The lead-up to the Nintendo Switch 2's launch was surrounded by pricing controversies, some more legitimate than others. While the price of the hardware is hard to swallow, the console itself likely has a slim profit margin, if it has one at all. Game pricing is more of a mess, and even the apparently exorbitant cost of manufacturing the Switch 2 cartridges doesn't make a jump to $80 any easier to swallow for the average consumer.

Perhaps the hardest pill to swallow is the lineup of digital purchases that don't particularly need to cost anything at all. Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour feels like the kind of demo game that should come free with the system, and while locking new features behind $10 upgrades to Switch games is fair enough, requiring them to get a resolution bump for system-sellers like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom isn't wonderful. Actions speak louder than words, however, and the Switch 2 sales charts indicate that complaints weren't enough to stop these decisions from paying off.

Nintendo’s Most-Criticized Releases Are Topping Switch 2 Charts

$10 Offerings Are Standing Out

As reported by GameSpot — and easily verifiable by checking the eShop — Nintendo lists the number one bestseller on the Switch 2 as Mario Kart World, followed directly by the Tears of the Kingdom Upgrade Pack and Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour (at the time of writing). These three titles were all the biggest centerpieces for price complaints, but that doesn't appear to have slowed down their sales. As the big new exclusive, Mario Kart World was always destined for the top, but Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour and the TOTK upgrade could have more easily missed this achievement.

Against Mario Kart World's $80 tag, the $10 price point for Welcome Tour and the upgrade pack is certainly cheap enough to incentivize more impulse buys. The eShop states that the ranking is determined by revenue over the past three days, though, which would mean that these titles are hitting extremely high sales marks to beat out more expensive games. In fourth place, Cyberpunk 2077 retails for $69.99, so the $10 offerings would have to sell over seven times as many copies to beat it if the prices and revenue are taken at face value.

The Switch 2 Is Winning Big, But Profits Aren’t Everything

Game Sales Can Come At A Cost

Despite widespread scoffing, Nintendo was clearly right that charging for Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour would bring in worthwhile profits. That being said, there's still a bigger picture to consider. There's no doubt that Wii Sports would have been a bestseller on the Wii if it incurred a surcharge in North America, but its pack-in status helped cement the Wii's universal appeal and likely generated an increase in overall console sales. Choosing to make more money on software may not do any favors to hardware sales or brand popularity, and it certainly doesn't win more fans.

After the runaway success of the Switch, Nintendo's not necessarily in a position where these concerns matter much. Charging $50 for 1-2 Switch on the original system was an equally unpopular decision, and it obviously didn't prevent the system from enjoying long-term success. The Switch 2 is pushing a higher price point in a less stable economy, however, so its successful launch doesn't guarantee continual momentum.

The Switch 2 should easily dodge the overall failure of the Wii U, even in the worst-case scenario, and I'm sure Nintendo has crunched far more numbers than I have. I'm impressed to see just how well its $10 offerings are doing, and I imagine executives are especially pleased by the results. Regardless of how it helps or hurts the Switch 2 in the long run, Nintendo is taking the victory for now.

Source: GameSpot