PS5
Image: Nintendo Life

Recently, we asked you if $499 would be too much to pay for a 'Switch 2'. 20% of respondees said 'nope', nearly 30% thought it would be too much, and the majority (rather sensibly) said that it would depend on how big of an upgrade Nintendo's next generation of hardware represented.

Yesterday Sony pulled back the curtain on the long-rumoured PS5 Pro, an iterative update to its existing console which offers a spec-bump that, as Mark Cerny said in his presentation, looks to close the gap between performance and fidelity modes. Showcasing a modest but noticeable boost (at least when zooming in on the pixels as the presentation did) to several games in Sony's back catalogue — including Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023), Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021), and The Last of Us II Remastered (2024) — the price was then revealed: $699 / £699 / €799.

Our friends over at Push Square have the full details and what's included with this new half-step system, but the long and short of it is:

  • upgraded GPU
  • better ray tracing
  • some AI-upscaling
  • 2TB SSD
  • disc drive and stand are not included

For comparison, the base PS5 (slim) currently costs $450 for the digital version and $500 with the optional disc drive bundled. The non-slim, digital-only PS5 launched in 2020 for $399, with the built-in disc drive version commanding a $100 premium.

Now, this product is clearly aimed at Sony's hardcore fanbase, but that's 700 bucks/quid — and a staggering €800 in Europe — for the Pro experience. Mileage will vary on whether you think slightly better-looking background crowds in the (impressive) 2021 Ratchet game is worth the investment, but even the hardest of core PlayStation users will have to swallow hard before shelling out. It feels like after years of living in fear of "$599 USD" meme mockery, Sony finally ripped off the band-aid and told console players to buck up for massive outlays in the years to come.

PS5
Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life

What has any of this got to do with Switch users, you ask? Well, in several ways, the negative reaction puts a microscope on the incredibly thin tightrope Nintendo will be walking with its 'Switch 2' pricing.

We'll discuss inflation in a moment, but the core issue here seems to be one of value proposition - how much of an upgrade the hardware represents. If Sony were presenting PS6, with a suite of new, dedicated software and features showcasing a generational leap, I don't believe the reaction would be the same.

That's not to say everyone would be happy to pay 700 notes for their next PlayStation, but it would be a different pitch. Indeed, if PS6 launches in a couple of years at $700 for the base model, it might even seem like decent value. Throw a disc drive, stand, and an extra DualSensePlus+ in your launch-day cart, and you won't be getting much change out of a grand for your next-gen system.

Delivering even PS4 Pro-level performance in a Switch-sized tablet form for a reasonable price is going to be a mighty challenge.

And let's take a moment to remember poor Japan, which was recently hit with a $90-ish price hike for the base PS5 model. The weak yen is a factor for Japanese companies, with players taking the brunt of currency fluctuations and some suggesting that they're done with PS5. Nintendo has so far resisted price changes for Switch, and this latest episode from Sony highlights how surgical Nintendo must be with its pricing, at home and abroad.

As NL readers noted in our poll, if Switch 2 comes along with meaningful upgrades and really feels like a next-generation Switch, a higher price tag will be easier to stomach. The core issue with PS5 Pro is the huge disparity between the improvements the new hardware offers and the $250 premium Sony wants for it.

Nintendo Switches
Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life

Geoff Keighley took to Twitter to highlight the adjusted-for-inflation costs of previous Sony hardware, which pegs PS5 Pro as the second most expensive system the company has ever put out (although one without a disc drive):

I get it, it's never been more expensive to develop and manufacture these things, and gaming has, in fact, been incredibly inflation-resistant from a consumer standpoint. It still represents the best value form of entertainment in my book, but with Switch 2 in particular, Nintendo has to come out with guns blazing and make a really compelling case for what's rumoured to be a Switch, but more powerful.

Certainly, nobody's expecting PS5-level specs from Switch 2, but the small form factor of portable hardware increases component costs. Delivering even PS4 Pro-level performance in a Switch-sized tablet form for a reasonable price is going to be a mighty challenge. Bespoke new Nintendo games will certainly make for a better pitch than slightly better-looking versions of already-great-looking games you've been playing for a year or two or three. But whispers that the screen in the new console may be a standard LCD affair and not an OLED display will give some people (like me) pause. 'So, the screen tech isn't as good as the one I've been playing since 2021? Hmm.'

After seven-and-a-half years of Switch, the enthusiasts among us are eager for new hardware, but Nintendo has always looked to appeal beyond that core fanship. If PS5 Pro's pricing tells us anything, it's that the vast majority of players will still baulk at anything over $500, whatever the inflation charts say. Cost-of-living issues have squeezed personal finances from every which way and something's got to give; necessarily, entertainment expenditure is the first to take a hit. It doesn't matter that PS3 cost the equivalent of $780 18 years ago - for most of us, $700 is still an enormous sum to contemplate spending on a machine to play video games.

Switch OLED
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life

For Switch owners, the convenience of the console paired with a stellar first-party software offering has helped — as it always does — to distract from low power and modest specs. You could argue that Switch should be far cheaper, but crucially Nintendo strikes the right balance with a value proposition that makes $500 for, say, a Switch OLED bundled with a Pro Controller and a couple of Marios feel like good value.

What Nintendo has in store remains to be seen, and with rumours flying thick and fast about a potential hardware reveal this month (which wouldn't make much sense from a Switch holiday sales perspective, but hey, it's Nintendo), the overwhelmingly negative reaction to Sony's hardware pricing announcements shows that Switch 2's pricing is going to be a very delicate, very difficult needle to thread.