transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:04] I'm Caira Blackwell and you're listening to The Wirecutter Show. Hi y'all, today we're gonna do a quick bonus episode on the Nintendo Switch 2. This is the second iteration of a really popular portable gaming console that came out in June of 2025 with a whopping price tag of $450. Many jumped right in and bought it right when it dropped, myself included. I was just really excited by the exclusive new games and all the new features that the Switch 2 promised. And yeah, it did sell over 10 million units in four months, which makes it the fastest-selling console of all time in America. But if you're one of those people who's been putting off buying the new Switch 2, if you're waiting to see if the games actually got better, waiting to feel like the price is worth it, or you're just kind of waiting, this episode might be for you. Arthur Gies, supervising editor on the tech team here at Wirecutter, has spent months testing the Switch 2, the games, the features, whether it's worth the upgrade from the original. And we do have a full verdict on all of that. But there's also a time-sensitive wrinkle to this conversation that has absolutely nothing to do with the console itself and everything to do with what's happening in the world right now that's gonna have an impact on the price you'd pay if and when you decide to buy the new Switch 2. So we're gonna take a quick break and then when we're back, I'll be here with Arthur on the other side. See you soon.

Speaker 2:
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Speaker 3:
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[02:50] I gave my brother a New York Times subscription. We exchange articles.

Speaker 2:
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Speaker 5:
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Speaker 2:
[03:07] It was such a cool and thoughtful gift.

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Speaker 1:
[03:29] Arthur, welcome.

Speaker 5:
[03:30] Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1:
[03:31] So excited to have you on today. Can we just talk about the basics of video games in general for people who don't know, what is a Nintendo Switch and who's it really good for?

Speaker 5:
[03:42] A Nintendo Switch is what's sort of referred to as a hybrid video game console, which means in the past, there would be a Nintendo handheld like a Game Boy or a DS or things like that. And there'd be the console you have at your house, like a GameCube or a Wii. And with the Switch, what they've done is basically smash those two things together. So you can carry it around with you, throw it in your bag, throw it in your purse, and play it wherever you are. And then there's also a dock that accompanies it that you set the game system into and then it shows up on your TV. It's a very family-friendly console for a couple of reasons. One, because every Switch and Switch 2 has a pair of Joy-Con on the left and right, which are detachable controllers that serve as individual controls for multiple people. So every Switch basically has the ability for two people to play it. And Nintendo has a very earned reputation as a pretty family-friendly company with the games they release. Like, it is the quintessential fun for the whole family kind of system.

Speaker 1:
[04:46] Yeah, I mean, I grew up with the Nintendo Wii. We played Wii bowling all the time. It was the game to play. But there are now multiple versions of this console out because it's not a new console. It's been out for a while now. There's a Switch Lite, there's the OLED, and now there's an older Switch One and this newer Switch Two, which just came out last June. I mean, they're both like, they have a hefty price tag, but the Switch One is now a little bit cheaper. So, if somebody isn't a self-proclaimed gamer, but they've been curious about the console, would you recommend they dive right in and just get the Switch Two?

Speaker 5:
[05:20] I think if you can afford the Switch Two, it's a better option than the Switch One. It's not that different from apps that you've used for a long time on an old phone versus apps that you use all the time on a new phone, like typically the new phone runs them better, and the breakdown is very similar here. It is more expensive, and I'm sensitive to people that have a real price concern there for sure. But in addition to playing all of those old Switch games, there's a whole new sort of class of games that are coming out for Switch Two that will never release for the original Switch. Some fairly big games from Nintendo have come out only on the Switch Two, including the new Mario Kart game is a Switch Two exclusive, Donkey Kong Bonanza is a Switch Two exclusive. More of that will happen this year.

Speaker 1:
[06:06] Right. I mean, I had the original Switch One, and I did end up upgrading to the Switch Two, and I love it. But I think people might also be wondering, like they love their Switch, but it's another thing to spend money on. It sounds like you think that it's worth it to upgrade to the Switch Two, even if you have the Switch One.

Speaker 5:
[06:22] Sure. Yeah. And again, just constantly going back to the if you can afford it thing, being sensitive to that. I think that if you've got the money and you're wondering if you should move from the Switch One to the Switch Two, I think that the answer is generally going to be yes, in part because if you have this big pile of Switch games that you love, they will be better on the Switch Two. It's just a much better experience in pretty much every way. If you have the money now, chances are it will be cheaper now than it will be in the future to buy a Switch Two.

Speaker 1:
[06:55] Well, let's talk a little bit about that. I want to know why you're predicting that now is probably the best time to buy a Switch Two versus waiting.

Speaker 5:
[07:02] Sure. The short version is that every other video game console has increased in price significantly in the last year. The PlayStation 5 is $150 more than it started at in 2020, and so is the Xbox Series X. Even when the Switch Two came out last year, it was sort of announced amidst this tariff situation. Like it literally... I went to go play the Switch Two for the first time on Liberation Day last year, and Nintendo had to delay pre-orders for the console because they just didn't know what the situation would be for the system. And I think that that is hung heavy over video game systems in particular over the last year. Now, in 2026, in addition to that situation, AI has sort of exploded the cost of the parts that go into video game consoles.

Speaker 1:
[07:54] What's the correlation there?

Speaker 5:
[07:56] So, everything that you buy electronics-wise uses parts that are made from the same materials. So like the processor in your phone, the processor in your laptop, the processor in a video game console, the processor in an AI server, all use the same sort of basic components to be manufactured. And a lot of them are coming from the same places. And there's a limited amount of that. Imagine everything comes from the same pile of sand. And there's only so much sand to go around, and AI companies are willing to pay a lot more for that sand than Nintendo or Sega or Sony and Xbox can. And so those prices are being driven up considerably. It's somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 to 40 percent already. In laptops, and we're starting to see those prices sort of snowball already now in April when we're recording this. And then there are other additional geopolitical factors that are leading to price problems as well.

Speaker 1:
[08:54] Okay, so I know here at Wirecutter, we generally want to steer clear from encouraging panic buying of any sort. But I mean, this console, the Switch 2, is already not cheap. It's $450. Is there a sale going on right now that people can hop on? Or will there be a sale maybe during popular times like Black Friday that they can expect to get a lower price on the Switch 2?

Speaker 5:
[09:17] Sure, I'll take those in sort of reverse order. The chances will be that the price on Black Friday will be less than the prices were the day or so before Black Friday. I don't think that the prices will be lower than they are right now. I think that that likelihood is very, very low. There will probably be different bundles, which is what they're offering right now. The Switch 2, like you said, sells by itself for $450. Switch 2 games range from $60 to $80. Yep, everything is getting more expensive. And physical games actually on the Switch 2 will start costing more than digital download games, in part because of the same things that are driving up the price of the console.

Speaker 1:
[10:00] So good.

Speaker 5:
[10:01] Everything is great. We're doing awesome. And so currently you can get a Switch 2 with Mario Kart World for $500, which is $30 less than you would pay for just the Switch 2 and just Mario Kart World separately. To coincide with the release of the Mario Galaxy movie that just came out a couple of weeks ago, there's a new bundle on sale that includes Super Mario Galaxy 1 and Super Mario Galaxy 2 as remastered for the Switch 2, which are both considered pretty good games. That bundle is $500, the game by itself is $70, so you're saving about $20. That's probably gonna be the best prices that you see on the system for the foreseeable future.

Speaker 1:
[10:43] Do you think for the people who still want to wait, given your advice that now might be the cheapest time to buy, do you think that there's gonna be a warning sign before the price jumps?

Speaker 5:
[10:52] I mean, I think that the warning signs are already here. The alarm bells have been ringing. Nintendo has been asked repeatedly at their investor calls and press interviews whether or not they would increase the price of the Switch 2. And they were adamant that they would not for their fiscal year, which just ended. And we saw similar comments from PlayStation at the end of last year as prices on their components were starting to go up, that they weren't planning on raising the prices until very suddenly they did. Chances are there will be probably a two to three week delay between when the decision is made and when it happens and that will be sort of your last chance to to get in on that lower price. Wow.

Speaker 1:
[11:34] Okay. So it really does sound like if you've been thinking about it, you may as well just buy one now. And, you know, worst case scenario, there's probably somebody else who's willing to buy that Switch 2 off of you if you really regret the purchase later.

Speaker 5:
[11:45] Sure. I mean, maybe you could even make like a $50 profit or something. I was telling it to someone else down the line, I guess, if you really wanted to.

Speaker 1:
[11:51] Yeah, I mean, it's all up.

Speaker 5:
[11:54] Yeah.

Speaker 1:
[11:54] So, Arthur, my final question for you is, what's your favorite game to play on your Switch?

Speaker 5:
[11:59] You know, I play a lot of games, so I've hopped a little bit from game to game. I'm not a big Mario Kart guy. I'm like always annoyed by that blue shell. Donkey Kong Bonanza was great. It's a great game. It's got a lot of personality. It's just really fun. And I think there's a simplicity to sort of like smashing the world around you that I think can appeal to players of all ages. The Switch 2 game that I put the most time into, amusingly enough, is something called Pokopia, which just came out.

Speaker 1:
[12:25] I love Pokopia.

Speaker 5:
[12:26] Pokopia is a Pokemon-themed game where you play as a Ditto, which is a funny little Pokemon that can do things that other Pokemon do, trying to recover a strangely post-apocalyptic Pokemon world and try to get Pokemon friends to come back and figure out where all the people went. It's very much Minecraft-inspired, Animal Crossing-inspired, and it sold just a phenomenally large amount of copies when it came out about a month ago.

Speaker 1:
[12:55] I mean, yeah, I get it. I don't like Minecraft or Pokemon or Animal Crossing, but I've logged probably 80 hours on Pokopia so far.

Speaker 5:
[13:02] Yeah, that's impressive.

Speaker 1:
[13:07] Arthur Gies, Supervising Editor on the tech team, thank you so much for joining us today.

Speaker 5:
[13:12] Happy to be here. Thanks so much for having me.

Speaker 1:
[13:16] As always, we will link to the products we talked about today in the show notes, and if you want to learn more about Wirecutter's coverage on gaming consoles, go to our website. You can also find guides to our writers' favorite games for the Switch and Switch 2. That's it for us until next week. Thank you so much for listening. Bye.