Why is the Nintendo Switch 2 and its games so expensive?

Nintendo fully revealed the Switch 2 console and a number of first and third party games during a livestream on April 2 but it's the cost of these that has got a lot of people talking on social media.

There was so much hype heading into the event and Nintendo arguably delivered one of the best announcement events of this kind in a long time, revealing in-depth details about the console and loads of games releasing on it.

But it seems a lot of that excitement was lost very quickly because just after the event, the price of the console and its games were revealed.

Even for those willing to pay the steep prices in the US, preorders have been paused because it seems the company is reassessing how much the console and physical games will retail for after Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on China and Vietnam, two countries where the Switch 2 is produced.

So why is the Switch 2 and its games so expensive?

There has been a lot of talk online about the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 console and its games / Screenshot from Nintendo

How much does Nintendo Switch 2 cost?

Before preorders in the US were paused, Nintendo Switch 2 was available at $449 and a console bundle with Mario Kart World included would have cost $499.

How much do Nintendo Switch 2 games cost?

Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games cost up to $80 digitally, with Mario Kart World being the prime example of this. Even original Nintendo Switch games with Switch 2 Edition upgrades cost this much in some cases.

Physical copies of Mario Kart World are available to preorder through some retailers for a whopping $90.

For comparison, the current industry standard of the cost of top AAA games is $70 so it seems Nintendo is the first to bump up the price of new games.

Why is Nintendo Switch 2 and its games so expensive?

Let's start with the console - it was widely expected by industry experts and analysts the console would cost around the $400 mark. $449 for the Switch 2 itself is slightly above this but given the Switch released at $299, this feels like a reasonable price point for it.

The Switch 2 is priced similarly to the PS5 and Xbox Series X which may be surprising to some but the Switch 2 has the capability to match and even surpass these two in terms of regular performance. Don't forget the PS5 and Xbox Series X both released in late 2020 and the PS5 Pro released late last year at $699.

As for the games, this is the aspect that's courted the most controversy.

Raising the price of its games above the industry standard is a bold move for Nintendo and it has put the company at the centre of a huge backlash when it should be more of an exciting time for it.

There has been a huge outcry for Nintendo to drop the price of the console and its games. During its recent Treehouse streams, where Nintendo showed gameplay and features of the Switch 2 and games releasing on it, the comments were flooded with 'drop the price'.

Producing top quality games is as expensive as it ever has been because of soaring production costs.

These includes games themselves being a lot more technical and complex to create, larger teams having to work on these titles, wages for skilled workers rising and the need for extensive marketing campaigns.

Activision recently revealed Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War cost more than $700m to make with the 2019 version of Modern Warfare just behind that at $650m. Cyberpunk 2077 reportedly cost CD Projekt Red around the $440m mark and GTA 6 is rumoured to be costing Rockstar upwards of $1bn.

It's widely been reported the price of video games has not kept up with inflation and they should actually cost even more but when players have got so used to games being at a certain price point, any rise will come as a shock and be met with backlash.

Especially when it seems Nintendo games historically have not cost anywhere near as much to produce as these highest examples and it is the company that has raised prices.

To be clear though, the exact cost of the production of Switch 2 games specifically has not been confirmed and is not currently known.

Elsewhere, a look at everything that's new in Mario Kart World and players have been reacting brilliantly to Verdansk returning to Call of Duty: Warzone.

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.