Greed, or survival?

A lot of people are complaining about the prices of the the Switch 2 console and games. I have a few things to say about this. For starters. Let me get this out of the way. The people doing the loudest squawking will be the first in line to buy everything Nintendo is selling. As for the prices themselves, the Switch 2 being $450 I feel is fine. Would I have preferred $399? Sure, but it's NOT that. So, you can either complain about the price, or, stop complaining and make a choice. A. Choose not to purchase the Nintendo Switch 2 or it's games and continue stomping your feet like a petulant child hoping to get your way. B. Choose to purchase the Nintendo Switch 2 and it's games and enjoy it. You see, there is this thing called "inflation" that exists. When you actually look at the retail prices of consumer products in the past and compare them to prices today you will see that you are getting over on some of these companies. In 2017 when the Nintendo Switch released, games retailed for $59.99. If you adjust for inflation (meaning adjusting the price of a product to get the same value in current times of the purchase compared to prices in the past,) you would see that a $59.99 dollar game in 2017 is $78.09 in 2025. So, with games today that still cost less than that, companies are actually LOSING value on the sales of games. A lot of people have a "bee in their bonnet" about games like Mario Kart World being $79.99. Adjusted for inflation, that price is actually just right. Especially considering the game that it is and how valuable that the game is for pushing console sales. With Donkey Kong Bananza, which is $69.99, you have a game that is LESS than what it should be as a major AAA,1st-party title. Again, adjusted for inflation, back in 2017 the game would be $53.77. LESS than the normal retail-price of games in that era. Of course, people will try to make excuses and justify their hypocrisy claiming that because the Switch 2 isn't on-par (graphically) with other consoles that the games should be cheaper. Or course, these are the SAME PEOPLE that will beat you to death with the mantra that "Power DOESN'T Matter" and that the "gameplay" and "innovation" from Nintendo's 1st-party games outweigh the visuals of the competitors. I got just two words for those people.....

In terms of the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 itself? The Nintendo Switch was $299.99 on 2017. Adjusted for inflation, that would be $390.51 today. So, that is just about $10 bucks short of the price we wanted. So, essentially Nintendo padded an extra $50 bucks on this thing. I'm sure there are many reasons why. The current economic climate and the volatility of it obviously plays a major role. I think people need to understand that this is not a "Nintendo" issue. This is not even an "American" issue. This is a worldwide issue. Prices for ALL video game hardware and software from ALL companies is going to go up and keep going up. You can cry all you want. It AIN'T gonna stop it. The tech (that we know about) inside of the Switch 2 is not cheap. Even though it is not an OLED screen, having an LCD screen with a 120Hz refresh rate along with VRR and HDR isn't exactly cheap. The magnetic induction circuits used to hold the Joy-Con 2 controllers in place is also a premium function. There is a lot more tech crammed into this tiny device than we thought. When docked, this game puts out resolutions of 4K60, 1440p120, and 1080p120. That is impressive. Apparently, this device does indeed use DLSS upscaling, and real-time ray tracing according to a blog on nVidia's website.

"The new RT Cores bring real-time ray tracing, delivering lifelike lighting, reflections and shadows for more immersive worlds.

Tensor Cores power AI-driven features like Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), boosting resolution for sharper details without sacrificing image quality.

Tensor Cores also enable AI-powered face tracking and background removal in video chat use cases, enhancing social gaming and streaming." Credit: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/nintendo-switch-2-leveled-up-with-nvidia-ai-powered-dlss-and-4k-gaming/ This device is more powerful than the Steam Deck. The rumors of this device being close to an XBOX Series S in terms of the visual presentation and capabilities seem to be true. I think $450 is fine. $399 would have been perfect, but I can handle $450. I would like to see the difference between what the visuals look like with the DLSS and ray-tracing turned "off" as opposed to being "on" just to see how much of an improvement it makes. We probably won't get that for awhile. Enclosing I would like to say that, if you call yourself a Nintendo fan, you really have no business going off about the prices. For all the shady things that Nintendo has done over the years and you all white-knighted for them so hard, this really is nothing. If there was ever a time that Nintendo deserved the benefit of the doubt, the time is now. They have EARNED that. The Switch is still holding strong at 150 million and counting. The only thing that I will push back at Nintendo with this situation is their stance that they will NOT be lowering the price of ANY Nintendo Switch device. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Once the Switch 2 is out there, the sales of the Switch are going to plummet. They will briefly rebound once Switch 2 consoles starting selling out, but over time once the Switch 2 becomes readily available, I can't see a bunch of people paying full price for an inferior device when most (if not all) of those games that you would want to buy a Switch for can be played on Switch 2 in the way you should have been able to play them in the first place. I mean, pretty much everyone that wants a Switch already has one. Who's gonna buy a Switch now to play Breath Of The Wild, Tears Of The Kingdom, Super Mario Odyssey, etc? A LOT of people are going to want to buy those games for the Switch 2 and a lot of people that already own those games will want to purchase the upgrade packs.

If someone wants to throw a red flag at Nintendo for greed, I would not stand in their way when it comes to not lowering the price of aging, antiquated, and after June 5th, 2025, superfluous hardware.

Nintendo Switch 2 has arrived

Well, now we've seen the Nintendo Switch 2 in all it's glory. Nintendo has given us a glimpse into their future and for the most part it looks very bright. Nintendo did not go fully in-depth with the tech in terms of confirming or denying the use of DLSS or Ray Tracing. From what I can see, neither of those features were present. At least I couldn't tell. That being said, the visuals look incredible. I would go so far as to say that the visuals in some of the 3rd party ports and EXCLUSIVES (more on that later) actually looked better than some of the 1st party titles shown. Nintendo really went through a lot of effort to enhance the gameplay experience as much as possible. Particularly in portable mode. This is still a very "Nintendo" like device. Lots of gimmicky features that may or may not pan out. The "C" button opens up a whole new world for communication on the Switch 2. I think that Nintendo is definitely trying to make up for the Voice Chat debacle on the original Switch. There were a lot of patents filed for something called a "Virtual Camera" and the camera shown in this Direct showed off a lot features that were described in those patents. So, now we know what the Virtual Camera was all about. It seems like Nintendo is using the increased power of the Switch 2 to expand the scope of the games rather than bleeding-edge visuals, but the visual still look really good. When I first saw the brief footage of Mario Kart World during the Nintendo Switch 2 teaser, I was kinda like "Eh....ida know about this." Now that I see the sheer size and scope of the game I can understand why the visuals aren't at peak level. This is essentially a Mario Kart platformer. This is WAAAY beyond just a racing game, and there seems to be more to explore and do outside of the racing. Now I can understand why the game is exclusive to Switch 2. The game is just too huge and too robust to run on the Switch. They also had taken the traditional gameplay as far as they could. This was the next logical step. The number of 3rd party titles and the QUALITY of 3rd party titles coming to Switch 2 was impressive. To get an exclusive title by From Software I didn't see coming. I expected Elden Ring because that had Been long rumored, but a brand new exclusive title? That's nuts! That's a HUGE get for Nintendo.

I expected a Final Fantasy game coming to Switch 2, and we got that. I expected Madden and NBA2K, and we got that. I was puzzled as to why Yakuza 0 was not included with the recent bundle released on the Switch. Now I know why. Yakuza 0 Director's Cut is coming to Switch 2. If I may be so bold, that is the best game in the series. I've played through the story twice, and I'll do it again! It will be interesting to see if the motion-controls and mouse functionality will be worked into the gameplay. Plenty of opportunity for it. I'm also very impressed about the sheer number of titles both 1st and 3rd party that are going to be available on launch day. These are QUALITY titles too. Not just random filler titles. As I stated before, there was no mention of any upscaling or Ray Tracing that I saw unless I missed something. The visuals from what I can tell don't look as good as the PS5/XSX, but Nintendo is in the room. The wide chasm that was between Nintendo and the other companies in terms of visuals, resolution, and frame rates at least for the short-term has been greatly diminished. 4K60, 1080p120? That's pretty good. In terms of raw horsepower, that is definitely above the PS4 and even above the PS4 Pro. Not as powerful as the XBOX One X, but maybe outperforms it due to having a newer and faster CPU, as well as newer and faster RAM, and more of it. It seems like without any tricks the actual horsepower of this device is enough to get the job done for now. Nintendo has to save some stuff for Switch 2 Pro. :) I have a funny feeling about a new 3D Donkey Kong game, and I'm glad to see one. It was time. We haven't seen one in 3 decades. I also think it's time to give Mario a rest. There are enough games out there that can be remastered and upgraded that haven't been yet. Super Mario Sunshine probably won't be one of them as the game is going to be a part of the GameCube Classics coming to NSO. Overall, I am impressed. It launches June 5th, 2025 with the retail price of $449. The bundle that includes Mario Kart World is $499 which is interesting. It makes me wonder how much the games will be themselves. Am I impressed enough to purchase a Switch 2? Perhaps. We'll see. However, $80-80 dollars for Mario Kart World? I thought people were capping when I first saw that, but it is true. That sucked all the air out of the room for me. I expected games to increase at least to $70 dollars, but $80-90, Nah, ya'll can miss me with that Nintendo. I hope that this price is just an exception for this particular game.

The Switch is going nowhere any time soon

I'm not sure why so many people are so obtuse these days. Well, actually I do know why, but that is a different conversation. What I'm seeing is that the level of idolatry is so high with some people that they don't even have the ability to stay loyal a piece of plastic they already worship. As soon as a new and more shiny piece of plastic arrives, the previous one that THEY CLAIMED was the greatest-thing EVER gets tossed aside like yesterday's trash. At the time of this blog, we are exactly 1 week away from the full blowout of Nintendo's next device at the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, and apparently Nintendo will also have a 30-minute Nintendo Direct on March 27th, 2025 solely focusing on games for the original Switch. I find that interesting and peculiar in regards to the timing. What we will see at the April 2nd, 2025 Nintendo Switch 2 Direct I'm not sure for certain. I think it's likely we will see new games designed specifically for it. We probably will get more of a detailed explanation of the features. Most likely we will get a price and release date. Those are the only things that are a shoo-in I would venture to guess. It's possible that we will get one surprise title, but who knows. I'm not going into this Direct with high expectations. I set a VERY low bar, and I'm just gonna watch to see what they do. However, this isn't about the Direct. This is about the notion that "some" Nintendo fanatics think that just because the Switch 2 is on the horizon that the original Switch is going into the bargain-bin at Wal-Mart. First of all, Nintendo has clearly stated that the Switch will be supported well into the lifecycle of the Switch 2. Secondly, Nintendo of Japan President, Shuntaro Furukawa, emphatically stated that there will be NO PRICE DROPS for ANY Nintendo Switch device. That's all the proof that you need that the Switch isn't going anywhere, but allow me to indulge you even further. It is a good business practice to keep supporting successful products after the launch of a new version of said product. Nintendo has done this numerous times. The NES, SNES, GameBoy, N64, DS, and Wii all were supported and manufactured well into their next generations. Some were supported longer than others depending on the level of success. Sony has also done this with the PlayStation brand. Every PlayStation has sold well into the next generation. We are 5 years into the PS5 and only now in 2025 is the PS4 being phased out. It is still sold on store shelves and has new games coming to the device yet. The most successful console of all-time as of now, (the PlayStation 2,) stayed on store shelves for 13 years. With the Switch within striking distance of being the best-selling console of all-time and with it still selling strongly you think Nintendo is gonna just pull the plug on it? That makes no sense. From whatever device you are reading this blog from, there is an older version of it still being sold and has been sold for years. The car you drive has a older version that is still being manufactured and sold. Appliances in your home have older versions that are still being sold and have been for years. It is just good business to keep supporting successful products until they no longer are successful and THEN.....you pull the plug on it. Like I said in the beginning. This is the result of people worshiping pieces of plastic again. The SAME PEOPLE that are so anxious to kick the Switch to the curb because of the prospect of having a "more powerful" Switch (and thus far that is the only tangible difference between the two consoles we have been made aware of) are the EXACT SAME PEOPLE that for 8 years have incessantly told us that....... POWER DOESN'T MATTER....

Anyway, I can't wait to see what happens next week. Regardless if Nintendo lays an egg, the Direct is just "mid," or if they blow our socks off, there will be plenty to talk about for a long time. This is a jolt that the gaming industry desperately needs right now. I think that the entire gaming world is waiting to see what Nintendo is going to do.