The Nintendo Switch 2 has been no stranger to cost controversies with its $450 price tag and the $80 price tag on Mario Kart World, but the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour has perhaps had the most controversial price of all. Although it costs only $10, many fans are angry at having to pay for what is essentially a glorified tutorial. Well, now it appears that to beat it 100%, you’ll have to lay down a small fortune.
The Controversial Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
Image from Nintendo Welcome Tour courtesy of NintendoMany people, myself included, have argued that the Welcome Tour should be free with the console. Since it is essentially a demonstration of the system’s capabilities, charging money for it on top of the $450 you already pay for the console feels like a greedy move on Nintendo’s part. Now, it turns out that you need to pay even more than the $10 download if you want to complete the Welcome Tour 100%.
Here’s the Small Fortune You Need to Spend
According to IGN, some of the Welcome Tour’s minigames require extra accessories that are, of course, sold separately. Apparently there’s “a camera needed to play 1 minigame, a controller with GL/GR buttons for another minigame, and a 4 K-supported screen needed for 1 minigame and a separate tech demo.” That’s right, if you don’t have a 4K TV, get ready to buy one if you want to experience everything in the Welcome Tour. Even if you already have a 4K TV, here’s what the accessories will cost you:
“Nintendo fans who want to see absolutely everything in Switch 2 Welcome Tour will therefore not only need to pay up the $10 cost of the game, but also $54.99 for a Switch 2 Camera, and either $39.99 for a Charging Grip or $84.99 for a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller to use those GL/GR buttons.”
The Nintendo Switch 2 does support third-party cameras, but you still need to shell out extra bucks if you don’t have one. Thanks to Trump’s tariffs, the Switch 2’s accessory prices have gone up and they could go up again in the future. If you buy the Switch 2 camera, plus the Charging Grip, plus the Welcome Tour itself, it will cost you a total of $105 to experience everything in this glorified tutorial.
Conclusion
I’m still waiting until I’m able to order a Switch 2 with the Mario Kart World download, but I absolutely won’t be shelling out the $10 for the Welcome Tour. Even though I wouldn’t need to experience all the minigames to have a good time, the fact that Nintendo is using the Welcome Tour as an incentive for people to spend even more money isn’t cool. It’s a shame, since the Welcome Tour looks like it would be a fun little experience if it were free. Now, however, the controversy outshines whatever fun factor that game might have had.
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