Mediocre, I was expecting a tad more. The hardware is more Switch Pro than Switch 2 and everything is overpriced (although that may partially be Trump's fault more than Nintendo because of the tariffs, but still). And software wise, I expected at least one more first party heavy hitter and what we do have seems to have a lot of drawbacks. Mario Kart World is empty and reliant on empty transition tracks, and is $80 for some reason. Pokemon Legends Z-A only takes place in one city and feels more like $70 DLC of SV than a full new game. Metroid Prime 4 seems intent on being as un-Metroidy as possible. The only real winner in this lineup has been DK Bananza, but that's only one good game, we need multiple. I can't really recommend the Switch 2 yet, it's too little bang for too much buck.
@Bolt_Strike Nah it's not tariffs. The games and console are ridiculously overpriced in Norway and we have no tariffs on Japan, and Nintendo's bill of costs isn't impacted by tariffs — they built their stock long before that. It's just another convenient scapegoat to hike prices. First the industry went "oh covid makes everything so difficult, we have to raise prices". Then covid was over, but did they lower them? Nah. Now it's "oh the tariffs", or "oh the datacenter buildout" — that last one is at least true for new hardware due to DRAM prices skyrocketing by 250% over the last few months.
For Nintendo though, it's just because they can. They can even release a $90 game (in Norway, before people jump in with an "akshually, it's not" — it is) that is clearly unfinished, and people defend it because it's, uh, got Mario in it?
And I'll pre-empt anyone saying I just hate anything Nintendo: I don't. Pokémon Z-A made me at least enjoy my Switch 2 and it was a genuinely fun game for me. The rest just haven't been, and have been way too expensive.
@OmnitronVariant The high price for the Switch 2 here in the Nordic countries is not "because they can" on Nintendo's part. It's because Bergsala AB, the company that's been the sole distributor of Nintendo products in the Nordic region for decades, decided to raise the price of the console significantly higher than in other European countries. Nintendo Life even reported on this back in April:
This also isn't the first time Bergsala has raised the price of Nintendo products sold in the Nordic countries higher than elsewhere in Europe. Here in Finland, when the local retailers revealed the price of the Switch 2 with its "Bergsala extra", me and several other people I know decided to preorder it directly from Nintendo's European online store, where it was more than a 100 euros cheaper.
I think 7/10 seems a reasonable score. 5 key games defined Switch 2 2025 for me, DK Bananza, MK World, Age of Imprisonment, Titanic Scion and Air Riders. The first 3 I played and really liked, the 4th I haven't played enough yet to form a judgment (got distracted by other games) and the 5th I enjoyed the beta but haven't played the full game.
But most of my time on Switch 2 so far has been playing Switch 1 games (e.g. Legends Z-A, Tomb Raider Definitive Edition, Prime 4) which puts in question why I didn't wait longer to pick up a Switch 2 considering prices did actually drop.
As for the hardware, it's fine but I do wish they took out the microphone and just made it that the console came with a headset. There were times in which I was playing online and it was almost as if people could hear me even though I had the microphone muted, so like I'd be listening to loud music and people would leave. I do get though that having an inbuilt microphone allows Nintendo to explore more dormant franchises like Nintendogs.
Finally, the point about how terrible Key Cards are. It's very concerning about the future of physical and Nintendo seems to be going the Key Card direction themselves as shown by Pokopia.
@Polvasti As if Nintendo has no say in that. They're the sole distributor by license. I can't prove it but I'd be willing to bet Bergsala's cut is fixed, so Nintendo still rakes in the benefits. They also know it works because import fees in Scandinavian countries make the console more expensive to import from elsewhere.
And this doesn't apply whatsoever to the game prices, which are from Nintendo directly via the eShop and sets the price for physical to match it.
@Polvasti As if Nintendo has no say in that. They're the sole distributor by license. I can't prove it but I'd be willing to bet Bergsala's cut is fixed, so Nintendo still rakes in the benefits.
If you can't prove it, then it's just your personal theory. Nintendo is a large, multi-billion dollar company, and as you know the Nordic market is small. To me it sounds much more likely that a local distributor who made an exclusive deal with Nintendo a long time ago takes advantage of its beneficial situation, than that Nintendo would help to create a situation where one small part of Europe (but no other area) has higher prices than the rest of the continent just so they could make a few million bucks more.
They also know it works because import fees in Scandinavian countries make the console more expensive to import from elsewhere.
I know Norway is different, but Sweden, Denmark, and Finland are part of the EU, so we don't have to pay fees for stuff imported within the EU area. That's how I was able to get the my Switch 2 for much cheaper than the "Bergsala price" the local retailers have: I ordered it from Nintendo's German online store and it was delivered from Poland, no import or delivery fees added.
@Polvasti An opinion based on how distribution contracts usually work, if Nintendo has good lawyers and business people writing them. And I'm certain they do. I am not so willing to bend over backwards to presume the best from Nintendo. They're a corporation. They've already shown they love to nickel and dime us in any way they can, just look at the DLC for DKB, the awful NSO offering, and upgrade packs for their already expensive old games to get a minor resolution unlock (Animal Crossing). I'm open to be proven wrong but I'd say erring on the side of Nintendo acting like any other huge corporation that's dominating its market and exploiting it for all they can get away with. Anything else would be exceptional, and I see no evidence for that.
The software sales...aren't as good as Switch 1. Switch 1 software attach rate in 2025 was over 9, while the Switch 2 software attach rate was only over 2.
Man, I wish people would pause before they spoke sometimes. Just think about what you're saying here for even half a second and you'll realise how silly this comparison is. You don't buy all of the games for the platform over the life of the platform when you buy the console. You buy the hardware with maybe a game or two, play that game, and then buy new games over time. The attach rate grows over time, it's not a static number. And between Switch 2 Editions, BC and updates it's even more complex of a story for the Switch 2
Seriously, just think about your own personal attach rate on the Switch 2. For example me, launch day I go and pick up the Switch 2 with Mario Kart World. I'm currently at an attach rate of 1 game per console. I go home and I download Fast Fusion, now I am at 2. I then get the Switch 2 Edition upgrades for Zelda and the free updates for various games but.... these are updates and DLC so don't count as game purchases on Switch 2. So I'm still at 2
About a month passes, I pick up DK Bananza, number goes up to 3 games per Switch 2 I own. I then pick up Captain Toad in a sale specifically for the Switch 2 and the changes the free update brings, but it is a Switch game so does not count. I am still at 3 Switch 2 games purchased per Switch 2. Black Friday sale, I pick up The Plucky Squire, Dave the Diver, Bayonetta Origins. The Plucky Squire I only pick up now because it seems the performance issues are resolved when played on Switch 2. But it's a Switch game so does not count. Obviously Dave the Diver is a Switch 2 Edition game... but I buy it as a Switch game and then apply the free upgrade to the Switch 2 edition so it does not count as a Switch 2 game purchase. And then with Metroid Prime 4 I do the same, buy the Switch version and then separately purchase the S2E upgrade
I am, technically, at 3 Switch 2 game purchases. But I think it's fair to say that I have more than 3 games "for the Switch 2"
It's also worth bearing in mind that Nintendo counts Switch 2 Editions as Switch 1 sales so, by Nintendo's reckoning, I've only got 2 Switch 2 games so far, but by mine I'd have eight.
@Matt_Barber
Yeah, technically I'm at 3 Switch 2 games. But in terms of games I either wouldn't have purchased if not for the Switch 2, games I got Switch 2 Editions for or games which I revisited and put time into specifically because of the Switch 2? That list probably has these 10 games on it
Mario Kart World (S2 game)
DK Bananza (S2 game)
Fast Fusion (S2 game)
Tears of the Kingdom (S2 Edition and I replayed it)
Breath of the Wild (S2 Edition, I haven't revisited it yet)
Prime 4 (S2 Edition)
Dave the Diver (S2 Edition)
Captain Toad (skipped it on Switch, picked it up for GameShare + HDR etc)
ClubHouse Games (had it for ages but GameShare/GameChat transforms it)
The Plucky Squire (skipped because of supposed performance issues on Switch)*
*edit: I will say for The Plucky Squire.... solid game for about a quarter of it. But the main hook of the game, changing the words to change the world, isn't really explored that much at all. And then it seems to overstay its welcome a bit near the end before the final boss of the game which is just a bit.... meh.... glad I waited for it to be on sale
@BonzoBanana I know the Switch 2 itself is a bit cheaper in the US, but aren't the games pretty much the same price there as in Europe? Of course the sales taxes vary in different parts of the US, but in general I don't think there's much of a difference between their prices and ours?
Yes and that is the issue, with much higher tariffs than Europe we are paying about the same price when currency converted. $80 US game is the same as a £60 game but the US game has much higher tariffs applied to it. The game should be much cheaper in Europe due to lack of tariffs, its like we are partly paying the tariffs for the US with Japan's pricing in Europe. It's like Nintendo decided to share the cost of those tariffs with Europe.
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Topic: Switch 2: how was its year 2025?
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