Nintendo Treehouse Backlash: Demands to “Drop the Price” Flood the Chat

Despite the intention to excite gamers about the new Switch 2 and its upcoming games, the Nintendo Treehouse live was flooded with backlash for the unbelievable pricing strategy adopted this time. After months of excitement building up around the release of the console, Nintendo was perfectly set up to win the hearts of its fans and give them something to solidify their connection for the next 10 years at least. Instead, cost complaints against the Switch 2 are at the forefront of the conversation right now.

The Switch 2 game price outrage has leaked into every possible platform, including the Nintendo Treehouse livestream showcasing gameplay for the new console. The complaints are stacking up as fans demand that Nintendo “DROP THE PRICE.”

We’re on the side of the angry fans and agree that Nintendo is taking a good thing and smothering it with a healthy dose of greed and capitalism that gamers could have done without. However, it does appear that gaming is set to become a more expensive hobby than ever before.

Will Nintendo meet the price drop demands? It won’t happen unless gamers seal their wallets shut.

The Donkey Kong Bananza livestream looked phenomenal. Too bad the price outrage against the Nintendo game distracted from its showcase.

Nintendo Treehouse Backlash Shows Gamer Sentiments: Drop the Price or Face the Wrath of Angry Fans

First things first, Nintendo officially announced the Switch 2 on April 2, 2025. The company will soon start accepting pre-orders for the device from interested parties. If you enjoy gaming, you should definitely be interested in the console because it’s an undeniable upgrade to its sibling. With a 1080p display, 4k docked gaming, the option to use the Joy-Con as a mouse for compatible games, the ray tracing capabilities, the new chat system, and the roster of exclusive and third-party titles coming, the Switch 2 is shaping up to be an amazing handheld gaming console. So why are fans so angry about the Switch 2?

Nintendo Fans Angry at Price: $450 In This Economy?

While the Switch 2 has everyone impressed, the price of the console has caused jaws to drop. The Switch 2 was expected to be priced around $399.99, but it is $449.99 instead. The original console was $299, and it would have been illogical to expect it to stay the same all these years later, inflation and improvements in quality considered. Still, the high price has caused fans who were gearing up for a purchase to rethink their decision.

For comparison, the PlayStation 5 digital edition console is $449, and so is the 1TB digital edition of the Xbox Series X. There are more expensive consoles, like the 512GB version Steam Deck OLED at $549 or the Asus ROG Ally X at $799.99, but we have always relied on Nintendo to keep it real with the pricing.

The Problem With Nintendo’s Pricing Is the Games

If the increased console price was the only alarming news, maybe the Switch 2 cost complaints would not be as high, but this isn’t the only area where Nintendo has played with the pricing. The Switch 2’s game prices are central to the outrage. Upon seeing that some of the games for the Switch 2 were priced at $80 for the digital versions, with the physical copies even higher, fans became extremely frustrated.

Overpriced games, abusive upgrade charging policy for old games, increasing physical editions over digital, ridiculous extra hardware costs and Nintendo didn’t even have the fucking shame to show themselves these prices on the direct.

Modern gaming is disgusting. pic.twitter.com/AT1554Bv6c

— Poopieguinho 💐 (@DiegoNUFC) April 2, 2025

Nintendo is selling an 8 year old game at the same price as a brand new release.
This is insane. pic.twitter.com/pqZie8tLdv

— 🍑 (@SweetPeachGames) April 3, 2025

The $449.99 Switch 2 can come bundled with the $79.99 digital edition of the Mario Kart World game for $499.99, but this still doesn’t make the pricing appear reasonable to fans. For the other Nintendo Switch 2 edition games releasing in 2025, like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, fans will still have to spend $79.99. Donkey Kong Bananza and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition are $69.99, if that helps.

The Nintendo Switch 2 purchase comes with a few different elements:

Nintendo Switch 2 console
Joy-Con 2 controllers (L+R)
Joy-Con 2 Grip
Joy-Con 2 Straps
Nintendo Switch 2 Dock
Ultra High-Speed HDMI Cable
Nintendo Switch 2 AC Adapter
USB-C Charging Cable

If you need additional accessories, screen protectors, and cases, you will have to spend even more. That’s standard procedure for every product release, but all things considered, a Switch 2 order with accessories and games is clearly outside of the budget for many.

Nintendo Treehouse Livestream Full of Complaints

Following the Nintendo Direct livestream announcing the console and the upcoming games, the company scheduled two livestreams to showcase the games in their full glory. The first Nintendo Treehouse livestream was four hours long and had almost 70,000 viewers show up.

Nintendo wanted to showcase games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, but fans were preoccupied with chanting “DROP THE PRICE” in the chat section, expressing their outrage at the games’ pricing. The sense of community unity while watching the chat spammed with the Switch 2 cost complaints was oddly wholesome, but it also was unfortunate to see Nintendo overshadow its own releases with its pricing.

The gameplay was amazing to watch, and we can see their potential to perform well on release and keep fans engaged for months to come, but many may not be as willing to commit to a purchase.

In the Nintendo Treehouse it’s all “DROP THE PRICE” pic.twitter.com/oIGtomrzcu

— LeanBoB (@LeanBoBTheGreat) April 3, 2025

Wow dude, im checking the Nintendo Treehouse and all I’m seeing on chat is “DROP THE PRICE”. This is insane how literally everyone agrees the prices are horrible lol pic.twitter.com/UUIsK06p7a

— Nobodythatyouknowlol (@Nobodydatunolol) April 3, 2025

Nintendo treehouse’s YouTube livestream is crazy #droptheprice pic.twitter.com/lY1X0a8i3x

— tinziyo (@tinziyo) April 3, 2025

Will Nintendo Acknowledge the Price Drop Demand?

Evidence of the Nintendo Treehouse backlash disappeared with the livestream’s chat, but the YouTube comments section is filled with fans discussing the “Drop the price” comments, so unfortunately for Nintendo, the criticism isn’t going away. Will Nintendo take the complaints expressed during the Treehouse livestream seriously?

As of now, it doesn’t appear likely. If Nintendo gets enough preorders for the Switch 2—which it will—and enough game purchases—which it will—then it has no reason to give in to the angry fans. Money talks, and if enough fans are willing to drop a few hundred dollars on different games, then Nintendo has no reason to bring the price down. The recent tariffs in the U.S. are also to blame for pushing the Mario game to $80, especially when you consider that the company has shifted a large part of its production to Vietnam, where tariffs are being imposed.

The temptation to buy the console and the corresponding games will be too strong for fans to hold off too long on registering their interest in the pre-orders. Some of Nintendo’s IPs will never be available on other platforms, so if you want to play them, you have to give your money to Nintendo. Digital protests only accomplish so much when the actual purchases say otherwise.

Will Nintendo “Drop the price?” Angry, outraged fans aren’t holding back.

Will We See More Nintendo Treehouse Complaints on April 4?

The second Nintendo Treehouse livestream is scheduled for April 4, at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET / 3 PM BST. This will be shorter, at 3 hours instead of the 4-hour stream on April 3, but the content of the stream should be much the same. If the live chat function remains active this time as well, fans will likely flood Nintendo with their price drop demands to ensure they are being seen and heard.

Will Nintendo continue to ignore the Switch 2 cost complaints? We’re almost certain they will. It’s easier to wait till pre-orders open and the games are released to decide if they want to put some items and games on sale.

We gotta boycott Nintendo at this point because $80 for a switch game is abysmal corporate greed bullshit
Having games on a $70-$80 price range for a lower end console compared to Xbox & PS5 is just funny
Streets are allegedly saying the physical copy is $90
I’m good pic.twitter.com/UXS3IwUWli

— EnV (@EnV0910) April 2, 2025

Unfortunately, this may mean we’re entering an era where future game releases will adopt a similar pricing point. There were early rumors that Rockstar Games would price the upcoming GTA 6 game at $100. Many have dismissed the notion initially, but if Nintendo succeeds with its sales despite the pricing, so will future games. Games for the PS5 and Xbox have already adopted a higher pricing point, so right now, some believe Nintendo is only catching up to competitors.

What did you think about the Nintendo Treehouse livestream and the backlash? Will you also be participating in expressing outrage at Nintendo’s game prices? Let us know. For more insight into the world of tech, subscribe to Technowize.