handheld space.

Okay, sorry, being dramatic, but if there is one thing Nintendo does well, it’s handhelds. No other company has come close to competing with the Gameboy, the GBA, the DS or the 3DS, or the Switch.

Based on what they showed, the Switch 2 will run Cyberpunk and Elden Ring way better than any of the PC handhelds out there today. And it will do so in a better form factor, with less noise, and probably better battery life too.

I’m sorry, but this take really annoys me. Show me where the Steam Deck does 4k60 in triple-A titles. I’ve been following the handheld PC gaming space since long before the Steam Deck took things into the mainstream, and without external GPUs, upscaling and framegen, it ain’t happening.

I love my ROG Ally X, but every time I pick up my Switch I am reminded that it is bulky, and loud and uncomfortable, and Windows sucks and Bazzite is better but not there yet.

If I stick a game card in my Switch, I just start playing. The experience is entirely different from PC gaming. I’m sorry, but this hill I will die on; the console experience is just better than the PC one, and if the performance on the Switch 2 is as good as what they’ve shown, this shouldn’t be a debate at all.

Okay, I’m Done Ranting

I get that my opinion won’t be the same as everyone else’s. It’s subjective. I think there are a few objectively bad opinions going around, but ultimately it comes down to this…

Nintendo consoles are almost always worth it for just the first party titles alone. If those games don’t appeal to you, then don’t buy it. If you can’t afford it, save or skip. If you don’t like it because you are a Sony or MS fanboy, stop caring. Simple.

Just don’t go judging others because they think different and don’t agree with you. It’s their money, and their time, and doesn’t affect you personally in the slightest, so they can do whatever they damn well please.

As for me, I’m going to buy one. I love my Switch, and the Switch 2 just looks like it will be more better.