The Villains Behind the Switch 2 Pricing Controversies

The infamous 10 hours that took place on April 2nd beginning with the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct presentation and then being followed up by Trump’s now-infamous Liberation Day may have just broken the gaming industry beyond repair. After years of Nintendo being as escape from the wild MAGA era that has been ongoing even when Biden was president, now the company is directly in the middle of an escalating trade war that sees the company scrambling and trying to figure out what their next move could possibly be moving forward.

Conservative (discrete and not-so-discrete) Nintendo fans and gamers aren’t understanding or comprehending the price hikes, people not invested in politics overall have mostly tilted their blame of the wild upcoming prices on Nintendo, while those more-invested in battling the MAGA Era have ended up forced to defending a giant corporation while explaining exactly why we’ve made it to this point. Unless you are someone of very good wealth, you’re probably ignoring or avoiding all the noise, but many of us are stuck in the middle of a fight we never ever wanted. All we wanted to do was play video games at affordable prices, and now arguably the most-hyped console in gaming history is wrapped up under a mysterious price tag that may fluctuate 10, 20, maybe even 30% before its launch.

I think what has been happening this month is part of the larger picture related to the unhealthy relationships between capitalism, the economy, wall street, U.S. politics, and the Americans whose daily lives are affected by decisions being made and the consequences that followed.

I think its more than just the $80 price tag of Mario Kart World that is hurting us mentally; the controversy is a reminder on how expensive life has become, how much of a factor politics plays into our lives whether we are involved or not, and most importantly how difficult it still is to earn that amount of casual spending money under an American Capitalism that sees people like Elon Musk spending $200 million on a random election in Wisconsin, while on the other side 50-60% Americans continue living paycheck-to-paycheck.

Remember, the last time the federal minimum wage was raised was during the first Obama term----when Nintendo was still selling the Nintendo Wii---and over four full years after we had the first influx of $60 games with PS3 and XBox 360.

What doesn’t seem to stick to the minds of those angry at Nintendo is that the company has usually done their hardest to keep their prices lower than the competitors. The Wii and their games were cheaper than the competition, as they pivoted their business model to try to be more family-friendly in terms of price point and not put as much effort towards pushing the strongest technological advancements in the industry. The Wii, DS, 3DS, WiiU, and Nintendo Switch were notably weaker than their competitors, and the hardware was also using older technology. Success or failure, it was cheaper owning a Nintendo handheld and console than it was owning a Playstation or Microsoft product.

So why would Nintendo suddenly abandon this strategy now? Especially knowing what has happened to the Japanese economy as well as the economies of most of their major markets, why would Nintendo shift everything towards an Apple-like strategy of upper-tier pricing for their feverish fanbase?

It doesn’t match up; it doesn’t connect to what Nintendo has done in the last 15 years. Most notably of all, Nintendo knows what was the exact trigger point that would elevate the Nintendo Switch to record-breaking heights and financial success: The Coronavirus Pandemic.

I mean it when I say the Switch saved lives. Millions of Americans and millions more around the entire world were having to hide at home for months, had to keep distance from others for even longer, and all this was happening under a very uncertain future, a shattered global economy, an airborne lung-attacking illness with no legitimate cure for over 12 months, and a gaming industry that had already started showing signs of becoming too expensive for the average consumer. Between the microtransactions, the $70 games, the sheer number of streaming/online services you had to sign up for, and the hardware prices also creeping closer to the $1,000 mark after you buy the necessary accessories, the entire industry started seeing mass layoffs, mass shutdowns of talented studios, and Sony and Microsoft eating up AA and indie studios to bolster their lineups and rely on exclusivity to survive the storm.

Then there was Nintendo seemingly on fire, delivering consistent quality games that would last years and didn’t have the $70 price tag attached (with one notable exception, and it didn’t even release until 2023).

The Switch had four times as many games to choose from than everyone else, and whenever you bought a first-party game at $60, you had some of the best games the company has ever made. So once again, why would you think that the company saw nearly a decade of success from the Switch decide to abandon all those strategies that made it successful moving forward?

Those price tags from April 2nd are telling a different story.

Clearly, it was the tariffs.

Clearly, everything you see before you economically, is because Japan, Nintendo, the East Asian block of nations saw from miles away that Trump if he had won his election, was going to strike everyone with tariffs (this was a literal campaign promise for months), was going to flip over the global trade table and demand respect, because he’s a bully (which I’ll spend an article discussing someday). Trump and his image have been this way since the 1980s, which as you remember was a decade in which Japanese businesses were investing significantly more towards United States commerce. Trump has been itching to implement tariffs for the longest time, especially towards China and every country surrounding it (except for Russia….of course…).

Nintendo knew this was likely to occur had he won, and planned accordingly (for the record, I’ve seen the company claim that tariffs were never a factor, but I remain adamant about how East Asia outside of China is just trying to avoid getting into a public spat with the Orange Man). If you think about it, all those delays related to the Switch 2 was likely attached to the uncertain future the United States was facing. You may not have been invested in the entire election cycle and may not have checked every word and statement and policy ideas being presented, but the breadcrumbs leading to what’s happening today has been prevalent since even the 2020 election cycle.

The main reason why they’ve suddenly frozen the pre-orders in the United States and Canada is because the tariff numbers became worse than what they could have imagined, and is banking on the hopes that cooler heads will prevail and the White House backs off from the most extreme numbers. They had even shifted some Switch 2 production to Vietnam in case of the impending tariffs, only to see Vietnam also become targeted.

But the bigger issue isn’t even the $80 or $450 price tag, not even the tariffs themselves.

It’s the fact that the richest country in the history of the world has half her people still living paycheck-to-paycheck.

It appears that ever since the economy collapsed under the pressure of a global pandemic, our dollars, our wealth, seems to continue to deteriorate in value, even after we had finally somewhat contained the coronavirus. I feel like we’re missing the forest from the trees, Americans should be able to afford $80 games in a nation that contains one STATE making more money than 95% of the countries in existence throughout the entire world (California, for those who don’t know). Just one CITY, New York City, has a higher GDP than 90% of the countries in existence.

With such an advanced economy and under current inflation numbers, Americans should be averaging $25-$30 an hour, but that reality is farther away than ever before. At the very damn least, minimum wage should be approaching $20, not $15.

Canada is also a top 15 global economy, so they also have no excuse, but the United States is about 15 times the economy of Poutine Nation, so its especially egregious on the American side.

$80 games is a big deal primarily because ever since $60 became the norm two decades ago, not much has improved for the lower and middle class, despite the economy continuing to produce bonkers numbers with small gaps in 2008 and 2020. Like I said, we have entire cities that are top 20 global economies, the GDPs of California, Texas, and New York by themselves can defeat almost any country’s GDP. We have seen the United States become a capitalist mecca, a money-printing machine, the economic backbone of the entire western hemisphere, the biggest consumer culture on the planet. But yet, even as we continue producing billionaires and billionaire companies, the average American has yet to see their wages go up.

With these sad realities, Americans need their escapes, need their hobbies to remain occupied, to find that happiness before going back to battle to pay bills and continue appealing to the Capitalist Gods. The Nintendo Switch was that escape, and now the Nintendo Switch 2 became this ugly reminder on just how screwed up American capitalism has become, how screwed up American politics has become, and just how expensive all the things we love are becoming.

Nintendo isn’t alone in this concept of sudden price increases; they’re just the latest target drawing the ire of the public. Remember the wild price hikes of the likes of theme parks streaming services, and even quick-service locations. Nintendo was the friend, was the reliable source of happiness, but now they just look like every other corporation that is trying to drain us of our funds.

Could Nintendo be taking more of a hit as a way to keep the prices down and reward the loyalty of all the customers over the years? Of course, and I am willing to accept that argument in particular. Maybe Nintendo can buck the trend, lower their prices, and ride out the storm until the holiday season. Nintendo could and likely should toss out a lifeline and keep the prices lowBut for those of you saying that the $450 and $80 has -nothing- to do with tariffs are just flat-out, indisputably wrong. Obviously, U.S. politics shaped the price tag of the Switch 2.

That being said, our anger has to move elsewhere, we have to maintain focus on what is the true problem: We Americans, in the richest country in the history of the world, should all be making at least $60,000 a year. At least.

Ready for wild facts? 33% of the United States’ overall wealth is owned by 1% of citizens---the richest of the billionaire class. Jeff Bezos in 2024 averaged about $8 million in earnings per HOUR. This translates to over $133,000 per MINUTE, over $2,200 per SECOND. And he’s not even the richest billionaire living in the United States. If the 1% hogging over half of the money in existence within these U.S. borders can earn $100k per minute, then clearly there’s enough money to ensure that all Americans have a proper standard of living.

What has ended up happening this month is we’re battling each other, angering each other over the tariff conversation, throwing shade at Nintendo for the pricing benchmark they’ve pushed, and completely ignored the biggest issue of all: the $80 price point shouldn’t be such a deal-breaker in a country that has enough money to reward everyone with an easier, cheaper, but more-sustainable quality of life. We have to remember that its not even a Japanese corporation like Nintendo bleeding us dry, it’s the billionaire class who spent close to a billion dollars collectively during the 2024 election cycle to ensure one of their own ends up as president so they can continue avoiding taxes, continue hoarding wealth, and maintaining their quiet soft power over the rest of American society.

I know politics is irritating and a constant fight, but I do also hope that with the Switch 2 news, with the pre-order cancellations, with the potential of price hikes in technology and many other facets of life with these looming tariffs, that it will convince gamers and people overall to pay more attention towards those in Washington D.C. power and those who continue funding those trying to stay in political power.

Donald Trump should have had his political career eradicated back in 2021 after his loss, but he kept being propped up by billionaires afraid of potential tax hikes and stronger IRS support finding those dodging paying their fair share. For years, the politicians in the White House allowed Trump to continue his lies, his crimes, and his ridiculous white nationalist behavior, and this became increasingly frustrating as we saw South Korea, Bolivia, and Brazil handle their coups far far better. I understand why it would be tempting to shut your brain off while trying to enjoy life. But if you’re not careful, the decisions made by the few who participate in politics will end up making grave mistakes.

Donald Trump winning a second term is an obvious grave mistake, and despite how long most gamers and Nintendo fans avoided the noise, the politics has finally caught up and confronted them in the shape of an $80 price tag during an era where everything has become more expensive and wages continue being stagnated. However, U.S. politics and its terrible consequences had always loomed in the background, making it harder for the country to evolve and improve beyond what it has become for generations now: a selfish billionaire-run extreme capitalist society that rewards only those on top, while giving scraps to everyone underneath. And it doesn’t have to be this way if we pay more attention and step up.

Maybe it will be Mario Kart World at $80, maybe it will be Grand Theft Auto 6 at $120, maybe even the Playstation 6 at $1,000, but whatever moment radicalizes you, always remember that you deserve significantly better than a meager $15 an hour during an era where selfish, corrupt, tax-avoiding rich people are making $22 per MILLISECOND.

You deserve to look at every price tag of every upcoming video game for the Switch 2 without pondering what you have to sacrifice in life for your future moments of joy.