In your channel's review video you've said that you will merge the 70% and 30% and the 90% and 10% and will use different wording instead of numbers to express them (strongly possible, modestly possible etc) and yet you still using the old method. Did you changed your mind? I don't have any problem with that. In fact, I prefer it this way and I wish you keep it like this. But it's odd to say something in that video that you haven't done yet
"In an ideal world, tariffs would not be necessary." I always knew that Nintendo Forecast was a free trade enjoyer. But seriously, this channel is such a gem for having such consistent content that's not just repeating the latest news headlines or rambling without any coherent point that a lot of other channels sadly fall into.
I don't know, but this is my gut feeling. Nintendo will use an LCD similar to the one in the PS Portal, and I'm 100% okay if that turns out to be true.
It’s gonna be fascinating on how the Switch 2’s price will age as it gets older. The world changes quicker than we realize at times, thus the world economic status could change almost at a given moment.
A competition aspect you didn't bring up is the Steam Deck - The other console quality gaming on the go system. If Nintendo raises the price too high, they start getting compared to a handheld gaming PC. I also recall reading about a study about the impacts of price on consumer spending - Comparing IIRC the same product priced at $34, $39, and $44, finding that the $39 price point sold the most units, despite being $5 more expensive than the $34 price point. I can't find the original study (link rot), but it's discussed in the blog post "two-insightful-articles-about-tabletop-game-costs-and-prices" on the stonemaier games webstie. (Which leads me to assume that a $490 or a $390 price would probably do better for Nintendo than a $450 price point)
I think either $399 or $449 are possible, basically in line with you. I'm deeply skeptical of $499 unless it's part of a bundle pricing ($499 including Mario Kart would effectively be pricing the Switch 2 at $429, though no one would see it that way), but there's effectively no way they could get the price below $399. I keep coming back to the Switch's $299 in 2017 dollars being worth about $388 in today's money. $399 would be effectively flat on the original Switch and would be a good number to repeat the previous console's success, but Nintendo's very cautious about RAISING prices and they might feel that being in an era where heightened inflation exists $399 might be significantly worse for them in 2032 than it is is 2025. $449 would give them more breathing room on that front. That's really my main worry: I think $399 makes sense TODAY, but Nintendo needs a price that will make sense 7 or 8 years from now too.
I would like to point out Nintendo values the switch at -90$ for dock -80$ for joycons -10$ for grip They value the switch by itself at 120$ 350$ would not be unreasonable as we know they have big profit margins on consoles (The prices are estimates as I’m too lazy to look them up and I’m not saying 400$ isn’t what’s happening)
Ha! Actually my original plan was to put the Furukawa video on TH-cam and the price one onto Patreon but then I was concerned that the news could render the price video obsolete so I decided to put it straight to TH-cam.
Great video as always, yep I basically agree with everything, I do see 400-450 being the sweet spot and I do potentially see them experimenining with 420 or 430 as in non US contries the switch was priced in such ways (eg it was £280 GBP)
450$ dollars even with a NSO subscription sounds like it would be a bit too much, technically undercutting the competition and will widen the gap in a couple years when next gen xbox/Sony consoles are out. So it is very much possible, especially considering Nintendo's current position in the market, if there's any time they could get away with pricing high it would be now. Still holding out hope for a 400$ release though, feel like that is a much stronger selling point and could mean a switch 2 OLED would have more leeway to then charge 500$ which could mean a lot more improvements, something more like a switch 2 "pro" of sorts, for a price that would still be much cheaper than the competition at that point.
"An inalienable right to affordable Mario Kart" 🥇 Excellent video. I'm struggling with the idea of there not being a $350 option, still. Which has led me to an idea.. What if they offer a dockless SKU aimed at Switch Lite owners or those who mostly play handheld! Seeing as none of the other handhelds have a dock and still sell, even at higher prices.. I'm still watching, so might be jumping the gun
tabletop purely bx itself? I don't think that would pull in very many people. Tabletop by putting the image on a bigger screen, but without a dock, so using just a cable that people would already own? That feels too hacky for my impression of Nintendo. I don't think they want to sell their shiny new toy without a core function. Down the line perhaps, as a replacement, but at launch I doubt that move.
@@ruolbu a lot of handhelds are selling even without a tabletop mode and so many people play handheld mostly. It looks like the dock has a fan in but maybe the usb could output the handheld performance level, I hadn't thought about that actually
The thing is, it would make sense especially to target multi-switch households who may already have a dock. However, that begs the obvious question, why has this not been made an option until now? Surely Nintendo whould have known of such a draw at least back when the switch was hitting its stride in '19 or '20, so why not do it until now? I suppose there is the draw of keeping what seems to be "affordable SKUs" the way they are with sales, so that could point to an option to diversify if the price seems too high, especially with no "Switch 2 Lite" to counter the price point. So it's possible, but i didn't think it's likely.
Just for me, as a consumer, please make it 400. Heck, if we could somehow hit 350, that would be ideal. 450 is something I’d wait significant time to buy in on.
I would highly, highly recommend getting the original now. There are rumours of a sequel but from what we know of the turbulent situation at Platinum currently it's not looking great. The original is an underrated gem and I'm sure you'll enjoy it so don't miss out.
I was really skeptical of Astral Chain, but I was pleasantly surprised. Great combat, good level design, great characters, good story. The story being just good is made up for by the characters being great. Also despite not being blown away by the story it did manage to surprise me once or twice.
I started it and enjoyed the first few hours, but then never got back to it and don't really want to unless it becomes clear it will or won't get a 60fps patch on Switch 2. Could feel it dip a couple of times and it overall could really benefit from a higher framerate - I'm not a huge snob but 30fps can feel really responsive to me sometimes and really sluggish at others, and Astral Chain is a bit more on the sluggish end
Really fantastic video man!! I don’t have the eloquence that you brought to back my prediction, but I think $400 is the perfect price point. Any higher feels too expensive, but any cheaper feels unrealistic. I do think the Switch 1 family will eventually see a permanent price cut, so maybe that’ll also direct Switch 2 pricing…
I feel it should be no higher than $350 at launch and simply use components that make that price feasible. But I’m talking into the wind, because apparently Nintendo pushed for some really high-end stuff. If it really has 256 GB of high-speed storage, 12 GB of high-speed memory, and a next-generation processor, then all those together make $400 extremely likely and would also require them to price-cut the Switch family to not blatantly look like they’re upselling it.
In 2017 the Switch launched with a SoC that was two nodes behind the cutting edge. The Switch 2 is rumored to be 7nm which is currently two nodes behind the cutting edge.
@@TheDuzx The rumors have also varyingly suggested 5nm and 8nm. Curiously, though, KGI, a Taiwanese financial holding company, put out a document on December 20th entitled "Game console demand recovery in 2025F" that largely focuses on the Switch 2, and it namedrops 5nm. I don't want to get my hopes up, but in 2020, Furukawa did signal that Nintendo would be pursuing more cutting-edge technology again over "conventional technology that enabled a lower price and appeal to users," so I would not count it out
@@PikaPhantomVG From the motherboad pictures which look too real to be a hoax we can see that it's made by Samsung. Samsung scaled down 5nm production in 2024 and I find it unlikely that they would have done that if they knew they had a contract with Nintendo for 5nm chips. Another factor that makes it unlikely is that TSMC 5nm and Samsung 5nm has different design rules so Nvidia would have to redesign their die to produce 5nm chips with Samsung. Maybe a big contract with Nintendo would justify that for Nvidia, but that would take away a lot of resources that could be focused on 3nm so I find this unlikely as well.
400 is pretty much the bare minimum, they almost certainly won't go under that. However I don't see them going over 450 for just the console itself (unless there are multiple options like the WII U)
@ I have to disagree that it’s the maximum the mass market will accept. While I agree that the mass market wont be happy with over 400-450, I disagree that there will be extreme outrage or enough dissidence that we’ll end up with another 3DS situation. The PS5 pro faced monumental backlash and yet despite it it’s still selling well, I think the mass market is far more accepting today than your implying.
@@samuelturner6076 Not saying it will be a failure, but $400 is a boundary Nintendo would be foolish to cross. Comparing it to PS5 pro is apples and oranges. We'll see.
@ Again I strongly disagree that crossing the 400 barrier is foolish, or that the PS5 pro price point is an apples to oranges consideration. I think 400 is a good price point but I feel your far to dismissive of something like 450.
$400 really seems like the max Nintendo can charge before general consumers really pull away. A big appeal for the Switch was that it was a relatively affordable entry point into an exclusive catalog and a unique form factor. While Nintendo still has its unique catalog of games they are no longer the only player in form factor. The closer they get to PC handhelds in cost the more they become competitors.
I think Nintendo will have the Switch 2 start at $399 in the States, with the possibility of the price fluctuating in some other parts of the world. Look, I know you've had reservations about a price tag with no "4" in the front, but times are different than past Nintendo hardware generations. Yes, Nintendo have always liked to turn a profit with hardware (as opposed to Sony and Microsoft). However, as evident by the "2" naming scheme this time (which is *very* un-Nintendo), Nintendo is desperately trying to break the cycle of them following up a successful generation with a dud. They've talked about this before, and it's evident they want the transition to be as accommodating and painless as possibile; backwards-compatibility, NSO carrying over, likely past controller support, and the name being easily understood are signs of Nintendo's desire to have a smooth transition. Putting aside all of the tariff nonsense, I don't see Nintendo wanting to put a "4" in front of their new system that they want to have as many pick up. Families and children are still a big part of their demographic, and putting that "4" at the front of the price *does* psychologically have an impact (even if tax will make the system $400+ regardless). Last-generation consoles were $400, so Nintendo following suit seems reasonable. The original Switch was $299 and the OLED was $350, making the Switch 2 $399 seem reasonable. I will admit, I *do* squint when I look at how I lined things out and see the Switch 2 would only be $50 more than the OLED. I'm unsure if Nintendo would finally do some price drops for the original Switch family, but I know they really don't want to do that. But also, you know what else they don't want? To lower the price of the system like they did the 3DS and Wii U-it's embarrassing (not as embarrassing as Sony *increasing* PS5 pricing in Japan though, which Nintendo would never want to do). I just don't think $450 can be the price. It will be between $399-$425 and I'm sticking to it. (I'll buy it regardless of the price, though!) Great video as always, by the way :-) You're one of my favorite channels
In Scarlet and Violet, there is also a cave entrance near the top center of the map on Glaceado Mountain that contains the TMs for Frenzy Plant, Blast Burn and Hydro Cannon!
I'm currently expecting $400, with $450 as the next most likely. I don't rule out the possibility that Nintendo will go for less than $400 while lowering the price of the original Switch.
I'll guess before watching. I think $450 is about where they will land. 10 years ago we were used to prices of LCDs, Chips, etc. going down (mostly because consumer spending in the space increased by a lot and you got insane economies of scale) so you could go bigger and better and keep the price the same, but the price of a lot of parts have bottomed out and even if Samsung is willing to strike a good deal with Nintendo it's going to be more expensive than the Switch chip was at launch.
I think since mostly hardcore fans will be buying at launch they could introduce at a higher price then release a dockless bundle during the holidays like switch had in japan (at least until a lite) to give a lower price. I was thinking they could do it at launch to but probably Nintendo wants to establish the Switch 2 in its entirely first beforehand and not confuse people that you can use it in the Switch dock (tho at least this time if people got confused they'd still buy the console itself lol)
Way I see it they can easily afford to have it be at 450 or even 500 if they drop the price of the OG Switch, which honestly would just be lunacy not to at this point. Esp since they no doubt have a slew of Switch 1 games still in the pipeline, and even when that dries up indies will probably support the Switch until at minimum its full on discontinuation, and even with remaining stragglers after that NSO's library esp at that point (though they'll prob stop at DS for NS1 just due to power limitations) will be expansive enough to at least keep most core players as yearly active users. Not to mention they'll want a buffer since aggressive American tariffs on china are basically a given.
Okay I am telling you Switch 2 price. It will be 450. 400 is way too cheap given that steam deck is 400. if leaks are true this thing is significantly more powerful than steam deck and comes with a dock, detachable controllers, hdmi cable, joy con rails. But I don't think they will go for 500. That will put them to next to PS5 and Series X and they will avoid that.
21:13 I'd be willing to pay $800 for a switch 2 if I knew everyone involved in the manufacturing process was paid a wage I would work for. That's never going to happen though. Unless they only use Gallium
I think $449 is the most likely. I would have preferred $400 for a slightly worse console but the leaks seem pretty legit snd the specs would never let nintendo sell at such a low price.
I don't think 450 would permanently prevent it from going mainstream, initially it would only need to sell to very eager fans AND of course then deliver very good games that drive up the desire long term through reviews and osmosis. beating the total switch sales in 8 years isn't the goal, maintaining the legacy is. It's like the first time that Nintendo probably does a Sony move, simply releasing a beefier version and expecting people to do the transition eventually. And PlayStations managed to do that in that price range.
@ it’s a very dangerous path honestly. I get switch was successful but most consumers would lose that confidence instantly. Nintendo going Sony arrogant would be pretty bad
I don't think it's arrogant. The switch 1 legacy is in a way also a burden. 150 sales is unlikely to be beaten in any case. Yet their job as a publicly traded company is to aim for that level of revenue and not decrease. So if they stick with a low price while the chance is low to reach absurdly high sales numbers, the chance is high that down the line the switch 2 will perform worse. Of course too high a price would damn sales numbers even further. And at some point you reach levels of arrogance, yes. But imho they are kinda forced to raise the price by capitalistic drives in the market. That is less arrogance and more following the rules of the game. Of course the game and the rules are shit, and eventually anyone even Nintendo will fail again. That's when they have a prime opportunity to work with low prices again. But not now if you ask me.
I feel like you're massively overestimating how bad a 450 lauch will be. I don't think it'll go down sweet, but it definitely won't go down horrendous. Heck the PS5 Pro debacle happened and Sony is still making bank off that, no way the Switch 2 generates anywhere near the outrage of the PS5 pro.
Idk I still think the price of the console isn't that important. You're buying into the next 8 years of Nintendo games. If you buy the next 3D Mario, Mario Kart, Pikmin, Splatoon and Animal Crossing, you would already have spent more on games than the console cost. I've got a few dozen switch games that collectively cost multiple times more than the console did. The buy in point just seems like mostly optics to me. Sure if you don't have a lot of money and would only buy 1 or 2 games, then yeah, don't buy an expensive console. But most fans are thinking too much about it.
yeah apple opened a store in India and some guy stole ₹1cr worth of iphones one day before the grand opening 🤣, I'd love for nintendo to expand to India tho.
Here's the thing. You introduced an infohazard by publishing this. On the off-chance a Nintendo Exec were to be looking into public perception on what the Switch 2 should cost, this video in a sense grants permission for them to charge $450 instead of $350 or $400. $450 in this economy is a huge blow to consumers. In other words, stop giving them ideas.
Okay, my peep. Firstly, the chances of anyone from Nintendo seeing this video is very slim to none. Second of all, you're living in a fantastic if you think it will be priced as low as $350. In an unrealistic world, it would be awesome for it to be as low as $350. But, here's the thing. That's not the world that we live in or how it works. Barely minimum, it's going to be $400, but $450 is also realistic! It's not what we want or want to hear, but it's actually more realistic than you think it is, and people just need to accept the prices of things, they're just going up, not down. Having something close to a PS4 Pro is power for dock mode, and something a bit more powerful than Steam Deck in portable mode is actually very amazing for a Nintendo system, and honestly, putting all of this in perspective that the Switch 2 is a hybrid system, $425 to $450 is actually very realistic for its cost! Once more, it's not ideal for a regular human, but it's somewhat still required if not wanting to lose too much money on each unit made with how today works.
The PlayStation 5 came in a very big box and the Xbox Series X is a way heavier console. I personally don’t believe the Switch 2 box will be that large or heavy.
Nintendo's technology is ALWAYS dated at launch. It is the games/experiences that can be had with the console that drive sales, not their gross, weak hardware. If only they would put their games on PC...
prob not a pack in title especially since it's a new game unlike Mk8deluxe so i'd say they'd wait till next holiday to do so since it'd be weird to have a bundle launch year for a new title
450 including Mario Kart + 1y membership would feel to me personally like expensive but worth it, despite not being into MK. They could then later drop the two extras and keep the price going forward. Not sure if that falls in the loss leader range for them already. But paying 450 for just the unit +60 for an exciting single player game that I actually want to play, i.e. 510 would make me halt and reconsider.
😭 Please cut down your video lengths, man. I've honestly stopped watching for a while because of how much fluff they pack. I know you say a lot of important things, but I think you could cut down on things like "Nintendo is in the consumer electronics space but still dwarfed by others like Apple".... I hope you're not padding your videos on purpose.. be more concise. AND PLEASE stop showing only trailers as visuals. I would much rather have you linger on a statistics/data image of sales and statements and things like that instead of watching the same trailer over and over again.
Sorry if it doesn't work for you but the videos are the length I feel they need to be and if anything the criticism I get is more often the reverse - because I can speak quite quickly and the content is sometimes quite dense, I feel I need to be more careful to unpack things to bring people along. The sentence you quote was originally "Nintendo is a large company in the consumer electronic space but still dwarfed by others like Apple" and then I lead onto explain how they use their cash on hand to give them outsize bidding power against larger competitors. I think the sentence is important to give context to what follows and I structured it so that there's a rhythm - yes, Nintendo is large; but its competitor is Apple which is much bigger; and now here is how it manages that. As for trailers, there's only so much available content to show and I don't have screen recording software currently. Also I only have so much memory to store clips so inevitably the same kind of clips recur. It's a fair criticism and I will try to address it but I must admit it's not a top priority. Sorry it's not the response you might wish for - I appreciate you watching all the same
Just want to add that I completely disagree with this comment. Go as long as you need, I want all the details and actually enjoy the longer lengths and details, nuances and intricacies! It's great listening!
The Switch 2 could not be coming at a worse time honestly. 400 dollars is too expensive coming into an awful economy that is by all indications about to get significantly worse in their primary market of the US. There is so many layoffs, so many people unsure if they will have work, so much turmoil that you basically can lock in the switch 2 not selling well at any price point but if they want to get Switch 2 in to hands 350 is probably the highest it could be. It is possible, and I do think likely that Nintendo simply has decided that for years the switch 2 will not sell particularly well and that they are fine with this, that they intend to basically make all games for the Switch and simply have Switch 2 be the upgrade path you aspire to so you have access to more 3rd party games and better processing power but we'll see.
If companies like NVIDIA and Sony can make sales by selling their highest end hardware and $2000 and $700 respectively, then Nintendo is absolutely fine releasing the Switch 2 at $400, even $450 if they choose. Releasing it at the $350 you mention would be a terrible idea for them, considering that the Switch OLED currently cost that much. Finally, Nintendo (or any company for that matter) would NEVER sell anything with the intentions of it not selling well. Even if their goal, as you mentioned, was to have the Switch 2 act as the "thing you aspire to own," that still wouldn't make sense as this simply isn't an upgraded version of the original Switch hardware but rather and entirely new console.
In your channel's review video you've said that you will merge the 70% and 30% and the 90% and 10% and will use different wording instead of numbers to express them (strongly possible, modestly possible etc) and yet you still using the old method. Did you changed your mind?
I don't have any problem with that. In fact, I prefer it this way and I wish you keep it like this. But it's odd to say something in that video that you haven't done yet
Yes - I got a lot of feedback from people preferring the percentages.
@nintendoforecasthuge fan of the percentages, keep up the great work!
@nintendoforecast You should be called Fi Forecast ;)
@nintendoforecastI think that's fine as long as you make it clear breifly in the video or description or both what that actually means.
YIPPEEEE!! :DDD
I’m so glad the percentages are staying
Seems like you’ve accidentally explained the whole world’s economy in an effort to estimate how how the Switch 2 will cost.😂
you get a lot of perspective on this channel
Accidentally?
"Never underestimate the power of autism" -Anon, 2017
Nintendo's legacy goes well into pre-history 🎉
Nintendo is heaven
That’s why he’s the GOAT😂
Criminally underrated TH-cam channel.
I've ignored all price rumours precisely because I was waiting for this video! Best Nintendo commentator by far.
"In an ideal world, tariffs would not be necessary."
I always knew that Nintendo Forecast was a free trade enjoyer. But seriously, this channel is such a gem for having such consistent content that's not just repeating the latest news headlines or rambling without any coherent point that a lot of other channels sadly fall into.
Your videos are an antidote to clickbait Nintendo content!
That is a Prime statement! 😜
absolutely… it’s about time we have a channel like this
Bro you are such a grinder. Mad respect for being able to consistently put out quality like this 🙏🏻
Thank you!
Starting the day right yet again with another forecast!
24:56 This is just absolutely excellent analysis. You really just can't get this stuff from any other channel.
I don't know, but this is my gut feeling. Nintendo will use an LCD similar to the one in the PS Portal, and I'm 100% okay if that turns out to be true.
as someone who plays docked about 95% of the time ... this is the preferable option to me!
And as someone who never bought an OLED, I'll be thrilled!
not good enough
@RiqMoran that's your opinion. You can have your opinion, but it's not fact.
@@ravenebony2267 i want better from a 2025 device. It should look better than a 10 year old phone.
It’s gonna be fascinating on how the Switch 2’s price will age as it gets older. The world changes quicker than we realize at times, thus the world economic status could change almost at a given moment.
Omg I love your channel. The level of analysis here is unmatched. Keep up the good work!
A competition aspect you didn't bring up is the Steam Deck - The other console quality gaming on the go system. If Nintendo raises the price too high, they start getting compared to a handheld gaming PC.
I also recall reading about a study about the impacts of price on consumer spending - Comparing IIRC the same product priced at $34, $39, and $44, finding that the $39 price point sold the most units, despite being $5 more expensive than the $34 price point. I can't find the original study (link rot), but it's discussed in the blog post "two-insightful-articles-about-tabletop-game-costs-and-prices" on the stonemaier games webstie. (Which leads me to assume that a $490 or a $390 price would probably do better for Nintendo than a $450 price point)
Very interesting - thanks.
I think either $399 or $449 are possible, basically in line with you. I'm deeply skeptical of $499 unless it's part of a bundle pricing ($499 including Mario Kart would effectively be pricing the Switch 2 at $429, though no one would see it that way), but there's effectively no way they could get the price below $399.
I keep coming back to the Switch's $299 in 2017 dollars being worth about $388 in today's money. $399 would be effectively flat on the original Switch and would be a good number to repeat the previous console's success, but Nintendo's very cautious about RAISING prices and they might feel that being in an era where heightened inflation exists $399 might be significantly worse for them in 2032 than it is is 2025. $449 would give them more breathing room on that front.
That's really my main worry: I think $399 makes sense TODAY, but Nintendo needs a price that will make sense 7 or 8 years from now too.
I would like to point out Nintendo values the switch at
-90$ for dock
-80$ for joycons
-10$ for grip
They value the switch by itself at 120$
350$ would not be unreasonable as we know they have big profit margins on consoles
(The prices are estimates as I’m too lazy to look them up and I’m not saying 400$ isn’t what’s happening)
Your pricing analysis is a tour de force!
The only Nintendo channel that does deep dives into geopolitics. 😅It's awesome
Great analysis. You seem to have considered every option!
40 minutes is insane!!! Between this and today’s Patreon upload I feel like I’m being spoilt 😭😭
Ha! Actually my original plan was to put the Furukawa video on TH-cam and the price one onto Patreon but then I was concerned that the news could render the price video obsolete so I decided to put it straight to TH-cam.
Great video as always, yep I basically agree with everything, I do see 400-450 being the sweet spot and I do potentially see them experimenining with 420 or 430 as in non US contries the switch was priced in such ways (eg it was £280 GBP)
450$ dollars even with a NSO subscription sounds like it would be a bit too much, technically undercutting the competition and will widen the gap in a couple years when next gen xbox/Sony consoles are out. So it is very much possible, especially considering Nintendo's current position in the market, if there's any time they could get away with pricing high it would be now.
Still holding out hope for a 400$ release though, feel like that is a much stronger selling point and could mean a switch 2 OLED would have more leeway to then charge 500$ which could mean a lot more improvements, something more like a switch 2 "pro" of sorts, for a price that would still be much cheaper than the competition at that point.
"An inalienable right to affordable Mario Kart" 🥇
Excellent video. I'm struggling with the idea of there not being a $350 option, still. Which has led me to an idea..
What if they offer a dockless SKU aimed at Switch Lite owners or those who mostly play handheld! Seeing as none of the other handhelds have a dock and still sell, even at higher prices..
I'm still watching, so might be jumping the gun
This is a very interesting point.
@nintendoforecast bigger screen for tabletop helps, plus the mouse option brings tabletop to the fore so that might feed into the idea quite well
tabletop purely bx itself? I don't think that would pull in very many people.
Tabletop by putting the image on a bigger screen, but without a dock, so using just a cable that people would already own? That feels too hacky for my impression of Nintendo.
I don't think they want to sell their shiny new toy without a core function. Down the line perhaps, as a replacement, but at launch I doubt that move.
@@ruolbu a lot of handhelds are selling even without a tabletop mode and so many people play handheld mostly.
It looks like the dock has a fan in but maybe the usb could output the handheld performance level, I hadn't thought about that actually
The thing is, it would make sense especially to target multi-switch households who may already have a dock. However, that begs the obvious question, why has this not been made an option until now? Surely Nintendo whould have known of such a draw at least back when the switch was hitting its stride in '19 or '20, so why not do it until now? I suppose there is the draw of keeping what seems to be "affordable SKUs" the way they are with sales, so that could point to an option to diversify if the price seems too high, especially with no "Switch 2 Lite" to counter the price point. So it's possible, but i didn't think it's likely.
Just for me, as a consumer, please make it 400. Heck, if we could somehow hit 350, that would be ideal. 450 is something I’d wait significant time to buy in on.
All this astral chain footage makes me want to finally play it. If they put out a second one with the switch 2, I'm giving it a chance this time!
I’ve been playing it again myself just this week!! Highly recommend 🙏🙏 and I would kill for an Astral Chain 2
I would highly, highly recommend getting the original now. There are rumours of a sequel but from what we know of the turbulent situation at Platinum currently it's not looking great. The original is an underrated gem and I'm sure you'll enjoy it so don't miss out.
@ Oh I had no idea, that's good to know!
I was really skeptical of Astral Chain, but I was pleasantly surprised. Great combat, good level design, great characters, good story. The story being just good is made up for by the characters being great. Also despite not being blown away by the story it did manage to surprise me once or twice.
I started it and enjoyed the first few hours, but then never got back to it and don't really want to unless it becomes clear it will or won't get a 60fps patch on Switch 2. Could feel it dip a couple of times and it overall could really benefit from a higher framerate - I'm not a huge snob but 30fps can feel really responsive to me sometimes and really sluggish at others, and Astral Chain is a bit more on the sluggish end
Really fantastic video man!! I don’t have the eloquence that you brought to back my prediction, but I think $400 is the perfect price point. Any higher feels too expensive, but any cheaper feels unrealistic. I do think the Switch 1 family will eventually see a permanent price cut, so maybe that’ll also direct Switch 2 pricing…
I feel it should be no higher than $350 at launch and simply use components that make that price feasible. But I’m talking into the wind, because apparently Nintendo pushed for some really high-end stuff. If it really has 256 GB of high-speed storage, 12 GB of high-speed memory, and a next-generation processor, then all those together make $400 extremely likely and would also require them to price-cut the Switch family to not blatantly look like they’re upselling it.
It's almost like a vocal group of people has been getting really upset at how "underpowered" the switch is
In 2017 the Switch launched with a SoC that was two nodes behind the cutting edge. The Switch 2 is rumored to be 7nm which is currently two nodes behind the cutting edge.
@@TheDuzx The rumors have also varyingly suggested 5nm and 8nm. Curiously, though, KGI, a Taiwanese financial holding company, put out a document on December 20th entitled "Game console demand recovery in 2025F" that largely focuses on the Switch 2, and it namedrops 5nm. I don't want to get my hopes up, but in 2020, Furukawa did signal that Nintendo would be pursuing more cutting-edge technology again over "conventional technology that enabled a lower price and appeal to users," so I would not count it out
@@PikaPhantomVG From the motherboad pictures which look too real to be a hoax we can see that it's made by Samsung. Samsung scaled down 5nm production in 2024 and I find it unlikely that they would have done that if they knew they had a contract with Nintendo for 5nm chips. Another factor that makes it unlikely is that TSMC 5nm and Samsung 5nm has different design rules so Nvidia would have to redesign their die to produce 5nm chips with Samsung. Maybe a big contract with Nintendo would justify that for Nvidia, but that would take away a lot of resources that could be focused on 3nm so I find this unlikely as well.
Please please Nintendo, for the love of all that is good, don't be stupid and price the thing over $400. Don't f*ck this up, please please please.
400 is pretty much the bare minimum, they almost certainly won't go under that. However I don't see them going over 450 for just the console itself (unless there are multiple options like the WII U)
@samuelturner6076 Yeah I agree it's the minimum. I also think it's the maximum the mass market will accept. Key word here being *mass market*.
@ I have to disagree that it’s the maximum the mass market will accept.
While I agree that the mass market wont be happy with over 400-450, I disagree that there will be extreme outrage or enough dissidence that we’ll end up with another 3DS situation.
The PS5 pro faced monumental backlash and yet despite it it’s still selling well, I think the mass market is far more accepting today than your implying.
@@samuelturner6076 Not saying it will be a failure, but $400 is a boundary Nintendo would be foolish to cross. Comparing it to PS5 pro is apples and oranges. We'll see.
@ Again I strongly disagree that crossing the 400 barrier is foolish, or that the PS5 pro price point is an apples to oranges consideration.
I think 400 is a good price point but I feel your far to dismissive of something like 450.
$400 really seems like the max Nintendo can charge before general consumers really pull away. A big appeal for the Switch was that it was a relatively affordable entry point into an exclusive catalog and a unique form factor. While Nintendo still has its unique catalog of games they are no longer the only player in form factor. The closer they get to PC handhelds in cost the more they become competitors.
I'm right on time to watch this!
I think Nintendo will have the Switch 2 start at $399 in the States, with the possibility of the price fluctuating in some other parts of the world.
Look, I know you've had reservations about a price tag with no "4" in the front, but times are different than past Nintendo hardware generations. Yes, Nintendo have always liked to turn a profit with hardware (as opposed to Sony and Microsoft). However, as evident by the "2" naming scheme this time (which is *very* un-Nintendo), Nintendo is desperately trying to break the cycle of them following up a successful generation with a dud. They've talked about this before, and it's evident they want the transition to be as accommodating and painless as possibile; backwards-compatibility, NSO carrying over, likely past controller support, and the name being easily understood are signs of Nintendo's desire to have a smooth transition.
Putting aside all of the tariff nonsense, I don't see Nintendo wanting to put a "4" in front of their new system that they want to have as many pick up. Families and children are still a big part of their demographic, and putting that "4" at the front of the price *does* psychologically have an impact (even if tax will make the system $400+ regardless). Last-generation consoles were $400, so Nintendo following suit seems reasonable. The original Switch was $299 and the OLED was $350, making the Switch 2 $399 seem reasonable.
I will admit, I *do* squint when I look at how I lined things out and see the Switch 2 would only be $50 more than the OLED. I'm unsure if Nintendo would finally do some price drops for the original Switch family, but I know they really don't want to do that. But also, you know what else they don't want? To lower the price of the system like they did the 3DS and Wii U-it's embarrassing (not as embarrassing as Sony *increasing* PS5 pricing in Japan though, which Nintendo would never want to do).
I just don't think $450 can be the price. It will be between $399-$425 and I'm sticking to it. (I'll buy it regardless of the price, though!) Great video as always, by the way :-) You're one of my favorite channels
In Scarlet and Violet, there is also a cave entrance near the top center of the map on Glaceado Mountain that contains the TMs for Frenzy Plant, Blast Burn and Hydro Cannon!
I'm currently expecting $400, with $450 as the next most likely. I don't rule out the possibility that Nintendo will go for less than $400 while lowering the price of the original Switch.
There's a golden opportunity here for Nintendo to list it for $420.69...
I see u
"HOT TOPIC" (Alan Partridge voice)
Never have 40min went by so quickly. Fantastic insights as always. 🙌🏼🙏🏼
Good analysis I am strongly expecting 40,000 - 45,000 JPY, which match closely with your predictions at the end of the video.
Based on opinions of people i've seen online and of my own friend cricle, 399 is the sweet spot. 450 would be too expensive for many people i'm sure
I'll guess before watching. I think $450 is about where they will land. 10 years ago we were used to prices of LCDs, Chips, etc. going down (mostly because consumer spending in the space increased by a lot and you got insane economies of scale) so you could go bigger and better and keep the price the same, but the price of a lot of parts have bottomed out and even if Samsung is willing to strike a good deal with Nintendo it's going to be more expensive than the Switch chip was at launch.
What do you think of the possibility of Nintendo releasing both an LCD and OLED version of Switch 2 at launch?
Seems unlikely. Risk of confusion.
10:30 But this is just 50 € below the PS5 at my local store.
I think since mostly hardcore fans will be buying at launch they could introduce at a higher price then release a dockless bundle during the holidays like switch had in japan (at least until a lite) to give a lower price. I was thinking they could do it at launch to but probably Nintendo wants to establish the Switch 2 in its entirely first beforehand and not confuse people that you can use it in the Switch dock (tho at least this time if people got confused they'd still buy the console itself lol)
Terrif is the thing I'm scared of atm
Way I see it they can easily afford to have it be at 450 or even 500 if they drop the price of the OG Switch, which honestly would just be lunacy not to at this point. Esp since they no doubt have a slew of Switch 1 games still in the pipeline, and even when that dries up indies will probably support the Switch until at minimum its full on discontinuation, and even with remaining stragglers after that NSO's library esp at that point (though they'll prob stop at DS for NS1 just due to power limitations) will be expansive enough to at least keep most core players as yearly active users.
Not to mention they'll want a buffer since aggressive American tariffs on china are basically a given.
Okay I am telling you Switch 2 price. It will be 450. 400 is way too cheap given that steam deck is 400. if leaks are true this thing is significantly more powerful than steam deck and comes with a dock, detachable controllers, hdmi cable, joy con rails. But I don't think they will go for 500. That will put them to next to PS5 and Series X and they will avoid that.
$449.99 seems far to expensive for the average consumer but $429.99 will likely seem accessable. $399.99 will be a steal in most people's eyes.
Dude sounds like the narrator from Stanley the parable ultra deluxe edition
"inalienable right to have Mario kart"
We should have it though.
21:13 I'd be willing to pay $800 for a switch 2 if I knew everyone involved in the manufacturing process was paid a wage I would work for. That's never going to happen though. Unless they only use Gallium
I think $449 is the most likely. I would have preferred $400 for a slightly worse console but the leaks seem pretty legit snd the specs would never let nintendo sell at such a low price.
I’m going to be honest: I think the price of this thing will not go down too well. I’m expecting 450€. Too much to go mainstream in Europe.
I don't think 450 would permanently prevent it from going mainstream, initially it would only need to sell to very eager fans AND of course then deliver very good games that drive up the desire long term through reviews and osmosis.
beating the total switch sales in 8 years isn't the goal, maintaining the legacy is. It's like the first time that Nintendo probably does a Sony move, simply releasing a beefier version and expecting people to do the transition eventually. And PlayStations managed to do that in that price range.
@ it’s a very dangerous path honestly. I get switch was successful but most consumers would lose that confidence instantly. Nintendo going Sony arrogant would be pretty bad
I don't think it's arrogant. The switch 1 legacy is in a way also a burden. 150 sales is unlikely to be beaten in any case. Yet their job as a publicly traded company is to aim for that level of revenue and not decrease. So if they stick with a low price while the chance is low to reach absurdly high sales numbers, the chance is high that down the line the switch 2 will perform worse.
Of course too high a price would damn sales numbers even further. And at some point you reach levels of arrogance, yes.
But imho they are kinda forced to raise the price by capitalistic drives in the market. That is less arrogance and more following the rules of the game.
Of course the game and the rules are shit, and eventually anyone even Nintendo will fail again. That's when they have a prime opportunity to work with low prices again. But not now if you ask me.
I feel like you're massively overestimating how bad a 450 lauch will be. I don't think it'll go down sweet, but it definitely won't go down horrendous. Heck the PS5 Pro debacle happened and Sony is still making bank off that, no way the Switch 2 generates anywhere near the outrage of the PS5 pro.
Idk I still think the price of the console isn't that important. You're buying into the next 8 years of Nintendo games. If you buy the next 3D Mario, Mario Kart, Pikmin, Splatoon and Animal Crossing, you would already have spent more on games than the console cost. I've got a few dozen switch games that collectively cost multiple times more than the console did. The buy in point just seems like mostly optics to me. Sure if you don't have a lot of money and would only buy 1 or 2 games, then yeah, don't buy an expensive console. But most fans are thinking too much about it.
If they price it $450 then that makes it more expensive than the base spec Steam Deck.
Night shift gang here
Creator is British. It's currently midday here.
@ungratefulmango 5 am here in AZ
Pretty soon, they might have tv manufacturers pay you, yes, because they'll earn money of your data and ads.
yeah apple opened a store in India and some guy stole ₹1cr worth of iphones one day before the grand opening 🤣, I'd love for nintendo to expand to India tho.
Here's the thing. You introduced an infohazard by publishing this. On the off-chance a Nintendo Exec were to be looking into public perception on what the Switch 2 should cost, this video in a sense grants permission for them to charge $450 instead of $350 or $400. $450 in this economy is a huge blow to consumers. In other words, stop giving them ideas.
Okay, my peep.
Firstly, the chances of anyone from Nintendo seeing this video is very slim to none.
Second of all, you're living in a fantastic if you think it will be priced as low as $350.
In an unrealistic world, it would be awesome for it to be as low as $350.
But, here's the thing.
That's not the world that we live in or how it works.
Barely minimum, it's going to be $400, but $450 is also realistic!
It's not what we want or want to hear, but it's actually more realistic than you think it is, and people just need to accept the prices of things, they're just going up, not down.
Having something close to a PS4 Pro is power for dock mode, and something a bit more powerful than Steam Deck in portable mode is actually very amazing for a Nintendo system, and honestly, putting all of this in perspective that the Switch 2 is a hybrid system, $425 to $450 is actually very realistic for its cost!
Once more, it's not ideal for a regular human, but it's somewhat still required if not wanting to lose too much money on each unit made with how today works.
Let's be honest, if I thought Nintendo were watching, this channel would be wall-to-wall Advance Wars hype.
Nintendo will sell it for $1000 because they know I'll buy it. Then change the price to $450 the next day.
I think it will cost 450
The PlayStation 5 came in a very big box and the Xbox Series X is a way heavier console. I personally don’t believe the Switch 2 box will be that large or heavy.
Please Trump… stay off my switch 2 😭
Nice
Nintendo's technology is ALWAYS dated at launch. It is the games/experiences that can be had with the console that drive sales, not their gross, weak hardware. If only they would put their games on PC...
My guess is $450 and up with a higher price for a Mario Kart Bundle, paired with NSO membership.
prob not a pack in title especially since it's a new game unlike Mk8deluxe so i'd say they'd wait till next holiday to do so since it'd be weird to have a bundle launch year for a new title
450 including Mario Kart + 1y membership would feel to me personally like expensive but worth it, despite not being into MK. They could then later drop the two extras and keep the price going forward. Not sure if that falls in the loss leader range for them already.
But paying 450 for just the unit +60 for an exciting single player game that I actually want to play, i.e. 510 would make me halt and reconsider.
Please make your videos shorter. Or at least use "chapters" to structure your video for navigation
it will be a bad lcd and it will feel like a downgrade.
😭 Please cut down your video lengths, man. I've honestly stopped watching for a while because of how much fluff they pack. I know you say a lot of important things, but I think you could cut down on things like "Nintendo is in the consumer electronics space but still dwarfed by others like Apple".... I hope you're not padding your videos on purpose.. be more concise. AND PLEASE stop showing only trailers as visuals. I would much rather have you linger on a statistics/data image of sales and statements and things like that instead of watching the same trailer over and over again.
Skill issue dude these videos are highly educational and are packed with valuable insight and hes well spoken and has a pleasant voice to boot.
Sorry if it doesn't work for you but the videos are the length I feel they need to be and if anything the criticism I get is more often the reverse - because I can speak quite quickly and the content is sometimes quite dense, I feel I need to be more careful to unpack things to bring people along. The sentence you quote was originally "Nintendo is a large company in the consumer electronic space but still dwarfed by others like Apple" and then I lead onto explain how they use their cash on hand to give them outsize bidding power against larger competitors. I think the sentence is important to give context to what follows and I structured it so that there's a rhythm - yes, Nintendo is large; but its competitor is Apple which is much bigger; and now here is how it manages that. As for trailers, there's only so much available content to show and I don't have screen recording software currently. Also I only have so much memory to store clips so inevitably the same kind of clips recur. It's a fair criticism and I will try to address it but I must admit it's not a top priority. Sorry it's not the response you might wish for - I appreciate you watching all the same
If you struggle to keep up, you can always just read the transcripts and skim past anything that doesn't interest you?
Just want to add that I completely disagree with this comment. Go as long as you need, I want all the details and actually enjoy the longer lengths and details, nuances and intricacies! It's great listening!
@@antenna.Agree lol
Brics will fail lol
Under $500, and I'm happy.
At $500, and I'm waiting for a great bundle.
Over $500, I'm just annoyed and unlikely to buy.
Nah man, 40 minutes is too long. I'm out.
The Switch 2 could not be coming at a worse time honestly. 400 dollars is too expensive coming into an awful economy that is by all indications about to get significantly worse in their primary market of the US. There is so many layoffs, so many people unsure if they will have work, so much turmoil that you basically can lock in the switch 2 not selling well at any price point but if they want to get Switch 2 in to hands 350 is probably the highest it could be. It is possible, and I do think likely that Nintendo simply has decided that for years the switch 2 will not sell particularly well and that they are fine with this, that they intend to basically make all games for the Switch and simply have Switch 2 be the upgrade path you aspire to so you have access to more 3rd party games and better processing power but we'll see.
If companies like NVIDIA and Sony can make sales by selling their highest end hardware and $2000 and $700 respectively, then Nintendo is absolutely fine releasing the Switch 2 at $400, even $450 if they choose. Releasing it at the $350 you mention would be a terrible idea for them, considering that the Switch OLED currently cost that much. Finally, Nintendo (or any company for that matter) would NEVER sell anything with the intentions of it not selling well. Even if their goal, as you mentioned, was to have the Switch 2 act as the "thing you aspire to own," that still wouldn't make sense as this simply isn't an upgraded version of the original Switch hardware but rather and entirely new console.
I'll pay 450, but I dislike that I'm going to have to buy a second unit for OLED, eventually. Too predictable for Nintendo behavior.