Back when Microsoft announced the Xbox One, Don Matrick gave an infamous interview quote, telling those that couldn't afford the upgrade that they could still purchase an outdated Xbox 360. Now, Nintendo is taking a leaf out of that same playbook, telling those upset about the Switch 2 price that they are still free to purchase an original Nintendo Switch.
Speaking with CBC, Nintendo of America president, Doug Bowser, gave the quote that we will assuredly be talking about for months, saying: “We recognize there are some people that may not be able to afford [the Switch 2's] price point. That's why we wanted to make the other Switch platforms available, so [people] still have an opportunity to come into our gaming universe, be a part of these characters in these worlds, and see value, if you will, in whatever rung of the platform they come in.”

The problem with this is that the Nintendo Switch hardware is already on its last legs and each passing year, the game's exclusive games continue to look and run worse. With the Switch 2 offering so much more power, there are going to be a lot of games releasing over the next couple of years that simply won't run on an original Switch, so the idea that the Switch 2 is interchangeable with the new console is a ridiculous one.
As we see with each console generation transition, there will be cross-gen games released for the first year or two, but after that two-year mark, the vast majority of developers will have transitioned over to the newer hardware and games will no longer release for Switch 1. By the time that happens, it is unlikely that the market will have changed enough to result in significantly cheaper pricing for those looking to upgrade to the Switch 2. As we've seen with the PS5, we're already five years in and the base console's price has not yet received a permanent cut. There is no reason to believe that the situation will be any different for the Switch 2.
KitGuru Says: I'm not a fan of how Nintendo has handled this transition from Switch 1 to Switch 2. From the £10 digital instructions manual, to the £20 ‘upgrade packs' for games like Breath of the Wild, to the insane £80 price tag of Mario Kart World.
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Nintendo America president says ‘buy Switch 1’ if you are unhappy with Switch 2 price first appeared on
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