Not to outright defend the Switch or any other console or their parent companies. But when was the last time, other than the Wii, that you saw a brand new console with all new tech come out for under $300. Despite what many say, The switch is a console. It is also a portable, it is a hybrid. This is not a difficult concept and I don't understand why everyone is freaking out about the fact that it is not a standalone set top box. You'd think that everyone would actually be happy that you have the ability to pick it up and play it anywhere.
When the switch is plugged into a TV the CPU and GPU ramp up to almost the same specs of the Original XBox One. Then you take it off, and play on a lower res, but very portable screen and it ramps down to conserve battery and because it does not need the same power that it does when outputting to a larger display. Since it has equivalent power when docked it should be able to get most, or all games during this generation as a port, provided Nintendo allows for games to only be playable in docked mode.
$300 is a pittance compared to other new console releases. Everyone cheered and jeered at the PS4 coming out at $400. Everyone lauded the PS4 Pro for releasing at $400.
From a technology standpoint even the PS3 Fat (60gb) version was a steal for $600 due to it's Blu-Ray Drive and backward compatibility. In the same generation the Xbox360 + HD-DVD drive would run you the exact same price and you had to pay an additional fee for Online services for the first time.
$300 for a hybrid console-portable is a fantastic deal especially when you consider technology behind it and its accessories. I will concede that the accessories are waaaaay over-priced though, even though they pack incredible advances in tech in a very small package.
I am not trying to defend the switch or defend Nintendo, I probably won't even get the switch. I just wanted to reiterate that the price is not bad, it is not too high, nor is it too low. Honestly, for the tech you are buying it is just about the perfect price. There are less powerful android tablets with similar screen size that cost more. If you want to look at an overpriced console look at the WiiU during its last year of running, not a single price reduction during it short life.
**Edit- removed incorrect launch price for the SNES.
