Switch 2 at $500 is an Absolute STEAL
I really don't want to hear any more complaints about the Switch 2 being "too expensive."
When Nintendo first announced the Switch 2 at $450, a lot of people acted like Nintendo had completely lost its mind. Then the U.S. price increase pushed it to $500, and the criticism only got louder.
Fast forward to today, and the market looks very different.
The PlayStation 5 has seen significant price increases.
Xbox hardware prices have gone up.
And then we have the new wave of PC handhelds and portable gaming devices. Some of these systems are launching well north of $1,000, and once you start adding accessories and upgrades, it's not difficult to find yourself looking at a $1,500 investment.
And with the Steam Machine price announced…
Suddenly, that $500 Switch 2 doesn't seem so outrageous.
In fact, it looks like a bargain to me.
The Market Has Shifted
One thing that often gets lost in these discussions is that console pricing doesn't exist in a vacuum.
The question isn't whether $500 is a lot of money. Of course it is.
The real question is: compared to what?
When you stack the Switch 2 up against the alternatives, Nintendo's machine starts looking extremely competitive.
You've got:
PS5
PS5 Pro
Xbox Series X
High-end gaming handhelds
Portable PC gaming devices
The Steam Machine
And most of them cost significantly more than a Switch 2. Nintendo's hardware is now sitting in a very interesting position. It's no longer the "expensive Nintendo console." It's now the affordable current-generation hybrid gaming platform.
The Performance Narrative Is Changing
The other thing that's changed is that we've had time to actually see what the Switch 2 can do.
At launch, there was a lot of speculation about whether the hardware would be powerful enough. Digital Foundry famously casted a lot of doubt on the hardware’s capabilities with their “portable PS4” narrative. DF didn’t start changing their tune until Star Wars Outlaws dropped on Switch 2 with full ray tracing.
Now we're seeing the real software. We're seeing modern third-party games arrive on the platform. We're seeing developers squeeze impressive performance out of the hardware.
We're even seeing games like Devil May Cry 5 include a 120 FPS mode.
That's pretty impressive for a device that many people wrote off before it even launched.
No, the Switch 2 isn't competing directly with a high-end gaming PCs in terms of power.
It doesn't need to.
All it needs to do is deliver a great gaming experience at a reasonable price point.
And the Switch 2 doing exactly that.
TL;DR/Final Thoughts
When the Switch 2 launched, many people saw a $450-$500 Nintendo console and thought it was expensive.
A year later, the conversation looks very different.
Compared to the PlayStation ecosystem, Xbox ecosystem, and the rapidly growing market of premium handheld gaming PCs, the Switch 2 is starting to look like one of the best values in all of gaming right now.
And I believe the Switch 2's value proposition is only going to get stronger from here.