Nintendo explains why Switch 2 Welcome Tour isn’t free

When Nintendo unveiled Switch 2 Welcome Tour last week, many had hoped that it would be a free pack-in with the new console. The company has known to include some free software with previous platforms and comparisons have been drawn to Astro’s Playroom, which didn’t cost anything extra when picking up a PS5. 

Bill Trinen, Nintendo of America’s VP of product and player experience, has now weighed in on things. First, it’s now confirmed that the title will cost $10. Trinen also mentioned that Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is “a pretty robust piece of software” and it’s intended for those “that want more information about the system rather than necessarily a quick intro to everything it does.”

Trinen’s full words, as shared by IGN:

“It’s an interesting product. We’re actually getting ready today, we’re going to be doing some Nintendo Treehouse Live segments and covering a lot of games in detail. That’s one of them. And I think people will be able to see through Treehouse Live probably a little bit more maybe than you were able to see on the show floor. It’s a pretty robust piece of software. There’s a lot of great detail in there.

For some people, I think there are people who are particularly interested in the tech and the specs of the system and things like that, for them I think it’s going to be a great product. It’s really for people that want more information about the system rather than necessarily a quick intro to everything it does. And for that reason and just the amount of care and work that the team put into it, I think it was decided that, ‘Yeah, this feels like $9.99 is not an exorbitant price. It feels like a good value for what you’re getting out of the product.'”

Trinen also commented on Nintendo Switch 2’s pricing – for both games and the console. Read about that here.