Predict the price for Switch 2

[Chrkeller]

Slownenberg said:

Soundwave said:

You're not getting something that is going to be like 7-8x more powerful than a Switch OLED for the same $350 in one year. 

I don't see it.

It's going to be $399.99 minimum, I would not be surprised if a $449.99 SKU with higher storage (256GB?) might be in the cards also. Digital purchases are a big deal now, whereas for like the Wii U it was sort of a "so what?" ... most people still bought physical back then and because the Wii U wasn't portable you could just plug in a flash drive or HDD and leave it there with no fuss.

For Switch 2, having more storage is kind of a big deal as many people are digital only and the game sizes are likely to increase next gen given the Switch 2 is going to be somewhere between a PS4++ in power with a feature set that is more like a PS5 (Ampere based Nvidia chips are a better architecture than the AMD crap the PS5/XBS use). 

$399-$450 is perfectly acceptable. The Super NES today would be over $400, the N64 right around $400 with inflation. You can't just compare to the freaking Game Boy and GBA forever. The Switch 2 is a *console* too, unless you are just revising history and making it so the Game Boy Advance was a home console that would hook up to the TV and was capable of running Nintendo's console games (funny I don't remember ever playing Metroid Prime or Super Mario Sunshine or Resident Evil 4 on the GBA, do you?). You have to compare to the home consoles in terms of pricing. 

The Switch 2 will be able to play the newest mainline 3D Mario, Mario Kart, next-gen Zelda, Smash, etc. on top of some modern 3rd party games like probably Street Fighter VI, Call of Duty, EA FIFA/FC, Witcher 4 (?), and Dragon Quest XII among others (I wouldn't be surprised at all with a Final Fantasy XVI port, Square-Enix needs the $$$). You can't just sit there and say "price it like a Game Boy or DS please", like that's fucking bonkers. 

For people who can't afford $350+ or are young children and the parents don't want to spend big on their gaming consumption, there's going to be eventually a product for you -- it's called Switch 2 Lite ... just like Switch Lite exists for that market right now. You'll be waiting a few years for that. 

Gotta say Nintendo isn't just gonna completely change their strategy. They're not gonna go from a $300 system to a $500 system. They are known as the affordable video game system. They aren't going to throw that brand in the trash.

Also the fact that it is a portable kind of demands it to not be something absurd like $450 or $500. You make a system that expensive it is expensive for a reason, that reason being trying to cram to much tech into what is supposed to be a portable. Think Steam Deck here, a "portable" that isn't really portable because its massive and has horrendous battery life. Nintendo is not going to turn the successor to the Switch into a much more niche product by chasing the Steam Deck philosophy.

I think people are just getting thrown off here because Nintendo hasn't needed to drop the price of the Switch. They can absolutely release a generational upgrade for the same price as the OLED sells for if its more of a base model like the original Switch. If they do a more premium model like the OLED but with a generational upgrade maybe that goes as high as $399. They aren't gonna be putting out anything at launch with a 4 at the start of the price. They don't want a PS3 or 3DS moment. We've heard that Nintendo is worried about following the Switch, and well releasing a >$400 system would be a sure fire way to screw up following the Switch.

Whatever chip and other spec decisions Nintendo is making, you can be sure they aren't thinking along the lines of "hey let's release a $400-$500 system!" Nintendo is not gonna be like hey a $300 system sold great so next let's try a $500 system lol. I would guess on launch day there is some version of Switch 2 that costs $349.99 or less and nothing on launch day costs more than $399.99. At this point in time $350 is probably the sweet spot. If they have to skimp on the screen (just do another 720 LCD) and disk space (maybe just do 64gb) in order to get the generational leap chipset in the Switch 2 and keep it at $350 or less (either for the launch model or for a cheaper option SKU at launch), they're gonna do it. They aren't gonna throw in every tech they can think of and launch a $450 or $500 system just to watch it bomb and then have to cut the price drastically like with the 3DS. They've been there, done that before, it didn't work out well.

After the success of the Switch, I don't see why some people think they should drastically change up the business strategy and suddenly release a really expensive system. That just would make no sense whatsoever. They aren't going to change up what they know works. Their goal is going to be to move people from the Switch to the Switch 2 while picking up the next half-generation of kids, not alienate the Switch audience by telling them "well in a few years you might be able to buy the cheap version of the system but even that is going to be expensive". Just, in no world is that happening.

Well said.  Business strategy is a major factor that tech people want to ignore because of their personal wishlist of features.