Nintendo Switch Price, Launch Lineup Teased

@d_: Well, to be fair, we still know nothing important about the Switch so far. The only thing Nintendo did was show a commercial for their next console. I'm not confident they will deliver on games in the long term. I know they want to, and they certainly have some studios that have gone MIA like Retro Studios. They will certainly have a game shipped in the launch window as they have a record for releasing titles every 2-3 years and their last effort was DKC: Tropical Freeze which will have released 3 years ago by the time the Switch launches. I was hoping for a Mario Galaxy from EAD, but that seems off the table as they developed Mario Maker recently. For Nintendo to pull through, they absolutely need 3rd party support, and their commercial only showed one new game that seems legitimate besides Zelda, and that seems to be a Mario / Sonic cross over (the level Mario runs in is Samba di Amigo territory, and there are rings floating in the air) the only 3rd party software shown were remasters of existing games that the 3rd parties wouldn't confirm was actually being ported! I'll still buy the Switch, especially if it releases at the rumored price point, but since Nintendo announced it wasn't integrating its handheld efforts into the Switch, I've lowered my expectations in terms of sales potential and success.

@RJS86: Or any 3rd party games for that matter. I thought for sure it would cross play with the 3DS. Since that is officially off the table, there isn't much hope for the system to gain any momentum as it doesn't open the door to more casual gamers (no 3DS cross play) and shouldn't appeal to hardcore gamers (specs not on par with X1 at least, and again no cross play with 3DS which has some great hardcore games too). Had Nintendo made 3DS play on the Switch, it would have opened the system to a constant stream of great content from handheld developers, and could have marketed the device to 50 million 3DS owners (probably more like 30-35 Million since a lot of people own a second or even 3rd one), attracted new players to the handheld space and fueled the sales of the 3DS and the Switch in the process. This would have encouraged Devs to make unique experiences on the Switch and Nintendo could have boasted having the largest exclusive game library on any current gen console. Such a waste...

@RJS86: Yeah, pretty much. Yves Guillmont's comment really gives me Wii U flashbacks.

@uncle5555: I'm kind of surprised there hasn't been some form of litigation, or at least bigger backlash from Bethesda... So, something is definitely up, as that kind of undermines them completely if it wasn't planned, and it means Nintendo would have used Bethesda assets to market a system without them being on board.

@chuevzla: I'm actually surprised as the current, solid, rumors indication $249, but some journalists wonder if that includes the dock. I'm assuming it does as it's basically an integrated charger and hdmi cable. So, color me happy!

@chuevzla: I expect it will be $399

@darthrevenx: I'll always cherish the old school, but I do agree that games this generation have been somewhat lacking. Perhaps risk aversion has finally caught up to gaming?

@darthrevenx: Well, it depends on how much time you dedicate to videogames. I personally love what's been released this gen so far, but then again, I don't pre-order and usually buy games scored 8 and up.

@kadin_kai: Yeah, Nintendo hardly ever discounting games is still a mystery to me, but they must have some analytics that say this is the best strategy for their brand of games.

@karl_karl_karl: $399. I'll stake my lunch on it.

@jerms82: not necessarily. Nintendo from day 1 has been games. The Wii was really underpowered but sold like crazy. The n64 was still cartridge base and sold like crazy. All Nintendo needs to do to be really successful is make sure the console can play 3rd party titles without having to jump through hoops to get it on the console. 1st party titles will sell. Nintendo consoles always have custom hardware that makes games look amazing. Look at RE4 on GameCube. Xenoblade on Wii U.

Price will be $299 for base unit and $350 for bundle. Which is fine. I'll get it.

@andybroke: Everything is too expensive in Norway. An average meal at a restaurant is $25-$30, so I'd imagine video games would be expensive too

@isariamkia: Some rumors indicate $249 USD... Any news?

@PS2fweak: Nintendo never aimed for high performance because they know fancy graphics don't make a great game, gameplay does. Sure, fancy graphics help but also increase the risk, cost and time of production by quite a lot. I think it will be a console with fun cartoony games and that's fine.

@PS2fweak: I think it will be a must-have to people that like mobile gaming and play on the go. And I think it will be useless to the people that play at home in front of the big screen. We'll have to wait and see though.

@valtair: Nintendo can't afford to sell at a loss, despite being extremely rich. Both Microsoft and Sony have diversified portfolios and their console brands sell tablets, phones, televisions, AR headsets, operating systems and other computer accessories that extend far beyond gaming. Nintendo has nothing of these and it hurts them real bad in the console space with competition from MS and Sony. Their best strategy is to position themselves as the second console to own after a PS4 or Xbox1, which is why their system has to have a big enough install base to encourage 3rd parties to port games with a unique take, or make new experiences altogether, something the Wii U failed to do.

@valtair: This one has a different target market though. I think the home console part is just an added feature and that they will mostly rely on the mobile side of the console.

@aladan53: 299$ imo