Nintendo Switch Successor Announced

[Hero-of-Time]

Let's say the Switch 2 is just a more powerful version of the original. How much are people willing to pay for it? 

With the PS5 Pro being announced, there's been a lot of talk about the price of consoles and people potentially being priced out of the hobby if they continue to rise.

What would be the breaking point price for you to say "No" when it comes to the Switch successor.

 

[Nicktendo]

9 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Let's say the Switch 2 is just a more powerful version of the original. How much are people willing to pay for it? 

With the PS5 Pro being announced, there's been a lot of talk about the price of consoles and people potentially being priced out of the hobby if they continue to rise.

What would be the breaking point price for you to say "No" when it comes to the Switch successor.

 

It really depends on the tech inside it. I expect £400 will be the ceiling for a Nintendo machine, and cannot really see them going over that. 

Having said that, if it is packing a lot of punch and is a competent rival (or better) than Steam Deck, I don't see how £500 could potentially be out of the question. I don't see Nintendo going down that road though. The family-friendly, buy-each-one-of-the-kids-their-own-device helped shift a lot of OG Switch & Lite units and I expect they will take the same approach here. OG model will likely be £350-400, a non-dockable "Lite" version will launch 12-18 months later at £300, and then depending on how balls-to-the-wall they go with the base model, we may see a premium edition 2-3 years down the line with the same tech, but improved storage, screen & battery life.

Essentially, I'm expecting them to use the same playbook as the original Switch. 

Edit: I'm with Glen-i. Anything over £400 is likely where I'll question getting one day 1. Unless the launch line-up is astoundingly tantalising. 

Edited September 15 by Nicktendo

[Glen-i]

8 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

What would be the breaking point price for you to say "No" when it comes to the Switch successor.

Hard to say without planning how much time I have to save up for it beforehand, but I wanna say 450 quid is the point where I start doubting getting it immediately.

I have to imagine Nintendo know they have a good hold on the lower price end of the market, and I don't think they'll be insane enough to go anywhere near close to *checks that price* 700 quid.

Edited September 15 by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

I'm not expecting them to go too crazy with the price. As Nick said, Nintendo will probably want to sell families multiple consoles and so trying to keep the price down will be important. 

I'm expecting something like £379. Anything over £400 and that's when I will start questioning whether to wait or not. I waited a year for both the PS4 and PS5 to come down in price (didn't happen with the PS5) and so I can happily sit on the sidelines and wait, if need be.

[Julius]

49 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Let's say the Switch 2 is just a more powerful version of the original. How much are people willing to pay for it? 

With the PS5 Pro being announced, there's been a lot of talk about the price of consoles and people potentially being priced out of the hobby if they continue to rise.

What would be the breaking point price for you to say "No" when it comes to the Switch successor.

Hmm, that's a great question – I'm honestly not sure where I would draw the line and say "no" to picking up the Switch's successor, I guess it would be if it ended up needing a comparable overall launch budget for me compared to my PS5 I would be seriously questioning it. The overall launch day expense is I think what I'll be looking at more so than just the price of the console. 

I started saving up for my PS5 around 12 months from launch and got my budget for that pretty much spot on – it was £850: prepped for a £599 console at the top end, 3x full £60 releases, a spare £70 DualSense; in the end I ended up with extra funds to use for more accessories and to cover the increase from £60 to £70 next-gen titles. 

So I think a console that is over £599 is where I would probably cut myself off from buying it on Day 1, as I'd probably be looking at an £800+ outlay, though I don't think for a second that will happen, and it's not the top end that I'm budgeting for. It's a weird one for me because I have a Switch which I feel like I could use way more, but if the Switch successor ends up being able to boost performance on some games, there's probably some more wiggle room on how much I'd pay.

My actual Switch 2 budget which I'm working towards at the moment overall is £750: £500 console at the top end, 2x £60 launch games, £70 Pro-ish controller, then ~£60 or so for small accessories like a screen protector, case, and so on. 

Plus, after the price of the Pro dropped, though I don't think Nintendo will be silly enough to put out a £500 console (agree with both @Nicktendo and @Glen-i that £400-£450 is probably what we're looking at), I am absolutely mentally preparing myself for the possibility of it being a £500 Switch successor. Isn't it crazy that even though I don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell that Nintendo would do it, PlayStation pushing that upper limit of a console's launch price just niggles away at the back of my mind to the point I'm preparing myself for it? 

Unless the OLED drops below the £300 line officially I think the Switch successor needs to be at least £400 things as stand (just with the OLED being £309) just to really place an emphasis price-wise on the contrast between the OLED and Switch successor. I feel like there's got to be a big enough gap in price between the top end Switch model and the Switch successor that makes people go "oh, well now, THAT'S next-gen" to almost make the asking price feel more justified – I think people will rightly start to be a bit wary if the gap between the OLED and Switch successor isn't wide enough, because then it becomes a question of, well, is the Switch successor only, say, £50 more valuable and worthwhile than the OLED? 

Really curious to see how Nintendo prices this thing, and also just how they market it. Hopefully not too long to go now! 

[nekunando]

I'll be there on day one whatever the price, I'd say!

I remember not being enthused by the Wii, Wii U or even Switch reveals but I fell in love with all of them (to varying degrees 😅)

The only thing likely to stop me picking one up at launch is if it's practically impossible to get one due to scalpers and whatever else. I wouldn't be paying over the RRP from some scumbag just to have it there and then!

I feel like it'll be more than people anticipate, like £429, but less than what I think they could probably get away with at launch. £499 is a price I could ultimately stomach when considering the amount of hours I'll get out of the console but we'll see what happens.

With no PS5 or XBOX in my thoughts, the Switch successor will be main and only console so might as well jump on board straight away 😁

Edited September 15 by nekunando

[Happenstance]

First one in the last few generations that I won't be bothering with at launch, probably not at all. Completely fallen out of interest with Nintendo games and PC handhelds are easily covering the handheld side so there's just no reason for me to get one.

[Dcubed]

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Let's say the Switch 2 is just a more powerful version of the original. How much are people willing to pay for it? 

With the PS5 Pro being announced, there's been a lot of talk about the price of consoles and people potentially being priced out of the hobby if they continue to rise.

What would be the breaking point price for you to say "No" when it comes to the Switch successor.

 

I’m gonna have to give you a two tiered answer to that question, because it really does depend on just what Switch 2 actually ends up being.

I’m sure it’s no secret that I’ve been a bit disillusioned with a lot of Nintendo’s choices this generation; and with how conservative both their hardware and game design in general has been this generation.  So a lot of this depends on what kind of successor we’ll be looking at here, because we still know so very little about it.

1: If Switch 2 ends up being essentially what the PS5/Series X was to the PS4/Xbone (a straightforward SSD/GPU/CPU upgrade and little else), then I’d pay a lot less.  Probably a max of £350/€400 if it plays original Switch games with improved performance (similar to the competition), but a lot less if it doesn’t (maybe £279.99? And certainly not until much later when there’s a substantial library in place).  And if there’s no BC whatsoever? Then I’m done buying any future 3rd party releases on Nintendo consoles, flat out.

2: If Switch 2 is a proper “Nintendo-like” console, with crazy new input & gameplay gimmicks, and a daring & creative games lineup that bucks industry trends? Then there is basically no limit to what I’m willing to pay.  If they make it? I will come, day 1, no questions asked.

Edited September 15 by Dcubed

[RedShell]

If Nintendo's next system is priced at over £350 at launch then I'll definitely have some doubts about buying one.
Can't imagine them going over 300 though as it just doesn't fit with their business strategy, plus I'm pretty sure they'll have been able to put together noticeably improved hardware over the Switch that can still be sold at a profit for around that price or less.

Don't reckon Nintendo would be prepared sell at a loss on the hardware, but can certainly see them accepting a lower profit margin than usual (or just to break-even) if required, I mean even that still wouldn't be at all risky for them as they're guaranteed to print money from their software sales and they know it.

It makes the most sense for Nintendo to have as many potential customers for their games as possible, so keeping the price of the console low should remain a priority.

[Happenstance]

It'll depend on how much power they put into it I guess. I haven't kept up with any hardware rumours so I don't know if they're aiming more towards PC handhelds or mobile chips. That is the good thing I guess, they can kind of go either way and would get quite good results. 

It also depends what Nintendo gamers want. If they want competition or even just more regular ports then they might have to start accepting that it'll cost more. 

[killthenet]

I'm expecting it to be more expensive than the Switch was at launch, just given how much things have gone up in recent years and the fact that it has been challenging for manufacturers to bring down the cost over time. I'm expecting it to be $399 in the US and probably about £379 at most in the UK (they always seem to gouge us in Europe, so would imagine Nintendo would do the same this time) - I would be very surprised if the RRP was north of 400, even with the PS5 to compare against that still seems like an invisible line that Nintendo will try not to cross. 

Going by the inflation calculator the Switch launch price of £279 in 2017 comes out at £361 in 2024 so £379 for Switch 2 probably wouldn't be that bad in the end.

[Hero-of-Time]

Thanks for the responses. 

5 hours ago, nekunando said:

The only thing likely to stop me picking one up at launch is if it's practically impossible to get one due to scalpers and whatever else. I wouldn't be paying over the RRP from some scumbag just to have it there and then!

Hopefully you won't have to deal with scalpers. One of the rumoured reasons for it releasing next year rather than this year was to sure up lots of stock, as well as to have plenty of software ready for the launch and months after.

4 hours ago, Happenstance said:

It also depends what Nintendo gamers want. If they want competition or even just more regular ports then they might have to start accepting that it'll cost more. 

I think the majority of Nintendo gamers have been happy enough with what's been available on Switch. Plenty of 1st party and indie games, and a more than a decent amount of Japanese 3rd party releases. The only thing it really missed out on were a lot of AAA Western developed games. Given the state of most of those, I'd say they dodged a bullet.

I imagine a lot of these games will be ported over to the Switch 2. Also, I'd be shocked if the likes of the Resident Evil remakes don't make their way over.

[Cube]

With how the Switch's library hasn't resonated with me very well, I'd probably look at getting one when the console after is announced.

I'd also personally like a cheaper model with no screen.

[nekunando]

43 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I imagine a lot of these games will be ported over to the Switch 2. Also, I'd be shocked if the likes of the Resident Evil remakes don't make their way over.

That's what I've been anticipating.

While there probably isn't that much I really want off the top of my head, I also expect all of the Resident Evil remakes to make it to the Switch successor. I could have been tempted to get RE4 on PS4 recently but I felt confident enough to hold out to be able to get it on a Nintendo system. I suspect it will be joined by RE2, 3, VII and VIII. I also wonder if there will be a deal for those people who purchased the cloud versions on Switch. Surely they would deserve some sort of upgrade to native versions 😅

Despite my confidence in those games coming from Capcom, I have been somewhat surprised that we didn't get stuff like the original Splinter Cell HD and Prince of Persia HD trilogies on Switch from Ubisoft or things like Dead Space from EA (though I'm much less surprised by their lack of support).

Heck, even Zombi U not coming to Switch seems a little strange considering a version of the game exists without the WIi U Gamepad integration!

[Hero-of-Time]

From what I remember, those HD ports of Ubisoft games weren't that great. They probably would have required a lot of work and not worth the effort. Lost Crown is well worth playing though.

As for EA, I can't think of anything notable that is missing from the Switch other than the Dead Space remake. A lot of their supported indie games made it over, as did FIFA (in a fashion) and Burnout Paradise. You wanted Anthem, didn't you?

[Glen-i]

26 minutes ago, nekunando said:

I also wonder if there will be a deal for those people who purchased the cloud versions on Switch. Surely they would deserve some sort of upgrade to native versions 😅

I think you already know that won't be happening.

[Will]

400 seems way too high to me - it’s too close to base level PS5 type pricing. If I was Nintendo I’d be aiming for the base model to be as close as possible to 300 and retiring the OLED Switch. Personally I'd get rid of the Lite too but I could see them keeping it around until they launch a Switch 2 Lite later on. 

For me it really depends on the games. I think I'd go up to 400 if there is a launch day Mario Kart + Mario OR Zelda. Otherwise I'll probably just wait until those come out. I might go as high as 500 but there would have to be some really seriously good games for that.

[Julius]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

One of the rumoured reasons for it releasing next year rather than this year was to sure up lots of stock, as well as to have plenty of software ready for the launch and months after.

Hadn't really thought about it until you brought that rumour back up – but it's a bit funny to me that Nintendo don't strike me as explicitly chasing down that PS2 sales record with the Switch, yet ensuring there is plenty of stock for the launch period of the Switch 2 pretty much guarantees that it will have the biggest launch of any console ever, right? 

I mean, the Switch itself at launch was limited only by its limited production (it sold out) and sold a bit under 3 million (2.74 million now that I look it up) that first month if I'm remembering right, and the PS5 sold 4.5 million in its first quarter, limited to matching the PS4 launch or thereabouts purely because of COVID and the parts shortage at the time meaning they were really limited on what they could get ready for launch. 

Meanwhile, assuming that Nintendo doesn't do something really stupid with the Switch successor (and, I mean, taking steps to ensure there's more in circulation at launch to me sounds like they're both confident and sticking to the script with a Switch follow-up), it's coming hot off the heels of the first Switch and its 143+ million units sold, Nintendo franchises doing better than other, and so on and so forth. 

It shouldn't be all that shocking considering I remember at the time thinking that the PS5 shortages around its launch guaranteed that the PS6 would break records at launch, yet, well, I really guess it is nailed on that this thing is just going to crush at launch. 

22 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

You wanted Anthem, didn't you?

Considering what I've seen of @nekunando's tastes on here over the years, that would be very on-brand 

24 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

As for EA, I can't think of anything notable that is missing from the Switch other than the Dead Space remake. 

I think the Star Wars Jedi games are probably the biggest ones missing, as well as the Legendary Editions of the Mass Effect games. Both, I'm sure, would do crazy well on a Switch successor. I'm curious where things like Squadrons would land as they're in such a weirdly niche spot for AAA both in price and scope, and then there's what you do or don't do with Battlefront II 2017. Besides those, did any of the Need for Speed games make it over? 

Jedi Survivor gets its last gen (PS4/XBO) release this coming week, and its release date feels like it was almost timed in line with previous expectations of the Switch 2 launching this Fall, so you'd think it would certainly leave them with less work to do - at least, you'd hope! - in bringing it over. 

Anyways, the real game missing from EA as a publisher on Switch is I'm going to say the best original game that they've published in the last 7 years in A Way Out. I think Hazelight gave some reason for it not coming to Switch at launch, but with the success of the Switch and the upcoming Switch successor on the cards, I have to imagine they're thinking about it. I'd love to see a Hazelight Collection release which bundles up Brothers, A Way Out, and It Takes Two leading up to the release of their next game. 

[nekunando]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

You wanted Anthem, didn't you?

You could show me a screenshot of Anthem and I wouldn't know it was Anthem. I am definitely not waiting for Anthem 😂

I forgot EA blessed us with Burnout Paradise and Need For Speed Hot Pursuit, two games which exemplify a lot of what I dislike about modern racing games!

[Hero-of-Time]

2 minutes ago, nekunando said:

 

I forgot EA blessed us with Burnout Paradise and Need For Speed Hot Pursuit, two games which exemplify a lot of what I dislike about modern racing games!

 

[nekunando]

15 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

 

That seems to be perfectly well established at this point 😢 I cleared Paradise, with little satisfaction, and deleted Hot Pursuit, with zero satisfaction!

57 minutes ago, Julius said:

Considering what I've seen of @nekunando's tastes on here over the years, that would be very on-brand 

I'm not sure how to take that one but I've just looked up a clip of it now and it most definitely isn't on brand 😅

[WackerJr]

I think £400 is the upper price for me at launch.  I still have plenty to go through in my backlog.  The Switch itself was the first console I didn’t get on day one since the N64 and I didn’t feel as though I missed out due to the backlog I had at the time as well.

If they suddenly came out with specs surpassing that of the PS5 and Xbox Series then I’ll reconsider this, but even without the rumours no-one’s realistically expecting this to happen.

The launch line-up will be particularly interesting.  They’ve had a bit of time to develop them, and others have mentioned the potential ports that would have an impact on Switch 2.  With such a high user base and so many titles to go through, they need to demonstrate why people need a Switch 2.

 

[Julius]

Grains of salt and all that, but a purported leak has started doing the rounds.

This comes from Famiboards:

Quote

This is brand new info from a Chinese forum poster who didn't have an insider track record, therefore the following is strictly for fun and giggles. Switch 2 production has started in (somewhere in China, which don't want to translate] 1000 units per day (Edit: This is one worker, not the whole line.] Slightly larger than Switch 1. Smaller bezel Black and white Joy-Con. Slightly larger logo, with "2" on the side. 

Okay, so now that we've poured enough grains of salt on this to the point that it's saltier than the Dead Sea, IF there's any semblance of truth to this – we have to be hearing about this ASAP, right? Random Chinese employee vs Nintendo for the biggest gaming reveal of 2024 – IF it's true, there's no way Nintendo don't try to get out ahead of this thing, right? Would be weird to me that word on production got around, well, ahead of Nintendo doing or saying anything themselves. 

Small aside: dig the idea of a black and a white Joy-Con from launch, definitely separates itself from the more colourful neon blue and red combo they put at the forefront of Switch marketing, and we never did get that black Switch (which I believe devs got?), but it does make me wonder what colour the base unit would need to be for that combo to not look absolutely atrocious. 

Edited September 16 by Julius

[Glen-i]

They defo won't call it Switch 2. Such a boring iterative name just isn't their style.

Yes, that's the one thing that's raising a red flag. It's too safe.

[Julius]

11 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

They defo won't call it Switch 2. Such a boring iterative name just isn't their style.

Yes, that's the one thing that's raising a red flag. It's too safe.

While I agree that it does sound very un-Nintendo-like, and this isn't me saying that I believe it's true, I do think it's the safest home run in the world to call this thing the Switch 2, and if it were to be called that, it would be a purely business driven decision more than it would be in line with their own past naming conventions.

I sometimes feel like it's harder than ever to nail down which side Nintendo wants to project as a business and console manufacturer, outside of being a software publisher and developer, but then we see the giant Wiimote at the Nintendo Museum and, well, everything seems exactly as it was before! 

Personally, I still want it to be called the Super Nintendo Switch just so we can have the NS followed by the SNS  but even a Super Nintendo Switch I think could risk confusion in a world full of mid-gen refreshes. Hell, I could see them calling it the Switch Too to be both very Nintendo but also still incorporate a '2' in there.

I just hope they resist the urge to call it the Swiitch, because if they called it that, they can keep it  

Edited September 16 by Julius