The Switch 2 Will Cost Us All
The Switch is finally getting a sequel. People have been waiting years for a more powerful Switch and finally it’s real and arriving June 5th.
As ever with video game hardware releases there is good and bad news. We now know what the mysterious c button will be used for. We don’t know if the device has raytracing capabilities. It has a bigger screen, but it will cost $449.99 or a hefty $499.99 if you want to play Mario Kart World.
So, if you’re a consumer there is a large price dollar to be paid. For the software developers involved crunch time is here. It’s not a good situation for anyone.
Software Development Woes
Consumers will be excited about a console with a bigger screen, 4K support and JoyCon that double as mice.
But the shiny new hardware will translate into cancelled time off for the developers involved as crunch time hits.
Hardware launches translate into a gold rush for game studios. Since consumers want something to play day one, developers need to hit the hardware release date, whether it makes sense or not. This leads to months of rushed prototyping, sleepless bug fixes, and extended sprint goals until the launch window. Your family plans? Rescheduled. The launch window is a moving guillotine and if you’re in the games industry, your neck is under it.
The Real Story
Studios need those launch titles. Mario Kart World is leading the charge but look at the rest: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Donkey Kong Bonanza, The Duskbloods, Hyrule Warriors, the list goes on. These aren’t just games, they’re products turned into marketing bait. They need to be ready yesterday so we can show them at presentations.
Yet the real story is how many devs are silently screaming into Slack right now because the build keeps crashing and there’s no time to write a proper test suite.
Price Inflation
The price inflation nonsense isn’t going away. Yet we can look at Nintendo’s increases in another way. $79.99 for Mario Kart World. $69.99 for Donkey Kong.
How much do you think the devs who worked nights and weekends to meet those gold master deadlines will see of that? A pizza party and a mass layoff, if they’re lucky.
It’s endemic in the industry. Fixed-date releases are always brutal, whether it is for a product release or a marketing campaign. Is it “agile” to complete a project by a confirmed fixed deadline? You’ll bet that the product team claims it is. This is what hurts us developers, and what is taking the shine off the video game industry for me in 2025.
Conclusion
So, if you’re hyped for the Switch 2, great. Just know that somewhere, a team of developers is desperately trying to polish a level that was only specced two weeks ago while their manager screams something about E3 trailers.