Switch 2 Welcome Tour Developer Gets Officially Revealed

It would make a little sense due to it having minigames...

Fun Fact:
The first game Nintendo Cube developed was F-Zero: Maximum Velocity.

It looks like a cute little party game, yet I still didn't suspect that ND Cube Nintendo Cube was developing this game! An interesting tidbit.

Here's my opinion on the whole "should have been a pack-in" title for Switch 2. No, Tour doesn't need to be packed-in because it's a game that doesn't really benefit from it. If people are pretty adamant and care enough to say this should have been packed in then they probably also care enough to pay for it if they think it's interesting for what it is. Mario Kart Wii was different. Nintendo Land, at least for me, was different. They were intended to showcase what the console has to offer like mechanics and motion controls, and asymmetric gameplay. But Welcome Tour doesn't inherently need to do that because these things are either knowledge players already know, or knowledge players doesn't need to know to understand and play Switch 2.

Either you just want something for free or you're actually interested in the mini games then it doesn't matter if it's packed in or not.

Would I prefer having it as a pack-in title? Sure! Who doesn't?

woah not a team i expected!!! wonder if they made this and jamborre at the same time 🤔

And yet I STILL won’t buy it. Not even for $1 just based on principle.

Yeah just one look at the game and you could tell whoever worked on Clubhouse Games also did this game haha.

I found it so odd this game had no credits at the end. It’s nice they’re crediting the team now.

...Huh. You'd think if anything would be made by the Hardware team, Punch-Out style, it'd be this one.

I still think it should have been free/included with the system. Or if they want us paying for it, add twice as many games on it, and sell it for $30 on a cartridge. They could call it “Welcome Tour - Expanded Edition” and just sell the basic one for $10 on eShop too.

Not only did we know this a day after launch, but it's also really odd to assume that Nintendo EPD had no hand in the project given how essentially all past tech demo games of this sort have been theirs, Nintendo Cube has collaborated with them on multiple projects (Pocket Camp, Everybody 1-2-Switch), and its very nature of it being a game covering the Switch 2 itself down to showcasing the innards of the system. You really think that such a project would be essentially completely handed off to a subsidiary with no involvement in creating the console, instead of coming from the core in-house group that is known to actively collaborate with the hardware development team?

@TrueBlueYoshi Except all the mini games suck are are devoid of a single shred of character. Would have made way more sense if they did mario party style mini games, would have been more fun to have like actual characters instead of every game being as generic as humanly possible.

It doesn't matter who worked on it, it still should've been a pack in.

@Zyph agree. Also I think if it were a pack in every switch unit would just cost 10 bucks more. No company will give you really something for free. Every pack in is calculated in the costs.

@BrokenCiv what principle? I don’t buy things that cost money? So what are you doing here?

I knew it. Those preposed people are hallmarks.

@Zyph naah... no disrespect ... but that reads as moving the goalpost.
Its a DEMOstration of the new capabilities and features of a new console. Nobody wants to pay for a demo.

@zyph Mario Kart didn't come with the Wii. Wii Sports did. Also your last sentence undermines everything you said beforehand.

@tkundnobody no, that's not how pricing works. Price is a function of supply and demand, not cost. The price would only increase $10 if the data suggested that people would pay an additional $10 with it included. Nintendo could've easily included it with no price increase, but only if they felt it would meaningfully impact sales velocity and profitability in a positive way. Selling it separately is proof that they realize there was no economic value in including it, which indicates that there is no meaningful demand. It won't move hardware, and they're willing to take the risk that people are silly enough to pay $10 for an instruction manual.

@Benri4761 I agree... and I bet the negative marketing and reception was waaaaaaay more expensive to them in damage control than what would have been another nice incentive to buy the console in the first place.
People won't be buying this demo either way after the honeymoon phase of the Switch 2 is over.

@Benri4761 Oh right it's Wii Sports. My bad. I remember getting the MK bundle. Still it's for the motion control aspect. Also, I appreciate you making an acct just to reply:)

Anyway that's fair. But I'll stick to what I said. Again just an opinion. My last sentence? Well no not really. it doesn't undermine anything as far as I'm concerned. It it okay to be a pack in? Sure nobody will complain. Oh it's not? No biggie since if I want to play the thing then I'll get it.

@Yoshi3 Exactly my point when it comes to including the thing in the box. Is it a demo you actually want to "play"? If not then yeah don't get it. Then it's not a big deal if it's in the box or not. But you still want to try it out? Then it's a conundrum. Why do you want to play the thing? That means you're interested? Will this particular "demo" even be factor whether you get a Switch 2 or not? Being interested doesn't mean everything should be free. "But it's a freaking demo!". Exactly.

Is it really that much of an issue if it's not a pack in, for a game which doesn't really tell you to buy the thing or not. A game that's mostly just facts and trivia.

Let's be honest people just want it for free. Simple as that. 1-2 Switch had the exact same problem initially.

At least that's how I see it and again that's just me. And I respect whatever opinions others have as well.

I wish it's 5$ tbh, it feels like a far more palatable price point. Will I be happier if it's for free (or free for NSO member)? Of course, that means I'll get it for free.

But 5 bucks I still think is a reasonable pricepoint and so I'm waiting for that discount hopefully lmao

@Benri4761 your funny. You have never had a lesson in economy hm? I can raise my price with high demand. I should lower it with low demand. But the cost are always factored in the price. If not you would make losses and wouldn’t sustain long on the market. That’s very basic knowledge. Price is always a function of cost + tax + win.

@Zyph i see it the same way i could imagine if nintendo theoretically sold face raiders and ar games on 3ds for $5. cause yeah, there could be a lot of reasons why it deserves a price, its a console showcase they put work into. but theyre also such a small, inconsequential games that it almost doesnt matter if people buy it or not

$10 welcome tour doesnt make me mad, but i just roll my eyes at the decision cause i can almost feel nintendo looking back at us for validation to see if enough people buy. it helps that theres not many 1st party games to buy at switch 2 launch

@Zyph Having now played it, I feel like it makes zero sense for it to be packed in as the information it goes into is way too technical for the average consumer to be interested in. This isn't a title most people would care for. It's too geeky and niche to be a pack in.

Maybe if it was simply a mini game collection with more mouse based games it would work.

@cylemmulo The mouse mini games with the UFOs are a lot of fun IMO and remind me of the fly swatter Mario Paint mini game. I disagree it has no character, it has a quirky and humourous charm to it just like 51 Worldwide Classics. Love the dialogue which was surprisingly funny and self deprecating and skating around on the Switch 2 screen. And the concept of a games expo on a giant Switch 2 is just fun for me. But to each their own.

@Suketoudara yeah I really don't think that the kids who's parents opt for the bundle that just has welcome tour vs the Mario kart world bundle are going to enjoy playing around with DLSS and VRR demonstrations.

Would definitely have led to more upset parents and actually buyers of the system rather than upsetting a vocal online minority.

@Zyph Excellent comment. I never considered that a free game should be something of substance, like a Nintendo Land or even Wii Sports. Of course, these games probably aren't free because I'm sure the consoles are sold at a higher price than ordinarily without the games. It could even simply be, for example, the console is worth $220, so how can we get it to $250. Oh, a "free" game!

I think most of the momentum for Welcome Tour to be free was the Switch 2 was more expensive than hoped, so, damn it, give us a little something to feel like we're winning! Also, once one person suggests it, everyone else follows.

I never thought Welcome Tour should be free. For a "free game", it's rather disappointing. For $10, it's telling you in the price not to expect much.

I didn't know some people actually cared which developer(s) made this overpriced tech demo.😐

@cylemmulo
No characters and tend to be ragebait as I’ve mentioned before, no clue how it made all the way to market like that especially with how it makes you actually hate the mouse controls, it’s the anti Wii Sport/Play in that way. Zero Nintendo charm instead it’s just garbage rage inducing flash games you’d play in the 00’s to pass time.

@BrokenCiv You're missing out. For every person like you stubbornly refusing to give it a chance because you think you "deserve" it for free, there's someone like me out there gleefully undermining your argument by buying it happily as a tech nerd. You're not changing anything with your position; you're just denying yourself a fun experience. To each their own I guess, but it's been a month and it seems like it's about time to let this go, at least enough to not comment whenever this game has an article.
Good day. 😊

Team Asobi: "Hold my beer."

It's a perfectly good £8 tech demo and tour.
It makes no claims of being anything more.
The whole thing is incredibly transparent.
And, to be perfectly honest with you, can you really see any kind of person that's complaining about this being the kind of person that would enjoy this anyway??
It's all a gotcha.
"See! SEE! Look at their greed!"
So tiresome.

@Debo626 👊

@Zyph I definitely do think it should have been a pack in just cause it's basically a tech demo and an advertisement in one, but all things considered I can see why it wasn't. This isn't like Wii Sports, Welcome Tour is never going to push system sales on its own. I see it as more along the lines of Face Raiders and the AR games on 3DS. Those were nice to have, but I don't think anybody was on the edge about getting a 3DS until they learned they could play Face Raiders for free.

@TKundNobody Now I will say, it's not quite so simple. I'm not broken up or anything about WT being $10, but if I were in charge it would have been free solely as a matter of optics. I went ahead and bought it and I'm having a fun time, but it's easy to look at what it is and predict that a lot of players would see it as more in line with pack in software. I'm guessing the blowback probably did exceed what Nintendo predicted, but regardless for every person who was thinking of buying a Switch 2 and decided against it because they saw WT cost money and that stank of nickel and diming to them, that's an additional 45-50 copies of the game that would need to be sold to break even on those potential sales. Mind you I still think they'll be up on their cash since WT is surely selling at least hundreds of thousands of copies, but it definitely feels like short term gains were prioritized rather than maintaining public perception.

@somnambulance nice to see someone actually happy with this game.

@Debo626 more power to you…

@JohnnyC exactly

@Zyph

"If people are pretty adamant and care enough to say this should have been packed in then they probably also care enough to pay for it if they think it's interesting for what it is.

...Would I prefer having it as a pack-in title? Sure! Who doesn't?"

so the fact that people want it to be a pack in game is proof that it shouldn't be, and you would personally prefer it to be a pack in, so you are glad that it isn't. 👍

I'm playing it right now and think it's fair to call it quaint. It's deeper than the trailer made it look and people saying it's only for techies overlook that, if included, it could have created more techies than otherwise. Parents might not know about it or what it is, but kids might not be so curious about it as to burn social capital with their parents to ask for it. And with indiepocalypse, gamers wanting to roll their hobby into a career might want to look more on the hardware side of the equation than software.

@Hero-of-WiiU One look at the game thumbnail, in fact. I keep confusing them for each other.

@TKundNobody Economics is only part of marketing; psychology is the other part. Psychological pricing says that people are drawn to round numbers. So it would be unlikely to be $460 instead of $450. Frankly, if it got a 10% attach rate at $10, they would only need to charge $451 as a pack-in to make the same revenue, since that would be a 100% attach rate. So while costs are always passed on to the consumer, sometimes they're diluted. You're correct as far as your point goes, but it should go farther.

@Zyph Elasticity of demand is the operative concept here. Going from $0 to $10 will result in less demand.

@Suketoudara totally agree

@darkfenrir definitely….if they are too cheap to include it free, at least include it on Nintendo Switch Online to avoid the PR disaster that this has become. And same with Mario Kart World. Ok, maybe charge extra for a physical copy- I am thankful for the bundle. But May as an NSO benefit, you get MKW for $70?

It’s sad that people aren’t talking about what a great game it is but instead are discussing the price.

I can't wait for Welcome Tour 2!

@Suketoudara Some of them can be fun and the overworld design is kinda fun but the minigames.... they're so generic. Here is a generic putt putt level, oh a scrape off level lets just have them literally scrape off paint, oh a shooting game? Lets put them in blank blue room and shoot red balloons.

Where is the Nintendo charm here? Why are these so devoid?