Nintendo’s Ego Is Likely Why Switch 2 Welcome Tour Isn’t Free

It goes without saying that the Switch 2 showcase and its announcements will be the biggest news of the year, but it was soured somewhat by an egotistical and elitist decision by Nintendo. They decided to make the greedy decision to charge money for what is nothing more than an interactive manual.

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is a neat idea for a game to showcase the unique features of the Switch 2. You move a character around a huge Switch 2 to learn in message prompts and tech demos how everything works. A simple idea that I think most people would happily at least check out. We'd rather play something to show us what's new on Switch 2 than read about it, right?

Welcome Tour Is Certainly Not An Astro's Playroom

I am very down to screw around with whatever little clever demos Nintendo will have to show off the weird features that their first-party games will likely be the only ones to use. Pay for the privilege of participating in what is essentially marketing material though? Nintendo, you’re out of your mind.

The natural comparison is Astro’s Playroom, the free game that comes with every PlayStation 5. It shows off all the cool features of the DualSense controller in a cleverly designed platformer. 

I would have no problem paying for Astro’s Playroom at all, as there’s still the meat of a game to sink into even if I don’t care about the neat PlayStation easter eggs or DualSense showcases.

While I haven’t had a chance to check out Welcome Tour myself, there are plenty of previews from outlets that did have an opportunity. All come to a similar conclusion: Welcome Tour is not a game and no one knows what audience exists, if any, that would happily pay for it.

What makes this all even more baffling is that Nintendo had what is inarguably the greatest sales multiplier ever packed in for free in a console with Wii Sports. The Wii’s motion controls were novel and everyone had an immediate showcase of why they were so awesome. I bet a ton of homes still have a Wii hooked up and in use from time to time just for bowling.

Obviously, Welcome Tour doesn’t seem set up in the least to fill the same role as something like Wii Sports, but Nintendo has seen what free launch games can do. If this is nothing more than some mere marketing material in a snazzy presentation, I can’t quite understand the rationale to get to the decision to charge for it.

Maybe they see Welcome Tour as a mere curiosity that most aren't interested in so they want at least some return, where the potential value of getting something like Wii Sports into people's hands right away is readily understood. I refuse to believe that they think the attach rate for Welcome Tour will be all that high, though who knows what a company that seems to spin gold thinks about anything they create.

Wii Sports Was Free, So Why Not Welcome Tour?

Nintendo hardly ever gives us insight into their decision making, design process, etc, though, so we'll never get a straight answer. They are pretty happy to go at their own pace and do their own thing. Obviously, it works out for them the majority of the time. 

We did get some insight from a book by Reggie Fils-Aimé, the former President of Nintendo of America, however. You can find an outline of the relevant excerpt here from Nintendo Life.

As a quick summary, Reggie and others, particularly from Nintendo of America, were making the argument to include Wii Sports as a free pack-in with the Wii to then President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata. Obviously, their arguments won out in the end, but there was strong disagreement from legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario, Zelda, Kirby, and more.

Miyamoto is quoted as saying, “We do not give away our software,” citing the difficulty that comes in creating games. 

In this context with Wii Sports, I am completely sympathetic to Miyamoto’s position here. Obviously, any game, particularly one trying to introduce a whole new way for players to interact with games, is incredibly hard to make well. I think Miyamoto and Nintendo’s track record overall speaks for itself in just how seriously they take making games and making them extremely well.

To toss in a game for free despite all of the hard work, sacrifice, and effort that it took to get it made in the first place? I can see why someone on the creative side like Miyamoto would be annoyed. It can easily come across as a devaluation of game designers’ work overall. 

Getting back to Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, well, it’s no Wii Sports, Astro’s Playroom, or even Nintendo Land for that matter. 

Welcome Tour is a virtual tour that looks more like a museum exhibit with PowerPoint presentations and minigames (emphasis on the mini) scattered throughout. As a real-life exhibit to showcase anything from Nintendo, that sounds pretty rad. A game from the company that emphasizes fun in all aspects of their game design that amounts to pretty basic edutainment is certainly not comparable.

Not Everything You Touch is Gold, Nintendo

So, Miyamoto and Nintendo overall, I totally stand with you on the righteous side of properly valuing the hard work of creatives. Welcome Tour just isn’t that, though, is it?

That is not to discount the hard work that went into its creation, however. But this is not a piece of software you're selling, it's an interactive instruction manual that should be categorized as marketing more than anything. Consumers aren't scrambling to pay for obvious ads, though. People don’t pay a premium to have ads put back into their services, right?

While Miyamoto’s quote above wasn’t about Welcome Tour, it’s hard not to see its potential influence in such a weird decision here. The arrogance to believe that this is in the same realm as something like a new Mario game is ego gone too far—this is just souped-up marketing material if Nintendo is being honest with themselves. 

I hope Nintendo reevaluates their position on this one, but it doesn’t seem like people will miss much if they don’t feel like shelling out for it anyway.