Former Blizzard Chief Expresses Disinterest in Switch 2

Mike Ybarra, who has previously held top positions at Blizzard and Xbox, didn’t mince words when it came to his thoughts on the Nintendo Switch 2. His succinct verdict? “Hard pass.” While Nintendo’s hour-long Direct on April 2 had its share of unexpected announcements, not everyone was thrilled by the news. The reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2 has stirred up considerable controversy, and even some criticism from former gaming industry leaders.

During the Direct, Nintendo remained mum on certain important details, such as pricing. However, once the official press releases rolled out, fans were in for a shock. The new console is set to retail at $450 in the United States, and some of its games will surpass the $80 mark, contingent on the version. This has left a lot of fans disgruntled, and the sentiment is aggravated by a sense of opacity from Nintendo’s end. Some former Nintendo PR managers even felt the company was being “disrespectful” by seemingly omitting these critical details intentionally.

Following the Direct, Mike Ybarra took to Twitter to voice his displeasure, critiquing the system as a “hard pass.” He shared his concerns over the high prices, particularly for games like Mario Kart World, slated to be priced at $80, while the console itself, he argues, doesn’t deliver premium performance with its “low frames.” This sentiment resonates with many others who have flocked to platforms like Reddit to lampoon the console’s pricing and the costs linked with upgrading games they already own.

In a discussion focused on the Switch 2, Ybarra also criticized Nintendo for heavily promoting its in-game chat feature—a capability that other companies have supported long before. Additionally, he expressed skepticism towards the graphics of games such as Tears of the Kingdom, despite them running at 4K and 60fps on the Switch 2. Other veteran figures from the gaming industry echoed his criticism. For instance, Shuhei Yoshida, a former PlayStation executive, described the Switch 2 Direct as “underwhelming” due to a dearth of new game announcements. While Yoshida was taken aback by the high cost of the console, he did commend the enhanced social features.

The core issues surrounding the Switch 2 seem to center on its pricing strategy—for both the console and its flagship games. Charging $80 for Mario Kart left many stupefied, even though historically, older Mario Kart releases were priced similarly when considering inflation. Nonetheless, this doesn’t appease those pointing out that most studios maintain game prices between $60 and $70. How these pricing decisions and other features will impact the Switch 2’s success remains uncertain, but the rising outcry surely isn’t the reaction Nintendo had anticipated.