The only thing that can sink the Switch 2 is Nintendo’s greed – Reader’s Feature

A reader looks forward to the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct but worries that Nintendo’s penny-pinching could bring them down.

We’re nearly there. On Wednesday the Nintendo Switch 2 will be properly unveiled and unless it’s all some crazy bait and switch we’ll find out everything about the console and its launch games. I can’t wait. Any console reveal is exciting but with Nintendo it’s always something special.

The current Switch is probably going to end up as the most successful console of all-time and I don’t know who could argue that it doesn’t deserve to be in at least contention for the best ever. Its near endless list of classic games is unbelievable and all the more so because in most cases that’s as a result of completely revamping decades old franchises that were already thought of as near perfect.

But you should never have heroes. Nintendo is great at making games and console – they’re easily the best in the world – but they’re still a greedy and shortsighted company, like all the rest. They can be very anti-consumer at times, especially when they’re coming off a hot streak, and I just hope that doesn’t end up scuppering the Switch 2.

Let’s get this out of the way first: Nintendo games never going down in price is not anti-consumer. Refusing to fix broke Joy-Cons and not having a proper digital account system is anti-consumer but selling games at a price people are willing to pay is not. Games, from any publisher, are sold at the maximum price that a company thinks people will pay for it and for Nintendo that’s almost always full price.

There is no incentive for Nintendo to lower the price if people think it’s good value for money and are still willing to pay it. That is the business reward for making good games: people pay their money and are satisfied with the end result. Asking Nintendo to reduce prices is like asking them to make worse games so they’ll be cheaper.

No, Nintendo’s faults lie elsewhere. They have got better at digital accounts but they’re still not there and part of the problem is that games is all Nintendo does, so they have to make the maximum amount of money they can from that. They can’t go around giving things away for free like Microsoft or Sony.

That’s why the Virtual Game Card thing seemed so overcomplicated and fiddly. Did it remind you of Xbox One’s game sharing rules? It did me and I know it’s the first thing a lot of other people thought of too. Microsoft learnt from that and now they’re very generous with things like game sharing and backwards compatibility and game upgrades but they can afford to be.

Not only are Nintendo’s game sharing rules a lot more restrictive but I fear they are going to charge for upgrades from Switch 1 to 2 games. We know they’re going to do that, but I really can’t imagine that being free. I’m not even saying it’s unfair for Nintendo to ask for the money but it’s just going to cost them a lot of negativity if it’s too expensive.

Gamers are weird. They’ll pay huge amounts of money for pointless cosmetic, but they’ll hurl death threats at anyone they think is charging them a dollar more than they’re willing to pay. I don’t feel Nintendo has ever properly understood that about Western gamers, and while I’m not defending anyone, I worry it could create multiple flashpoints for the Switch 2.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Nintendo will be unusually generous, but the Virtual Game Card immediately makes me think they won’t be.

By reader Lostkeys

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at [email protected] or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.

ArrowMORE: How to play retro consoles on modern TVs and why you should – Reader’s Feature

ArrowMORE: Video game makers should bring back the best feature of the Xbox 360 - Reader's Feature

ArrowMORE: Top 10 online co-op video games for modern consoles and PC – Reader’s Feature