First-party Switch 2 games—including re-releases—all run either $70 or $80
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/04/psa-mario-kart-world-is-50-bundled-with-a-switch-2-but-80-by-itself/Open linkView original on lemmy.world238
Comments77https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/04/psa-mario-kart-world-is-50-bundled-with-a-switch-2-but-80-by-itself/Open linkView original on lemmy.world
Nope. That'll be a pass from me Nintendo.
I’ll wait for an emulator
Honestly, I won't bother. I only tried a few Switch games on emulator out of curiosity, and never played long. They don't make anything interesting enough for me to want. I don't get why people feel the need for Nintendo.
The mainline Zelda games were fantastic emulated, beautiful with graphics mods and at 1440p/60-120FPS! I also really enjoyed Link’s Awakening. I played Monster Hunter Rise on my regular switch for like 140 hours, but I wish I had waited for the computer version.
I’m definitely passing on Switch 2. I only ever played my Switch docked and always wished I was just playing it in the computer instead.
I am not in the market for a console (my last one was the Sega Mega Drive which was abandoned after we got a Pentium 1 PC and dialup), but I got to say, I love Nintendo's pricing policy.
It's almost as if they are taking the piss and want to see to what extent their fans are gluttons for punishment.
This is full on corporate regressiveness.
Wait so you have to subscribe to get access to emulators (which are all open source I am assuming)? And you can't just buy a retro game (ala GOG) and play it to your heart's content? You need a sub to Nintendo online?
The key card thing is seriously infuriating, both from a consumer standpoint and from a media conservation standpoint.
Basically you own a game cartridge, but as soon as Nintendo shuts down their servers for whatever reason it becomes a useless piece of plastic. They really don't want us to own anything anymore.
I'm not sure that's how that works. The Switch already had both physical boxes with digital codes in them and cartridges that required mandatory downloads to run. This seems like a physical unlock key for a digital download, which depending on how it's implemented is actually easier to both resell and use offline than the Switch 1 solution to the same problem.
I don't recommend purchasing either, and I avoided both of those options on Switch 1, but I'm pretty sure this at least does not make things any worse.
I have major gripes with a number of pricing choices in this thing, but to the best of my current understanding this one is based on a misunderstanding.
You cannot use the unlock key, or even redownload the game, when, not if, the Switch store goes offline.
This is true.
It's also true of the partial download carts for Switch 1 that don't include a full playable version of the game in the cart.
Presumably the digital back-compat on the Switch 2 means the Switch will live a lot longer usual for Nintendo platforms, and we don't know if there will be a backwards compatible Switch 3.
But in practice, this is just an iteration of the Switch 1 version of the same thing. It's not great. I avoided both the mandatory download carts and will likely avoid these ones, but it's not a bigger deal than it has been for the past five years or so.
Their emulators have always been proprietary. The waters were a little muddied by the NES/SNES Classic consoles using a Linux OS but the emulators were their own code.
Their FOSS code is made available when required and is published here:
https://support.nintendo.com/jp/oss/index.html
I see. I am surprised they didn't simply take existing open source code and go with that.
They likely want to avoid legitimising those existing emulators.
Oh wow, that cartridge thing is actually just the worst of both worlds. I'm similar to you, my last console was a Mega Drive but I did get a Switch for my wife and played a couple of games on it which was fun. Not really keen on giving Nintendo more money though.
So when Nintendo servers shut down, that's it.
So does this kill used game sales?
I think it kills game leaks before the street date. Even if the data isn’t in the cartridge (which is stupid), you would still be able to sell the cartage assuming the online service is still active.
Sucks for game preservation though. I’m personally hoping there’s some flaw in the gen 1 hardware that can be exploited for archive purchases.
(edit: fixed autocorrect)
I am assuming you can re-sell the "Game Key".
I pray it faces record-breaking piracy.
It probably will. Given the modest spec bump and the high even for Nintendo hostility to switch emulation, it's probably trivial to support switch 2 as well.
I too wonder if there would be communities, focused on playing these xbox360 era games on pc - after this
Anyone got links further educational reading on this matter?
I wonder if there would be communities, focused on playing these xbox360 era games on pc - after this
Anyone got links further educational reading on this matter?
Gbatemp.net
nice but these tutorials seem to be about jailbreaking consoles not emulation, or am I wrong?
There are also resources on emulation. Generally speaking, if it's about console hacking, rom hacking, custom roms, homebrew, and general technical stuff, GBATemp is the place for it.
A lot of people that develop CFWs, emulators, or homebrew hang out on that forum.
However, be advised; the only reason why that forum is even alive after all these decades is because they're not allowed to directly link to pirated software.
but emulators are perfectly legal?
Of course I would buy the game officially
Which is why CFWs and emulators are shared there. Just not the games.
Always loved Nintendo, but this will be a hard pass from me.
Fuck Nintendo.
I love having my decision not to buy a Nintendo Switch and stick to PC games validated.
Feel bad for all the Nintendo fans though, I get how you can fall in love with a franchise they make and want their stuff only to have "except it costs a ton" stuck on, so you'll have to skip for financial reasons and feel unhappy. It's a lot harder to abstain from something you actually care about and want, than something you are maybe mildly interested in.
No Zelda or Mario will hurt. But Nintendo's decided I'm just too poor to be worthy of playing their games any more.
There's a hundred different versions of amazing Mario and Zelda games that you can play already with emulators and on an old switch/computer/steamdeck. Wait till the new one is emulated, don't enable Nintendo to do this shit.
There are also plenty of decent Zelda-likes out there from small indie studios all the way to triple-a studios. Sony should really make one of their own looking at how well the managed to but pretty much everything Nintendo all at once to Astro bot.
Seriously. It's tried and true.
Yes, and I've played them all multiple times. I was referring to NEW Marios and Zeldas. Metroid, too, but Prime 4 will at least be on Switch 1 and who knows when or if the next one will happen.
Try some ROM hacks. Super Mario Logic is pretty sweet
It's most difficult for me since I want to play metroid prime 4, especially after hearing the music. But I don't want to pay 90 euro for base game. That's incredibly ridiculous
I'm just going to get the Switch version and be perfectly happy with the visuals being slightly less good and using gyro joycon aim over joycon mouse.
Some of us will probably even get to play it early judging by the past several first-party Nintendo games.
Hah. Oh hey... Look, it's in 4K after all!
And 60fps! Well, not for me, I'll be playing on original Switch hardware.
I hope they still have tank controls, and designed the game with those in mind. I've been playing the Prime games like that for so long.
Failing that, at least a twin stick control scheme would be nice.
I was REALLY looking forward to the 2 ... this leaves such a sour aftertaste, it's very unpleasant.
4 real when Zelda was released on the switch is ran at like 1080p 30 fps. The emulator version was 4k @ 60 fps…
The reason the switch 1 was emulated so fast was a hardware vulnerability on nvidia's part. Presumably we won't see that again.
Also: While switch games DO run better on a steam deck, they don't run great. And I think estimates put the switch 2 at closer to a PS4 than PS3 in terms of power? But even PS3/360 games don't run gerat on a Steam Deck.
Not to mention nintendo's lawyers putting the fear of mario into the emulation community.
So in a few years? I could see MAYBE some proof of concepts. But I doubt we'll actually be able to properly emulate switch 2 games until at least 2030.
SteamDeck it is.
The only game I want to play is that new Donkey Kong game. Paying €520 for playing just one game is ridiculous. I’m gonna wait till Nintendo releases more games. I’m not gonna spend €450 for it to collect dust like my PS5.
I’m the dude in that meme looking at the other girl, and she is my icon collections in Steam, GOG, even Epic, etc. Icons with native Linux versions get slight preference.
Can't wait to wait 2 years and then pirate it.
But besides that; are there any good PC kart racers?
(Emphasis on "good", because I already know about Super Tux Kart, used to play it a lot more than 10 years ago, but today it feels very... Clunky and dated).
I hear very good things about Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed, and there's a new one coming.
Wut OoO really? (edit) Ok I found it Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds from Sonic Team! I'm super hyped
Hmm... I've heard a few things about Sonic All-Stars too. Guess I should give it a shot.
Would be cool if Crash Nitro Kart isn't still a PlayStation exclusive...
Sonic Racing Transformed still the best
super tux cart on linux is free and open source
Sonic and Sega All Stars Transformed is top
You probably want a dedicated game, but I have a lot of fun with Dragon Kart in Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Gaming market as a whole seems to be going through a correction of sort and this is the time when Nintendo decides to raise the price? Good luck with that Nintendo.
I along with just about everyone here probably has a massive back catalogue of games on Steam to ride out whatever is currently happening in the gaming industry. Maybe I’ll just chill over by the corner and watch the gaming market craters itself into the ground.
Just like their prices, Nintendo will never change.
Arrrr!
Ubisoft's The Crew 3: Super Mario Horizon
Canadian here: What's the difference? /s
For you it'll be $120 Wilfrid Laurier bucks..
I buy pretty much every console there is, but I'll pass here. Maybe there will be a price-cut OLED model and a new "Best of Switch 2" Series of games with cut prices (like on GameCube or Wii). Also I want to wait and see if the Joy-Cons 2 get drifting issues.
I never ever saw the point of paying premium for re-released games. Those are the kind of games where I will wait almost any time for them to drop so it is a favorable price. And with the specs of the Switch 2, the price points being asked of from those games, do no warrant it. They are best played on other platforms.
Am I the only one who doesn't care about this? We'll wait for the 33% nintendo sales and fill the rest of the year with 3rd party 80% sales like always
Or get it second hand for cheap lol, it's not a big deal to me at least.
These are the top 5 sellers on Switch:
These links take you to a price tracker with a chart showing historical prices. The RRP of each of these has been static, and discounts are short and infrequent.
In a break from form Nintendo hasn't released a budget "Selects" label for older titles this generation.
It will only stay as high as the market and customers allow it
If it sells out, expect a price drop in a few years
If it fails to meet Nintendo's expectations (3DS at launch) expect a price drop a few weeks or months (3DS at launch)
Switch sold out in 2017, and now the same basic Neon model is selling for the same price in 2025.
Maybe I should have been more specific...i meant mid to end of life. I totally figured forgot the switch lasted a fucking decade
This is an unpopular opinion, but y'all are forgetting about inflation. $60 in 2017 is $78 in 2025. $300 in 2017 is $390 today.
My ex always mocked me for the prices of Nintendo switch games. She even got me into playing games on my PC. But except for trackmania, I always gravitate back to the Switch. And I'm definitely in a priveleged place so take this with a grain of salt, but I'm buying the Switch 2 pretty much no matter what. To me it's worth the cost.
Tell that to the people making the same amount of money in 2025 that they were in 2017.
Yes, inflation happened, and purchasing power has not grown or stayed the same with it. People can't afford as much, so rising prices on entertainment are going to sting even more.
General inflation doesn't quite translate directly in all cases and is just a reference. In video games, costs have increased, but revenues have increased primarily through micro transactions and a growing market/sales. There's virtually no marginal cost to produce additional units with software, so the revenues become a balance of price, demand, and supply (for hardware). They are expecting that the price increase won't result in a significant drop in demand so that revenue increases. If they're wrong, this will be a huge business mistake. If enough people purchase anyway, like you, then they'll increase revenues and this will be considered a great business decision
Yeah, I have rejected increased cost games for this very reason. But Nintendo is one of the few companies I believe would do it to cover their costs instead of just preying upon general apathy towards inflation since covid to jack up profit. They are too rich for my blood at the time, but if I had the income to splurge this would be one of a vanishingly small number of places I would be willing to put up with it.
After coming off the incredibly successful Switch generation and Mario Kart 8 being essentially a decade old game that's sold over 70 million copies, I just don't believe that this is a decision driven by absolute necessity. I'd have begrudgingly accepted the standard PS5 prices of $70 games and $10 upgrades which I already thought were usually overpriced, but raising another $10 seems ridiculous. I'm thinking I'll pass at least for a few years
Also, even disregarding the inflation argument, video gaming is still one of the cheapest per hour hobbies.
Its cool, your choice, you spend your money as you see fit.
I personally would never spend 60 usd on a game in 2017 and will never spend 80 usd in 2025. Its just too much.