Entertainment·AnalysisDuring a livestream promoting Nintendo’s new Switch 2 and its upcoming games, viewers flooded the chat with “DROP THE PRICE.”Switch 2’s price tag worried gamers. It could be the start of industry-wide price hikesJonathan Ore · CBC News · Posted: Apr 07, 2025 11:46 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 hours agoPeople play Mario Kart World on the new Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming console at a media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Ted Shaffrey/The Associated Press)Last week, Nintendo kept the hype train going on its upcoming new gaming system the Switch 2, with a series of livestreams showing off the new device along with highly anticipated upcoming games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza.Gamers, however, had something else in mind. The live chat alongside the YouTube livestream was flooded with people posting “DROP THE PRICE” and similar pleas for hours on end.The new system’s $449 US price tag — $629 in Canada — is proving to be a tough pill to swallow. The original Switch launched in 2017 at $299 US ($399 Cdn).Adding to the worries were Nintendo’s U.S. site listing Mario Kart World at $80 US, which is $10 higher than normal for current flagship games. The Canadian Nintendo store doesn’t currently list the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MRSP), but a straight conversion would put it at $110 Cdn or more.Then on Friday — two days after the Switch 2 showcase — another bombshell: Nintendo paused pre-orders for the console in the U.S., “in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,” according to a press release.”Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged,” the statement continued.
For Nintendo’s Switch 2, Trump tariffs could be an unbeatable final boss
