The gaming public’s collective sticker shock following Nintendo’s reveal of the Switch 2 last week hasn’t faded, and the feeling will only get worse as the Japanese hardware maker adjusts the price for the American market’s tariffs. The biggest shock was with software, as the new console’s biggest games will sell for as much as $80.
While most of these prices reflect gaming’s new economic reality, players shouldn’t expect $80 games to be the new normal on all consoles, according to David Cole, founder of the gaming analyst firm DFC Intelligence.
“You have to have the triple-A content, and you have to have the name recognition,” Cole tells Inverse. “I don’t see lesser-known or unknown franchises trying to release at that price point. It would be tough.”
DFC Intelligence released a report predicting the first-year outlook of Nintendo’s new console, including sales predictions, who this new hardware will appeal to, and how it will compete with other gaming options. When it comes to cost, Cole believes the premium surge will be reserved for gaming’s biggest moneymakers as new franchise entries grow in scope.
“I talked to [Nintendo of America president] Doug Bowser about the price of Mario Kart World, and he says it just has so much more content than other titles that they felt that it justified the premium,” Cole says. He predicts, however, that the vast majority of third-party titles will fall in the $50 to $70 price range.
“Consumers are learning to evaluate software not so much by the buy-in price, but how much value and time one can get out of a game,” Cole says. “[Game companies] are realizing they can charge these premiums, and the cost of development is demanding that they charge more for some of these games.”
Regardless of how expensive the games will be, DFC Intelligence predicts the Switch 2 will sell 15 million units in 2025, making it the fastest-selling console ever. A survey found that 61% of current Xbox and PlayStation users feel good about the Switch 2, and while the $450 to $500 entry price will stave off some younger and more family-oriented early adopters, Cole predicts the enthusiast gamer will pick up the slack.
“The hardcore Nintendo base, the older Nintendo fan, the Xbox or PlayStation fan looking to diversify, that will more than make up for it,” Cole explains. “The early Switch 2 demographic will be a pretty different demographic you’ve seen from past Nintendo systems. It will skew older. In the long term, the kids are going to want it for Christmas and parents will start to give in. A lot of them may not give in until year two or three.”
One of the DFC’s most surprising revelations is that the Switch is mega popular with PC gamers. According to DFC, 44% of PC gamers own an original Switch (just 23% own a PlayStation 5). DFC expects the Switch 2 will also be popular with the PC crowd, as Nintendo’s strategy of releasing exclusives will continue to drive sales despite the growing success of handheld PCs.
“Yeah, you can bring your PC games to a Steam Deck and all of that, but the Switch platform offers a whole new opportunity for gaming,” Cole says. “The Switch 2 isn’t cloud dependent [like the PlayStation Portal]. It’ll perform just as well, if not better [than a Steam Deck]. You will have more titles that will have mouse controls. I think Nintendo’s recognized a real opportunity for market expansion.”
Even with Xbox and PlayStation looking to enter the handheld market, Cole believes Nintendo’s slice of the portable pie won’t be thinned.
“Nintendo has over 30 years of experience. It’s going to be very hard for [Sony and Microsoft] to compete with Nintendo in that area,” he says. “Steam Decks and portable PCs, those are really targeting PC gamers who just want to have their games on the go. It really is a very different audience.”
Xbox has announced plans to release its handheld as early as this year, while Sony, according to Bloomberg, is still in the very early phases of releasing its handheld. We’ll find out how they fare soon enough, but the future looks bright for Nintendo no matter what its competitors do.
