One month after multinational video game corporation Nintendo launched its all-new Switch 2 handheld, the brand is addressing fan feedback critical of its latest business practices.

Gamers have been vocally critical of the company’s strategies since it first revealed the console during a special Direct presentation in April 2025. Chief among consumers’ concerns are the hardware’s higher-than-ever retail price, brow-raising remote “bricking” capabilities, regional supply issues, as well as its newly utilized Game-Key Cards.

During a Q&A session at the brand’s annual shareholder meeting, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa assured those in attendance that the tenth-generation console’s price point is “appropriate for the gaming experience that it offers.” Despite Furukawa’s stakeholder reassurance, some questioned whether further price increases could arise following hardware refinements.

Furukawa’s comments, shared by GI.biz, addressed some contributors’ concerns:

“Recent game software development has become larger in scale and longer in duration, resulting in higher development costs,” Nintendo’s president explained. “The game business has always been a high-risk business, and we recognise that rising development costs are increasing that risk.

“Our development teams are devising various ways to maintain our traditional approach to creating games amidst the increasing scale and length of development. We believe it is important to make the necessary investments for more efficient development.

“We also believe it is possible to develop game software with shorter development periods that still offer consumers a sense of novelty. We see this as one potential solution to the concern about rising development costs and software prices, and we will explore it from various angles within the company.”

Nintendo’s Switch 2 Purchasing Parameters

To no one’s surprise, the hyped handheld was an overwhelming commercial success. This popularity, however, has given way to complications in some parts of the globe.

For Nintendo fans in Japan, even getting their hands on the portable console is a big ask, as demand for the hardware far exceeds current supply. These shortages persist despite the brand’s implementation of special pre-order standards prioritizing its most loyal players.

Longtime Nintendo Switch Online subscription holders — those maintaining membership for longer than 12 months — were granted preferential purchasing power in Japan and the U.S. Those placing pre-orders in the U.K. and Europe were required to hold a Nintendo Switch Online membership for at least two uninterrupted years.

In the shareholder meeting, Furukawa addressed related concerns, explaining the parameters were implemented to “offer consumers who have actively been playing the Switch a prioritised opportunity” to purchase the new handheld. “That being said, we have received a wide variety of feedback on this randomly selected drawing format, both positive and negative. We will analyse this feedback internally and use it as a learning experience for the future.”

Game-Key Card Concerns

Criticism of Nintendo’s new Game-Key Cards hasn’t slowed since their reveal. The Switch 2 cartridges resemble those of the system’s predecessor, but the Game-Key Cards are little more than a tangible download code. In traditional home game system fashion, games are not immediately accessible upon cartridge insertion; when Nintendo Switch 2 users insert one of the console-exclusive Game-Key Cards, they’re then able to download an intangible version of purchased software.

The brand’s shift from true physical copies concerns both industry experts and casual gamers, though existing unease regarding game ownership is likely intensifying such criticisms.

“Seeing Nintendo do this is a little disheartening,” said Nightdive Studios CEO Stephen Kick. “You would hope that a company that big, that has such a storied history, would take preservation a little more seriously.”

During the meeting, Furukawa said Nintendo will “continue to work closely with publishers” to support Switch 2 game distribution. “This is one of the new software distribution methods we have introduced to accommodate the larger game data sizes on Switch 2 compared to Switch. Software can be released in various formats, and we will continue to work closely with software publishers on many fronts to ensure that they actively support our platform.”

Furukawa’s commentary is still fresh, so gamers are unlikely to note brand-wide changes anytime soon — if any actually materialize, that is.

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Stephanie Valentine

A lifelong gamer raised on classic titles like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Croc, Stephanie brings her expertise of gaming and pop culture to deliver unique, refreshing views on the world of video games, complete with references to absurd and obscure media.

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