The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct this morning answered a lot of questions, but as per usual with this company, it left us scratching our heads in some instances. Nintendo is going to Nintendo. While the price increase on games on Switch 2 was met with criticism, the one thing everyone seems to agree on is that Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour being a paid downloadable launch software is a bad move. Comment sections all over the internet are wondering the same thing.
Before we get into the community discourse, Nintendo has an on-and-off relationship with pack-in titles for their consoles. You have the massive success like Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and Wii Sports, and then you have 1-2 Switch that seemed overpriced at launch and felt more in line with a pack-in. We would argue that Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour takes that a step further because it seems to be more focused on being a digital manual for the console rather than a game. The Direct did show some mini-games included, but nothing that seemed outlandish enough that you should put money down on this software.
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour costing money is not being well received
Pretty much anywhere you look where Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is mentioned, there is a discussion wondering why Nintendo is charging for this. We don’t even know the price for it and we’re pretty sure it will end up being too much. People on this Reddit thread say they’re “shocked” and here people are calling the move “absurd.” You can also do a quick search on Bluesky to find all kinds of posts mocking the announcement.
It’s definitely hard to say what Nintendo is thinking in this situation. Sure, even if the Welcome Tour was a free pack-in game, it doesn’t look like it would reach anywhere close to the value and enjoyment that Astro’s Playroom, Wii Sports, and Tetris have in the past, but requiring people to put money down to click question marks to learn about the inner workings of the console is very bizarre. Nintendo charging for this user guide is on the same scale as when they charged for Mario Clock and Calculator on the DSiWare.
