With a hefty price tag, bold hardware upgrades, and launch titles creeping into next-gen pricing territory. All this means that Nintendo’s newest console is making headlines for more than just its specs. Here’s what you need to know about how much the Switch 2 will cost you—and whether it’s worth cracking open your wallet.

A Price Jump That’s Hard to Ignore

Nintendo officially launched the Switch 2 on June 5, 2025, pricing the base console at an eye-watering £395.99 ($449.99 USD). That’s almost £180 more than the original Switch’s debut back in 2017. As well as the console only set, Nintendo have released a special Mario Kart World Bundle, which includes the console and Mario Kart World download for £429.99 or $499.99 USD.

Nintendo justifies the increase with a slate of improvements: a larger 7.9-inch 1080p LCD with a smoother 120Hz refresh rate, 256GB of internal storage, and a 4K-capable dock. There’s also native voice chat, something fans have been begging for since the Wii U era – no more need for a mobile app.

Global tariffs, inflation, and rising hardware costs were all cited as reasons behind the premium pricing.

Game Prices Push Toward Premium

Launch titles are following the industry trend of creeping above the £70 threshold. First-party hits like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza are launching as high as £74.99 for physical copies, with digital copies coming in a little lower at £66.99.

It’s not just Nintendo that have upped the price of their software, other launch titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate, Street Fighter VI, Hogwarts Legacy, and Civilization VII are following suit, with most new games falling in the £60-£70 or $69–$79 USD range. Now compare that to the original Switch’s launch where the most popular title, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild cost only £49.99 for a physical copy.

Full Pricing Snapshot

So you’ve decided you’re getting a Switch 2. Well here’s what players are paying out of the gate for this next generation handheld:

That’s quite the shopping list to get up and running. For example I picked up a Nintendo Switch 2 at launch with Mario Kart World and a Switch 2 Pro Controller – enough to get me and my son up and running with some two player gaming. The total? An eye-watering £504.98 and that’s including the saving buying the bundle with the console and game included!

What Are Fans Saying?

Feedback has been mixed. While many gamers expected a price increase, the jump to £75/$80 USD per title caught some off guard. Critics argue that the price spike may discourage casual gamers and younger fans, groups that have traditionally been some of Nintendo’s strongest supporters during the Wii and Switch generations.

A UK gamer interviewed by the BBC put it bluntly:

“It makes it inaccessible, it’s a lot to drop on one game.”

Others see the pricing as inevitable, given the scale and polish of modern Nintendo titles. Full voice acting, expansive open worlds, and cross-generational upgrades come with development costs – but it’s difficult to argue that Mario Kart World really needs the same sort of development costs as huge AAA games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Grand Theft Auto.

Backward Compatibility Eases the Blow

Thankfully there is one welcome relief: Switch 2 supports backward compatibility with most Switch 1 games. Even better, many get enhancements to take advantage of the more powerful hardware, although whilst many titles offer free upgrades, many of the most popular titles require a one-off purchase. Nintendo is also pushing digital-first initiatives with special pricing on downloads versus physical copies, possibly hinting at a longer-term shift away from cartridges. Whilst the lower cost of digital titles compared to physical titles is welcome, the Switch’s relatively small 250GB internal storage and the requirement to use expensive Micro SD Express cards could actually make this prohibitively more expensive than many gamers realise.

As an example, if you wanted to purchase the official Nintendo memory cards for both the original Switch and the Switch 2 you would be looking at £19.99 for a 256GB card for the Switch, and a whopping 2.5x increase at £49.99 for the same (albeit faster) 256GB storage for the Switch 2. What’s more, with the improved graphical fidelity of the Switch 2 games will require larger amounts of storage compared to their Switch counterparts.

For example, the Switch version of Breath of the Wild is a little over 14.6GB in size, that same game on Switch 2? 24.1GB, a 65% increase in file size. What’s more, even if you buy a physical cartridge from a store, it’s not guaranteed that the game will even be on that cartridge. For example Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster can be purchased on a digital game key-card, and whilst I have issues with these explored in another article, the fact is you still need to download a 12.3GB file in order to play.

Is It Worth It?

If you’re a dedicated Nintendo fan, the Switch 2 offers some serious upgrades. The graphics are sharper, the performance is smoother, and the game lineup is already packed with high-profile releases – not to mention the ability to play almost the entire Switch 1 library. But between the £400+ console and £65+ game prices, the Switch 2 is easily the most expensive Nintendo console since the Nintendo 64 (adjusted for inflation).

The real question is whether gamers will adapt to this new pricing model. So far, early reports of sold-out pre-orders and long launch lines suggest that many are saying “yes”, at least for now. But could these early adopters be setting themselves up for hardship later on down the road when £80, £90 or even £100 titles are the norm?

Whilst the overall tone of this article may appear to be a bit of a downer, for Nintendo the new generation looks bright. Their new console is a welcome spec boost to their aging Switch, bringing along a host of impressive features such as VRR, HDR and likely many more three letter abbreviations.

Whilst the cost of the Switch 2 was high, and so far a month later I still only own a single Switch 2 title (Mario Kart World), the time I’ve spent playing with my seven year old son has been priceless – but if you’d like to save some money check out our Switch to Switch 2 Upgrade Guide.

The post Nintendo Switch 2 Launch: What Are Gamers Really Paying? appeared first on Retro Ages.

But is this really a new problem, or has gaming always been expensive in one way or another?

Console prices: then vs now

This current generation certainly arrived with some hefty price tags attached. So before we start let us take a look at the launch prices for the current crop of home consoles.

• The PlayStation 5 disc version launched in 2020 at $499/£429 or $399/£359 for the Digital Edition.
• The Xbox Series X also launched in 2020 at $499/£449, with the Series S coming in at $299/£249.
• Nintendo’s Switch launched in 2017 at $299/£279, with the Switch 2 launched at an eye-watering $449/£395 in 2025.

When we look at the two dedicated flagship home consoles from Sony and Microsoft, prices over the previous generation don’t seem to be dramatically different at first glance. Both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One both launched at around $399-$499/£349-£429 back in 2013. When you factor in inflation Sony’s console would be the equivalent to £440 in 2020.

Going back even further, the infamous PlayStation 3 launched at a painful $599/£425 in 2006. Which at the time felt incredibly expensive. If we once again adjust for inflation that would be the equivalent of £610 today. A huge expense but still less than the £789 that the PlayStation 5 Pro retails for.

What’s changed over the generations is the introduction of ‘Pro’ models that have higher specs. These are aimed at console enthusiasts willing to spend even more for the best image quality. Additionally the 2020s haven’t been the most stable decade so far which means we’ve also witnessed something unusual this generation. Instead of prices steadily falling over time, most regions have actually seen console price increases due to inflation, parts shortages, and currency fluctuations.

Price cuts aren’t as straightforward anymore

In older generations, waiting a few years almost guaranteed cheaper hardware.

The PS3 eventually dropped in price significantly after launch, the PS4 received official price cuts and later Slim models, and Microsoft quickly reduced the cost of the Xbox One after removing Kinect from the bundle. Back then, patience usually paid off.

Going back further you would also see console manufacturers releasing cost-reduced version of systems. Think back to the Xbox 360 E, PlayStation 2 Slim, PSone, Mega Drive II and so on. This isn’t to say that we don’t see cost-reduced versions of consoles anymore, but this is usually more “under the hood” changes that save the manufacturer, and not the consumer, money.

Instead it appears that home consoles are split into a few versions – Digital Editions, Disc Editions and Pro models. Rather than one simple permanent price drop, players are faced with more choices… and sometimes more confusion. Taking a look at Sony’s PlayStation 5 shows multiple models that vary in storage amount depending on when they were purchased, some with disc drives, some without that can be upgraded at a later date, and some that will never be compatible with a disc drive. Oh and of course there’s a Pro model available with and without a disc drive.

In all this means Sony has five main offerings of the PlayStation 5 not counting minor alterations, storage configurations or limited editions. All of this causes confusion and instead of the price reductions seen in previous generations, prices have even gone the other way. For example, Sony raised PS5 prices multiple times in several regions during this generation. Something that would have felt almost unthinkable in earlier console eras.

Games themselves cost more now

Hardware isn’t the only thing hitting wallets harder. For years, $59.99/£49.99 was the standard price for a big-budget new release. This generation changed that, with many major publishers moving to $69.99/£69.99 for new AAA games. Some companies have even experimented with higher prices for deluxe editions and premium releases.

Of course, gaming has always been expensive in some ways. Retro fans will remember certain cartridge games in the 90s costing an absolute fortune, especially on systems like the Neo Geo AES. To alleviate these costs many gamers could be patient. Many of the best selling games would get a budget re-release as a ‘Greatest Hits’ or ‘Platinum’ range, typically for around £19.99. But it appears that these ranges have been phased out, mainly due to digital store fronts.

These storefronts are seen as an evergreen source of sales for both publishers and the system manufacturers. This in turn help to maintain the higher costs of the physical versions. Just look at Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or Breath of the Wild maintaining their current £54 price point 9 years after release!

Add on top of the cost of games the burden of players dealing with season passes, DLC, microtransactions, subscriptions, and collector’s editions. It’s no longer just about buying the console and a few games.

Inflation plays a big role

There’s an important bit of context that often gets overlooked when comparing generations: inflation.

While we touched on it earlier, A $399/£399 console in 2013 isn’t equivalent to $399/£399 today. When older consoles are adjusted for inflation, some of them actually end up looking surprisingly expensive. Many will point to modern consoles being more powerful than their predecessors – but this has been the case with every console generation to the next. Although it is worth knowing that since 2020 inflation has accelerated since the 2010s. Add component shortages and AI companies gobbling up the few vital components produced, it’s a miracle consoles are even being built.

Why gaming feels more expensive

So it is clear that there isn’t one single reason gaming costs more now. It’s a complex mix of several things happening at once:

• More advanced hardware requiring expensive components that are in short supply
• Longer and more costly game development cycles pushing game prices higher
• Inflation and currency fluctuations due to uncertain world events
• Growing reliance on subscriptions and digital services
• Publishers pushing premium editions and add-ons to extract more from each gamer

Even if the base console price doesn’t seem wildly different from previous generations. The overall cost of staying involved in gaming has definitely grown.

Is there any good news?

Thankfully, there are still ways to save money.

Waiting later into a console generation can still lead to better bundles and occasional discounts. Especially on the second-hand market. Subscription services can offer good value if you play a lot of games, even if their prices have gone up recently. Most non-Nintendo Physical games also tend to drop in price fairly quickly compared to their digital versions outside of sales.

Additionally the explosion of indie developers and titles means there’s a huge choice for the more budget conscious gamers. Especially those who enjoy retro-styled titles.

In some ways, gaming has always been an expensive hobby. The difference now is that the costs feel more constant. Instead of one big purchase every few years, modern gaming often feels like an additional steady stream of smaller expenses that quietly build up over time.

And honestly, that’s probably why so many retro gamers enjoy going back to older systems — once you owned the console and the cartridge, that was usually it.

Disclaimers

Some links in this article may be affiliate links, and purchases made through them help support and keep Retro Ages running at no extra cost to you.

AI tools were used during the creation of this article, including for research assistance and visual elements. All ideas, fact-checking, editing, and final written content were reviewed and created by a real person.

The post The Cost of Gaming: Gaming’s Increasing Price Tag appeared first on Retro Ages.