After the Nintendo Direct yesterday, the pricing of Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour —a tech demo for the new hardware— has been revealed.
The Nintendo Direct revealed many things regarding the Nintendo Switch 2 yesterday, including hardware, pricing and software that will be releasing day one for the console. During the presentation, a Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour was announced, as a tech demo/manual/mini-game collection of sorts for the console. The title is meant to show users how to use their new console, and at the Nintendo Direct, Nintendo mentioned that it was going to be a paid experience.
In previous console generations, Nintendo launched their hardware with equal-minded games to make the onboarding process for the new console as seamless as possible. The Wii gifted fans an included packed in-the-box copy of Wii Sports on launch (in every territory but Japan), and the Wii U offered Nintendo Land (another title designed to show gamers the ropes) at launch. Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is not included with the console at launch and it will cost fans extra to get a copy.
According to VGC, the Japanese website for Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour has the title listed for ¥990 yen, which equates to roughly $9.28 (CAD, not confirmed). Although the price is cheap, it’s a bit confusing Nintendo has decided to add a price tag to their tech demo title when they haven’t done so at launch in the past before. The PS5 has notably shipped with a free copy of Astro’s Playroom, which functions as the PS5 onboarding tech demo at no extra cost.
Fans aren’t too happy about the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour tax considering the $629.99 price tag on the console right off the bat and have taken to Reddit to voice their concerns. In a thread regarding Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, users have blasted the extra price on the tech demo/mini-game collection, with users calling any price on the title “ridiculous”. User Toincossross says, “I hope Nintendo reads the room on their pricing and makes this free,” after fans have expressed confusion regarding Nintendo’s direction.
The Nintendo Switch 2 will be available on June 5, and more information regarding yesterday’s Nintendo Direct and a hands-on first look at the console can be found here.
