Games Inbox: Is the Nintendo Switch 2 good value for money?

The Monday letters page wants to see more Jill Valentine in the follow-up to Resident Evil Requiem, as readers are impressed by the new Legend Of Zelda Lego.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]

Birthday choices
It’s my birthday next month and I’m considering treating myself to a Nintendo Switch 2. Only problem is I’m not nearly as keen on it as I was before it actually came out. The only games I’m currently interested in are Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza and I’m not sure there’s anything to look forward to in 2026 yet.

Then there’s the price of thing itself, which is a lot more than that Switch 1 ever was. So I’m not even sure if the console itself is decent value for money. The backwards compatibility is a positive though, and I’ve not heard anything bad about that so far, but it just feels like I’d be buying a Switch 1 remaster machine, with just a couple of its own games.

I hope there is a Nintendo Direct in February, because that may help me decide whether I get one or not. If all they have to show is Mario Tennis and a Switch 2 version of Super Mario Bros. Wonder I don’t think it’s going to matter how much the console itself costs.
Hammeriron

Different reality
The problem with VR is the same as motion controls and AI and just about everything else the games industry, and tech bros in general, seem to push on the public. The concept is fine, but it’s released before it’s been refined and is working properly, so everyone ends up hating it (or just not buying it) and then that poisons the well for good.

Motion controls are much better now than when the Wii first came out but nobody has done much with them because they know the public has been put off the concept.

VR is a great idea, and there are some really cool VR games that I’ve played, but it’s too expensive and the developer support isn’t there. If they’d slowly built up to things then it probably would’ve gone down well, but instead, just as it’s getting good it’s all been killed off. Now it’ll probably never become a reality, we’ll just skip ahead to plugging games into our brains or something.
Gadfly

Hollow promise
That list of anniversaries for this year is really wild, so many! I guess it’s just a coincidence that that’s the way the maths works out but you’re right that there’s very few franchises that are going to be celebrating 30 and 40th anniversaries in the future.

Something like Hollow Knight, to pick a name at random, will probably be remembered that far off but will Team Cherry still be making games for it? I don’t think so, most indie games barely seem to last past one sequel, let alone 30 years’ worth of them.

It’s down to big publishers to create new IP that last that long and they’re just not stepping up to the mark. I’m especially disappointed by Nintendo in that regard, with not a single big new game for Switch 2 yet.
Tacle

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Ending well
That Legend Of Zelda Lego set is fantastic. It’s expensive but I will be very tempted when it comes out. What I love about it is that it’s the end of Ocarina Of Time and that’s such an old game now and yet we’re still getting new merch that pays loving homage to it.

I watched the final battle on YouTube and it really does stand up still, even nearly 30 years later. It’s even more impressive when you consider what other console games looked like at the time and how far ahead of the curve Nintendo was.

I would definitely welcome a remake and while I’m not sure how much they’d change, given I’m sure some bits now seem quite old fashioned, I’d bet they leave the final boss battle almost exactly as it was. It’s just that good.
Onibee

The Division 33
All the talk of sequels and updates for The Division lately, has been the most I’ve heard about the series since the second one came out. If you’d ask me, I would’ve bet The Division 2 had been shut down ages ago, so I’m kind of shocked to find out it’s still going.

Nothing particularly against it – I played it and got bored after a few weeks, but it wasn’t awful. But this does not seem like a good game for Ubisoft to be putting a lot of fait into, when they’re on the brink. Now’s the time to be bold and make something new, not rely on old franchises that are past their best.

Not that I expect them to take that advice at all. But I hope they remember that the people that made Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 were mostly ex-Ubisoft devs who were fed up of the same old, same old.
LCO

Next in line
Resident Evil Requiem is looking very promising to me. I like the idea of mixing the two different styles of Resi, kind of having your cake and eating it. Everyone likes Leon, so it’ll be great to have him back, instead of whatever his name was in the last two games. The characters are so important to Resident Evil I do think it was a mistake to purposefully make someone that was just a blank slate.

I also like that zombies are back, but they have mixed it up a bit, so that they talk and remember a bit of what they used to be when they were human. I hope that’s used in some interesting and scary ways.

After this game I hope they do Jil Valentine as the main character next, as I feel she’s the only one that hasn’t had a decent game in a long time. Resident Evil 3 was by far the worst remake and Claire was not only in the much better Resident Evil 2, but she was good in Resident Evil Revelations 2 too.

Despite being one of the most popular characters from the series (I’d argue she’s more popular than Chris, who’s a bit of a non-entity) Jill’s not been in many games and half of the appearances she has made, like Resident Evil 5, are kind of lame. Jill needs a comeback game and I will be very happy if that’s Resident Evil X… or whatever they call it.
Cubby

Year Two
The more I think about it, the more a new Fire Emblem game seems like a bad idea for Nintendo. They clearly can’t put out that many new games a year anymore so having one of the few new Switch 2 games in 2026 being a strategy game with boring graphics and a bad anime style plot, that only certain people are going to like, seems a mistake.

There must be something else on the way but it’s going to have to be really good to make up for what already seems like a disappointing second year for the Switch 2. And I mean an actual first party game too, not just The Duskbloods or something.
Questor

Speed of Lite
There are a few interesting areas for Nintendo with regards to future Switch 2 models (following on from the product code story), some of them new avenues too. One major issue with the current Switch 2 is the poor battery life, so I might expect there to be leaks over a die shrink in manufacturing the chips before there is other news. That was what made the Switch Lite possible in the first place after all. I believe the chip now is 8nm, so there is scope for big efficiency improvements there.

We also got the stealth updated ‘Mariko’ Switch in 2019 alongside the Switch Lite; that machine was identical to the OG Switch but offering better battery life due to the die shrink. A better battery life regular Switch 2 would answer most of the issues people are reporting with the hardware. New models could also cover more pedestrian (but welcome) updates too, like a 512GB storage version of the machine.

Another cheaper machine Nintendo could put out is a home console version only, ditching the portable components like the screen to cut costs. The gap between docked and handheld play on Switch 2 is larger than it was on the original console; we have already seen some games which run at 120/60fps docked but stuck at 60/30fps in handheld play. So putting out a cheaper home console only version would make more sense this time.

Anyway, dropping a new version of the console within two years like that would probably go down like a bucket of sick with consumers who have already bought the launch machine… so see what happens.
Marc

GC: It was only two and a half years from the Switch 1 to the Switch Lite, so we’ll see. You make some good points and Nintendo will be keen to get a cheaper version out there, whatever form it takes.

Inbox also-rans
The new Legend Of Zelda Lego set has 1,003 pieces. 10/03 = MAR10. Just saying.
Bad Edit

I’m surprised to see them go for such an old school look for Lara Croft in the new TV show. I never expected to see the coloured sunglasses back again. That actually gives me a bit of hope for it.
Grant

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