Nintendo Switch 2 Reveals with Surprising Controversy

Dawson T.

On April 2nd, Nintendo held its Switch 2 Direct live stream on YouTube, where they showed off their new Switch 2 system, meant to be a major improvement on the first Switch system released 8 years ago. Over a million people tuned in to the live stream, excited to see what new features the Switch would have to offer. However, now that the hype has slightly died down, people are beginning to criticize the Switch 2.

Many people were excited to see what the all new Switch 2 “C Button” would do, however, many were underwhelmed by what this feature actually was. The new C button featured on the joy cons and pro controllers of the Switch 2 are to be used with the new Chat feature, allowing users to have a voice and video chat where they can show their game screens or use the optional Switch Camera to show their faces. While this seems like a nice feature to foster a closer community, the problem is that to use the chat feature you require a Nintendo Switch Online Membership, a subscription service necessary to use Online features in games, now being required to use features built into the console.

The Switch 2 Direct also showed off the console's stronger computing power and greater graphics. The Switch 2 can run at 120 fps, a massive boost from the Switch 1’s 30 fps limit. The Switch 2 also promises a 4k resolution, Raytracing, and HDR support along with an even larger screen for viewing. All of these features seem rather exciting for those who had to deal with the Switch 1’s outdated hardware. Nintendo also promises that Switch 1 games will be compatible with the Switch 2, meaning you can use the superior hardware of the Switch 1 with Switch 2 games, right? To use the Switch 2’s superior hardware with Switch 1 games you need to get a Switch 2 Edition upgrade, which costs more money. Many are calling this unfair, believing they shouldn't have to pay more money to play the game they bought with the console they bought and have to spend more money or else deal with a worse version of the game.

The Hardware of the Switch 2 wasn’t the only thing revealed during the Direct. Many exciting games were announced like Deltarune chapters 3 and 4 releasing the same day as the Switch 2, a little peek at Hollow Knight: Silk Song that’s said to release sometime this year, and two all new Nintendo Games. First, bundled with the Switch Two is Mario Kart World that features an all new open world mode and the feature requiring you to drive from track to track manually in Grand Prix mode. There’s also a new Donkey Kong game that seems to have a feature making entire environments destructible. The outrage comes when you realize the price for these new Nintendo games are $80. People were so enraged by this massive spike in the price of games that during the Nintendo Treehouse where they showed off Mario Kart World in greater detail, the chat was flooded with people shouting “Drop the price” and proposing a boycott so much that even the AI overview said that.

The Switch 2’s costs may go even higher if President Trump's Tariffs go into effect, making the already pricey $450 price tag go even higher; Pre-orders have been indefinitely canceled to boot. This uncertainty surrounding the Switch 2 price tag along with the controversy of the games’ price tags and underwhelming Chat feature means the Switch 2 has a good chance of falling flat during its launch. Despite the Grim Prospects, the Switch 2 launch may be successful if consumers don't mind the price tag and instead look at all the improvements the Switch 2 is making compared to the original.