There were many surprises at the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct from last week, but one of the strangest was the reveal of Welcome Tour, a paid tutorial that lets players explore the console itself. Nintendo insists that the price is worth the experience, but the early impressions have not been eye-opening.
Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour Will Cost $9.99 at Launch
Earlier today, Nintendo officially confirmed that Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour would cost $9.99 at launch, and that it will be sold exclusively as a digital title.
While confirming the price, several Nintendo higher ups spoke about the game itself, making a case to consumers that it’s worth the price. Nintendo of America’s VP of Product and Player Experience Bill Trinen, told IGN it was a robust piece of software that will appeal to people really interested in the specs, adding that the “amount of care and work that the team put into it” made it worth the price. Nintendo of America Senior VP of Development and Planning Nate Bihldorff shared similar sentiments with Comicbook.com, adding that it features “lots of really fun mini games.”
But the initial impressions of the game have not been very positive. Gaming YouTuber Jake Randall claimed that someone at the Switch 2 event in New York City “almost fell asleep” playing it, and compared it to an “instruction manual” with mini-games. Many fans online point toward Nintendo’s inclusion of Wii Sports with the Nintendo Wii for free in comparison, as well as the free Astro’s Playroom on PS5. The full gameplay video of Welcome Tour on the Nintendo of America account has 13,000 dislikes compared to only about 1,700 likes.
The negative feelings towards the cost of Welcome Tour are perhaps exacerbated by the higher price of both the Switch 2 itself and its games. And for U.S. fans in particular, the worry that the price could somehow get even higher due to tariffs has already got consumers concerned about how much they’re spending.
Is Nintendo making a mistake by charging for Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour?
Let me know in the comments or on the GPlayr forum.
For more GPlayr coverage, check out how excited Phil Spencer is about Xbox’s handheld plans.