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Fans have discovered there’s already stock of nearly 400,000 Nintendo Switch 2 in the US, as the console is predicted to involve a significant price rise.

For a long time now the best guess as to the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 has been $400, with several different analysts suggesting that price for the US. There’s been no specific indication of the UK price tag but that’s almost certain to translate to £400 or, at best, just a little less.

That’s considerably more than the current OLED model or the original Switch, with the former costing £309.99 at launch, and yet the latest report suggests that even though the price could be as high as $499 it’s still on course to be the biggest console launch in history.

Whether that proves to be correct or not, fans have discovered what seems to be clear proof that at least 383,000 units of the console have arrived in the US in the last five days, suggesting that Nintendo is indeed getting ready for a massive launch.

Officially, Nintendo has said nothing about the Switch 2’s price or release date, although somewhere around June is the most common prediction.

We’ll probably (but not definitely) get confirmation of both at the Nintendo Direct scheduled for April 2 but in the meantime a new Bloomberg report suggests investors are expecting ‘the biggest launch in game industry history.’

If they don’t get it then Nintendo’s share price could suffer but at the moment it’s at an all-time high, as expectation grows that the Switch 2 will be a massive hit.

There is uncertainty around President Trump’s constantly changing threats of tariffs though, which could directly affect the US price and have a knock-on effect elsewhere in the world.

Although the $400 price point is the most common prediction it is not the only one, with Macquarie Capital analyst Hiroshi Yamashina forecasting a cost between $399 and $449.

Meanwhile, Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda suggests that, due to the more advanced components in the console, it could cost up to $499.

Nevertheless, everyone seems to agree that Switch 2 will outdo the original Switch, which sold 2.7 million consoles in its first month, and the PlayStation 4 and 5, which sold 4.5 million in their first quarter.

‘They will sell boatloads of Switch 2 in the first months in particular, almost regardless of the price,’ says analyst Serkan Toto. ‘We can expect a great software lineup in year one, from new Mario Kart and 3D Mario after eight years to Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4. There will also be third party support from day one, most probably including blockbusters like Call of Duty.’

It’s unclear whether that list of games is a result of insider knowledge or just educated guesses but a new 3D Mario, while inevitable at some point in the Switch 2’s life, has not been hinted at yet by Nintendo.

One thing Nintendo has been happy to talk about is its plans to ensure plenty of stock at launch, in part to preventing scalpers from artificially raising the price even further.

According to some of the company’s most obsessed fans those plans are well in progress, with a post on the Famiboards forum suggesting that 383,000 retail units of the Switch 2 were shipped to the US in mid-January.

This isn’t the first time fans have tried to track shipping manifests to try and work out what Nintendo is doing, but while it is, in theory, a reliable method there’s certain to have been even more shipments in recent months.

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The Friday letters page tries to guess what the Nintendo Switch 2 mice will be used for, as one reader struggles with the endless menus of Monster Hunter Wilds.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Inflation issues
There’s been a lot of talk lately about how the various PC handhelds, including the Steam Deck, aren’t actually very successful and have sales that seem miniscule compared to the Nintendo Switch. There are lots of reasons for this but one of the most obvious is that they’re more expensive, at £500 or more.

There are other reasons too, like the fact that they need a lot of faff to get games running properly and the Steam Deck isn’t even sold properly in the UK. But at the end of the day their price and expensiveness basically makes them a niche product. And I agree that does seem an odd thing for Xbox to want to be involved in, although I suspect they’re just doing it so they can say they still make hardware.

So we’ve established all that but the obvious problem with the Switch 2 is that it’s going to be more expensive. It was £280 at launch eight years ago but that’s obviously going to increase based purely on inflation. We keep hearing rumours of the price being close to $400 and that is going to mean around £400 here.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t pay that, but that is going to put a lot of people off, especially in these uncertain times. Even £350 is a lot of money for parents worried about so many other things. I’m as excited about the Switch 2 as anyone but it’s not going to be the easy ride for Nintendo that some people seem to think.
Lefty

Always wait
Is it just me or is there no reason for Bethesda to be shadow-dropping the Oblivion remake? I’ve never understood why suddenly releasing something out of the blue is supposed to be a good thing, because personally I want to research my purchases a bit before I hand over any money; even if it’s just an indie game. And this isn’t, I assume it’s a full price game.

Obviously, it’s publishers tempting us into making an impulse purchase but the strange thing is I can’t think of any of these shadow drops that were actually bad and they were hiding something. I guess the idea just seems naturally suspicious to me, but I can’t think of any situation where it wasn’t always better to wait before buying a game, whether it’s to wait till the price lowers, till the game is fixed, or just until there’s a consensus on whether it’s any good or not.
Goolash

Anything but new
Even after you’ve explained it, I still can’t even begin to imagine why someone would make a sequel to Beyond The Ice Palace and expect anyone to care. It would make the jokes about bringing back Blinx: The Time Sweeper seem like legitimate ideas.

I guess your theory that the name was available and cheap to use makes some kind of sense, but while it might earn the game a few reviews, that it wouldn’t have got otherwise, I really can’t imagine it helping in term of sales. If you are old and nerdy enough to remember the original, then you’ll know it was a really bad game.

It really is the most extreme example of companies going out of their way to do anything but create a new franchise. The fact that it’s just a blatant Castlevania clone on top of that makes it even funnier. I now demand a sequel to BMX Ninja (remember that?) except it’s a flight sim.
Aerie

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I herd you like menus
I played and liked Monster Hunter: World on PlayStation 4 and Rise on the Switch, so I recently started Monster Hunter Wilds on the PlayStation 5, thinking I’ll be alright…

I’d forgotten how bewildering these games are at first. Menus within menus with other menus, if you press various buttons or D-pad directions.

It took me a google to invert the vertical camera axis.

It’s a great game, albeit a constant loop of ‘kill that to get better stuff to kill the next stronger that’ and the combat is very good, if slow (I like the hammers, very solid feel to them).

If anyone is thinking of buying it, who’ve never played any of the series before I can only say this: be prepared to be confused, it takes a while to work out.
Chevy Malibu (PSN ID)

Mild approval
Just watched the Borderlands movie on Amazon. It’s no Fallout or The Last Of us but it’s not that bad. I particularly liked Jack Black as the annoying android Claptrap.

They should make a Brütal Legend movie – it would have a great soundtrack. Think I will check out the Like A Dragon movie next.
Johnny Alpha SD
Currently playing: Doom Eternal and Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Expect the unexpected
The thing I’m most interesting in learning about the Nintendo Switch 2 is what the mouse feature is going to be for. I cannot believe that Nintendo added such a strange thing just to make first person shooters or port over old real-time strategy games. They must have something else in mind, but I can’t fathom what it is.

I know that’s why they’re the mega successful game developer and I’m not but what is it for? I think probably that secret online game they’ve been playtesting is one reason, because it seemed kind of like a city builder type game and I got the feeling they might push it as a sort of Miiverse replacement.

Would they add mice for just that one game and just treat everything else as a bonus? I wouldn’t put it past them, after all the IR sensor barely got used in anything, but given the prominence of the mice in the reveal trailer it feel like there’s more to it than that.

As another reader has said, I like the fact that there are so many unknowns about the Switch 2 and that, hopefully, a lot of the announcements are going to be things we didn’t expect.

I imagine there’s a good chance that the inevitable new IP that Nintendo will announce will make extensive use of the mouse mode, as a way to show it off. I’ve no idea what that it is but that’s just the way I like it. It’s like the opposite of knowing there’ll be another Call Of Duty or EA Sports FC this year.
Josh

Serious music
Could you have a serious look at the comments section? I was trying to send the comment below on the Underbox, but it kept getting rejected despite there being nothing wrong with it:

My favourite original soundtracks are, in alphabetical order:

Lunar Knights
P.N.03
Puzzle League DS
Shinobi 3
Sonic The Hedgehog
Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Streets Of Rage
The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
LeighDappa

GC: We have no control over the comments moderation, but we’ll see if we can have a word with those that do.

No more lists
An impassioned counterviewpoint to ChaosMR’s perception of the state of modern video game music, this is. I resolutely believe that in all actuality there have been a plethora of modern games that have had very memorable soundtracks released throughout the years.

Unless you have an unfortunate tendency to play mostly just Western triple-A games, that try desperately to look and sound like Hollywood films, and ignore the broad swath of Japanese, Nintendo, indie gaming et al., then I find it quite hard to believe that your criticism isn’t deliberately surface level, and perhaps a tad parochial.

Here are but some superbly ‘video-gamey’ examples of contemporary (and a few beautifully recomposed) soundtracks from just the past few years, other than the absolutely exquisite Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth scores, of course:

The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
Hi-Fi Rush
Stellar Blade
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess
Norco
Astro Bot
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Silent Hill 2
Sorry We’re Closed
Persona 3: Reloaded
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Tekken 8
Armored Core 6
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Bayonetta 3
Final Fantasy 16
Pikmin 4
Dranius
Cocoon
Sonic Frontiers
Stray
Kirby And The Forgotten Land
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance
Elden Ring + Shadow Of The Erdtree
Lies Of P
Alan Wake 2 (for that enthralling musical stage alone!)
Galvanized Gamer

GC: Today has been an exception, but please don’t just send in lists of things without any commentary. It gets very boring, very quickly, and encourages everyone else to send in nothing but lists too.

Inbox also-rans
I would like to rent a PlayStation 5, how do I do this? Many thanks.
Adam

GC: You can do it from the PlayStation website here.

I love how nowadays a game getting a sudden annoucement, to take advantage of an unexpected success, still means we won’t see the sequel for five years. Nothing happens quickly in video games anymore.
Lipsis

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Space Marine 2 isn’t even a year old and work on a sequel has already begun, in what may be the start of a Warhammer 40,000 video game renaissance.

In the least surprising news since the last super successful game that announced a sequel, it’s been confirmed that Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 is already in development.

The original 2011 game was only a minor hint but the extremely belated sequel, by World War Z maker Saber Interactive, was one of the biggest single-player hits of 2024.

Seemingly by coincidence, on the same day that new rumours emerged of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War 4, Games Workship has officially announced that a third Space Marine game is already underway.

As you might imagine, there’s not a lot of information at this point, with publisher Focus Interactive simply saying that, ‘Players can look forward to an immersive campaign, a multiplayer mode, and innovations that will redefine the standards of third person action games.

‘Developed in close collaboration with Games Workshop, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 will take the genre to new heights by introducing large-scale battles that are even more spectacular.’

There’s certainly plenty of room for improvement in a new game, as while the last one was the best visual recreation of the Warhammer 40,000 universe ever seen the combat and story were not all that they could be.

Given the game’s huge success, it’s unclear how much change the three companies involved believe is necessary, but if work has only just started it’ll likely be several years before we even get a glimpse of the new game.

‘We will take all our learnings and apply them to an even bigger and more spectacular game for the third instalment.  We view this as an opportunity to create a true love letter to the Warhammer 40.000 universe,’ said Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch.

Although nothing’s been confirmed about Space Marine 3’s plot, it seems reasonable to assume that it will continue the story of Ultramarines Captain Demetrian Titus, played by Taken TV series star Clive Standen.

The ending of the last game already hinted at a new adventure, and it seems likely that Saber already had future stories sketched out in advance.

In the meantime, Focus is keen to emphasis that support for Space Marine 2 will continue, with new content and updates planned in ‘the coming years.’

Update 7.0 will be the next one and will include new feature such as private PvP lobbies, a new PvE and Operation weapon, and changes to class weapon loadouts and weapon perks balancing.

Although there’s never been any shortage of them in the past, the unexpected success of Space Marine 2 is likely to lead to a general increase in the number of new Warhammer 40,000 games. The average budget is likely to increase too, as most previous games have been AA or indie titles.

Dawn Of War 4 may be the first indication of a new surge of licensed games, and that will only be encouraged further if the planned Amazon TV show gets off the ground.

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Canny GTA 6 fans have realised they’re being conned by a supposed leak, that claims to reveal the game’s licensed soundtrack.

Without any official news from Rockstar, it’s easy for fans to latch onto any information that comes out regarding GTA 6, even if the source doesn’t seem so good. It’s why some people are willing to put stock in ridiculous theories about when the next trailer will drop, based on the flimsiest of theories.

There have also been reports of a possible release date for a PC version and the, sadly more plausible, idea that Take-Two wants to charge over £100 just for the base game, which has sparked plenty of discussion within the community.

Given how desperate fans are for any updates, it’s unsurprising that an alleged leak of GTA 6’s soundtrack has proven very popular. The only problem is that it’s not true.

On Wednesday, March 12, the X account for Pop Crave, which reports on entertainment news, posted that a list of songs for GTA 6’s soundtrack had been accidentally posted to the official Rockstar Games X account and then been swiftly deleted.

It shared a screenshot of the deleted post, and, at first glance, it looks authentic enough for several commentors to express their opinions on the selection of artists listed, including Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and the Weeknd.

However, the community notes were quick to act and flag Rockstar’s post as a fabrication.

Given how obsessive GTA fans are, it’s impossible that only Pop Crave would’ve seen it. Fans would have been watching Rockstar’s social media accounts like hawks and would have spotted and screenshotted the post first, if it had actually happened.

As it stands, the only things Rockstar has posted about this past week have been a St. Patrick’s Day themed update for Red Dead Online, new GTA Online missions, and an announcement for an official Rockstar Discord server.

So, do we know anything about the actual soundtrack for GTA 6? Well, rapper T-Pain is believed to be involved with it, saying last year that his involvement with Rockstar meant he had to stop using a popular GTA role-playing server.

The same can’t be said for the band Heaven 17. One of its members alleged that Rockstar did approach them to include one of Heaven 17’s songs in GTA 6, but they turned the opportunity down because Rockstar’s offer was too low.

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A newly announced indie sequel is only officially slated for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox, but it’s claimed there are plans for a Switch 2 version as well.

While the Nintendo Switch 2 is no longer a closely guarded secret, Nintendo and other studios are still keeping mum about which of their games will release for the platform, with a new Mario Kart being the only one explicitly confirmed.

There are plenty of rumours and theories of what could be planned for Switch 2, including ports of Red Dead Redemption 2 and Microsoft’s Halo collection as well as Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (which is so far only slated for the original Switch).

Ahead of the big April showcase, which will likely unveil some Switch 2 games, one new title is apparently scheduled to release on Nintendo’s upcoming console and it’s a sequel to indie hit PowerWash Simulator.

Simply titled PowerWash Simulator 2 and set to release in late 2025, the announcement trailer from UK developer FuturLab only lists the game for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Although there’s no mention of the game coming to Switch 2, Eurogamer asserts that this will be the case and that further details will be shared at a later date.

In a statement provided to Metro, FuturLab has downplayed the existence of a Switch 2 version, saying, ‘Whilst we would like to release on Switch 2, there are no current firm plans. We have no timeframe or news there.’

Even if a Switch 2 version isn’t currently in the works, it’s not unreasonable to assume it could happen eventually. After all, the original PowerWash Simulator launched for Xbox consoles and PC in 2022, but was later ported to the first Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5, followed by a VR version for Meta Quest headsets.

As for what FuturLab could confirm, PowerWash Simulator 2 very much looks to be more of the same, though it will feature a new campaign and, for the first time, split-screen co-op so friends can play through the game locally and not just online.

‘PowerWash Simulator 2 feels like a natural evolution from its predecessor,’ says design director Dan Chequer. ‘The original game’s design was all about eliminating anything that detracted from the pure satisfaction of taking something dirty and making it clean.

‘PowerWash Simulator 2 is all about adding in even more avenues for players to achieve that same sense of satisfaction, with new tools, features and quality of life improvements.’

Chequer adds that it’s thanks to the first game’s success, with 17 million players worldwide, that FuturLab can self-publish the sequel. For context, the first game was published by Square Enix, specifically the company’s indie division Square Enix Collective.

It also proved popular enough to receive multiple crossover DLC expansions, including but not limited to SpongeBob SquarePants, Back To The Future, and most recently Wallace & Gromit.

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