Nintendo

Nintendo games are expensive because Nintendo can, full stop. The company holds an ironclad monopoly on its own IP: you cannot play Mario Kart, Zelda, or Metroid on any other platform, which eliminates all competitive pricing pressure. Unlike most publishers, Nintendo almost never deep-discounts its first-party titles, even years after launch, a practice industry analysts call 'evergreen pricing.' It works because demand stays high, and Nintendo knows its fans will pay.

Switch game cartridges cost more to manufacture than Blu-ray discs used by PlayStation and Xbox, and Nintendo passes that cost directly to consumers. On top of that, Nintendo's first-party titles like Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild launched at $60 and barely budged for years, a deliberate strategy to protect brand value. The Switch's massive install base means Nintendo has zero incentive to cut prices to move units.

The Nintendo Switch 2 launched in 2025 at $449.99 for the console, with first-party games hitting $70–$80, a new high-water mark for Nintendo. Nintendo cited rising development costs and hardware improvements, including a larger screen, upgraded Joy-Con with magnetic attachment, and a more powerful processor. Critics point out that while the tech justifies some increase, an $80 price tag for a Mario Kart title is Nintendo stress-testing exactly how much its fanbase will absorb.

Sort of, it depends entirely on whether you're a Nintendo-first gamer or not. For players who live inside Nintendo's ecosystem and were holding out for a hardware upgrade, the Switch 2 delivers meaningfully better performance, a better screen, and backward compatibility with most Switch 1 titles. For anyone hoping it competes spec-for-spec with a PS5 or high-end PC, it doesn't, and at $449.99 plus $70–$80 per game, the cost of entry is steep.

Yes, the original Nintendo Switch (and Switch Lite/OLED) remains one of the best value propositions in gaming, especially now that prices have dropped following the Switch 2 launch. Its hybrid home/portable design is still genuinely unique, and its library, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing, is stacked. If you can find a Switch OLED at a reduced post-Switch 2 price, it's a deal.

Nintendo is a publicly traded company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, so no single entity 'owns' it outright. Its largest shareholders are institutional investors, and the Yamauchi family, descendants of founder Fusajiro Yamauchi, have historically held a significant stake. No parent company controls Nintendo; it operates as a fully independent corporation, which is a big reason it has resisted acquisition despite being perpetually rumored as a takeover target.

Shuntaro Furukawa has been Nintendo's President (the equivalent title used in Japan) since 2018, succeeding the beloved Tatsumi Kimishima. Furukawa is a company lifer who joined Nintendo in 1994 and rose through business development and corporate planning. He is quieter and less publicly visible than his predecessor Satoru Iwata, who became a fan icon, but under Furukawa's tenure Nintendo has posted some of its most profitable years ever.

Mario, full name Mario Mario, per the 1993 movie nobody asked for, is Nintendo's official mascot and the most recognizable video game character on the planet. He debuted as 'Jumpman' in Donkey Kong in 1981 and has since appeared in over 200 games across every Nintendo platform. Honorable mentions go to Link (Zelda) and Pikachu (Pokémon), but Mario is the face on the logo, the theme parks, and the movies.

If you want the best Switch 1 experience, get the Switch OLED, its 7-inch OLED screen is a genuine upgrade and it's likely being discounted now that the Switch 2 is out. If budget is the priority, the Switch Lite is compact and cheap but locks you into handheld-only mode. Skip the original V1 Switch unless the price is rock-bottom; the battery life and screen are noticeably worse than the OLED.

Tomodachi Life is a Nintendo 3DS exclusive, released in Japan in 2013 and internationally in 2014. It has never been ported to the Switch, a source of ongoing frustration for fans who have been begging for a sequel or port for over a decade. Nintendo announced Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream for Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025, finally giving the franchise its long-overdue modern platform debut.

The Nintendo Switch 2 launched in 2025 with Mario Kart World as its flagship title, alongside a library that includes Donkey Kong Bananza, a new Pokémon Legends title, and backward-compatible Switch 1 games. Third-party support at launch included titles from major publishers including EA and Ubisoft. The lineup was stronger than the original Switch launch but the $70–$80 price point made every purchase a deliberate decision.

Flip your Switch over: the model number is printed on the back. HAC-001 is the original Switch; HAC-001(-01) is the revised version with better battery life; HDH-001 is the Switch Lite; HEG-001 is the Switch OLED. You can also check Settings → System → Serial Information on the console itself. If you have a larger dock with a LAN port built in, you have the OLED model.

The Switch OLED is the best Nintendo Switch 1 model, better screen, better kickstand, more internal storage, and a cleaner dock, all for a modest price premium over the standard Switch. The Switch Lite is fine if you exclusively play handheld and want to save money. The original Switch V1 is the worst of the three and should only be bought at a steep discount. The Switch 2 is a different (and pricier) category entirely.

Nintendo 64 games are available on Switch exclusively through the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack tier, the pricier subscription plan. The library includes classics like Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, Banjo-Kazooie, GoldenEye 007, and Pokémon Snap, among others. The catalog grows slowly and is nowhere near exhaustive, which remains a consistent fan complaint about Nintendo's approach to its back catalog.

Rare, complete-in-box Nintendo games can fetch serious money: Stadium Events (NES) is the holy grail at thousands of dollars for a sealed copy; Nintendo World Championships cartridges have sold for hundreds of thousands at auction. On the Switch era, sealed limited-run titles from Limited Run Games or Nintendo's own timed releases hold value. As a rule, anything Nintendo produced in limited quantities and never reprinted trends upward, the company's own scarcity tactics work against collectors' wallets.

R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) is an accessory that launched with the NES in North America in 1985, bundled with the Deluxe Set. He was only compatible with two games: Gyromite and Stack-Up. R.O.B. was largely a retail trojan horse, a toy peripheral designed to make retailers stock the NES during the post-1983 video game crash by making it look like a toy rather than a 'video game system.' It worked, and R.O.B. has been a Nintendo icon ever since, appearing as a playable character in Super Smash Bros.

Nintendo's home console lineage runs: Color TV-Game (1977) → NES (1983) → Super NES (1990) → Nintendo 64 (1996) → GameCube (2001) → Wii (2006) → Wii U (2012) → Switch (2017) → Switch 2 (2025). On the handheld side: Game Boy → Game Boy Color → Game Boy Advance → DS → DSi → 3DS → Switch Lite. The Switch line effectively merged both categories, and the Switch 2 continues that hybrid philosophy.

The Nintendo Switch 2 was released on June 5, 2025, at a retail price of $449.99 in the United States. Nintendo announced it officially in January 2025 after months of leaks and speculation. The launch was global and simultaneous across major markets, unlike some previous Nintendo hardware rollouts that staggered regions.

Nintendo was founded on September 23, 1889, in Kyoto, Japan, by Fusajiro Yamauchi. For the first 70-plus years of its existence, it made handmade playing cards called hanafuda, the video game empire came much later. The company's age is one of the most surprising facts in all of tech: Nintendo is older than the Eiffel Tower.

As a company, Nintendo has existed since 1889. As a video game company, it entered arcades in the late 1970s with titles like Donkey Kong. The NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), the console that put Nintendo on the global map, launched in Japan as the Famicom on July 15, 1983, and in North America in October 1985. That 1985 North American launch is what most people mean when they ask when Nintendo 'came out.'