You're romanticising this idea that a higher price tag suddenly gives consumers creative control over Nintendo's output. It doesn't. It's not Patreon. You don't unlock executive authority at $90.
Yes, games are more expensive but so is everything. Global inflation, higher dev costs, longer dev cycles, and growing team sizes all feed into this. It's not some conspiracy to shovel out "half-assed ports." You're not being taxed for having taste.
And the idea that Nintendo will "lose creative power" and have to let fans dictate what gets made? That's fantasy. Peolle can barely agree on what they want. Imagine letting Twitter/Neogaf/Resetera steer game development. You'd get Metroid Kart with a farming minigame.
If anything, Nintendo will double down on its weirdness. It's what makes them money. They'll make what sells and what surprises. Price hikes don't flip that equation they reflect the costs of making top-tier games in 2025, not the golden age of GameCube.
I respectively disagree. You see Sony and MS now mostly stick to safe IP and things due to increased dev cost.
If you factor in blowback from missteps, I do think this will factor in to Nintendo's decision making.
Will all the games be perfect? No, absolutely not. Is it reasonable to expect a higher level of quality and completeness from games that $70 - $80? Yes, that is fair, imo.
You are going to see with commercial failures of the tech demo game and the wheelchair game, and hopefully these failures will make them re-evaluate.
It is not that it is a not good idea to be weird, but they can focus on weird mechanics in existing games. Unless they find a proven new IP, that they know will be a big thing. Wii Sports was a great example.
The wheelchair game could have easily been a mode in a Switch Sports resort (Switch Sports 2) for example. The game would exist, but smaller in scope and within another product that will bring a higher return on investment.
Another interesting side note, is a very delicate balance of man power vs price. How many devs did it take to make these new games? Could they have remade an older title or worked on a smaller scope title instead such as Rythm Heaven, etc? How many devs did it use, and what could those devs have done instead?
This is very multifaceted. Nintendo has historically been shielded from criticism on the large scale. I think that is changing.
I do think Switch 2 will likely be a success. It will be hard to match the sales of Switch 1. Still successful though. I also think Nintendo will be forced to change some if they want it or not.