We’ve now had 12 hours to fully process the monumental Nintendo Switch 2 launch. After a full hour of unadulterated news and announcements, it’s impossible not to react with a “WOW”. Now, if you’re still cautiously riding the Nintendo hype train, you might be looking for reasons to temper your expectations or convince yourself not to buy on launch. Well, here are five.

The prices are just too high.

Nintendo conveniently left out the prices of the console and its games during the hour-long Nintendo Direct. That’s because Nintendo knew that these prices would deflate (or just outright burst) all the hype it fostered for the full hour. The Switch 2 is not a cheap console.

To be fair, the console itself is comparatively cheaper than other consoles. It will cost US$ 449.99, which sounds fairly believable. However, the prices of games on the platform are much less palatable.

For example, it’s now confirmed that Mario Kart World, one of the first launch titles for the Switch 2, will cost you US$ 79.99 for the digital edition. The physical edition will cost US$ 89.99.

This is the first time that the base version of a game will cost that much. Even if the console itself has a manageable price, buying games for it will set you back by miles. If it’s any consolation, these exorbitant prices will likely apply only to first-party Nintendo games and exclusives… for now. Still, it doesn’t bode well that Nintendo has started the trend of $80 games.

There isn’t much innovation.

For a brand-new console, you should assume the best possible hardware. The Switch 2 does seem promising, especially since it can apparently support modern games like Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077. That said, there are still a few doubtful specs inside.

For one, the new console does not come with an OLED screen. Instead, we’re back to LCD. It might not be that big of an issue, though. The display can still support 1080p resolution and 120fps. Plus, the dock supports 4K resolution and HDR.

But that’s not the only thing. The Switch 2 comes with only 256GB of internal storage. Since we don’t know how big the games will be, we can’t tell if this is a good thing yet. It’s still unfortunate that other consoles already come with 1TB internally, but the Switch 2 is still stuck with only 256GB.

We also don’t know just how powerful the new hardware is. Sure, it can play Elden Ring, but is the game on decent graphics settings or on very low? Modern handheld consoles today still struggle with big games like Cyberpunk 2077. If a chunky console like the Legion Go has difficulty playing these games, how can a thinner Switch 2 compete?

Based solely on the hardware presented to us during the Direct, it’s difficult to claim that the Switch 2 is a day-one buy.

Region locking might be a thing now.

Today, the best way to get a new Switch is to get a cheap one during a trip to Japan. New units are naturally cheaper in the country. For example, I got my OLED Switch Mario Red Edition for a little less than US$ 300.

If you were thinking of doing the same thing for the Switch 2, Nintendo has introduced a few caveats. On the Japanese landing page of the new console, the company confirms that there will be a Japanese model to contrast the multilingual/international one. The Japanese version will work only with a Nintendo account set to Japan. If you don’t have an account, you won’t be able to use GameChat, Virtual Game Cards, Nintendo Switch Online, or the eShop. Nintendo also does not guarantee that these domestic models will work in other countries.

It’s possible that we don’t have the full picture yet. We wouldn’t even count out a mistranslation somewhere. Either way, Nintendo has not confirmed whether Japan is still selling international versions, amid the domestic ones. It also has not announced potential price differences if the country does sell both versions.

Regardless, this is now something you have to take note of, especially if Japan will sell only domestic units.

There’s still so much to play on the original Switch.

Like any gamer today, I’m terrible at maintaining my backlog of games. I still have a mountain of titles I haven’t finished or started. This also goes for my Switch. I’ve barely started on Tears of the Kingdom. I haven’t opened the latest Pokémon games. And I haven’t finished Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.

Even if I dedicate the next two months before the Switch 2’s launch to finishing my backlog of old Switch games, I still think I have enough content to fill me for the year.

The Switch 2 has only a few exclusive titles announced at the moment. Plus, a good chunk of upcoming games will still come to the original Switch. The old version is still a capable console. With so many years of titles, the original Switch can keep chugging along well after the launch of the Switch 2.

It’s also unlikely that most Switch users are upgrading immediately to the new one. If you’re into the Switch for the social aspect, you won’t be missing out on much by skipping the Switch 2’s launch day.

TEKKEN 8 running on the ROG Ally X

Other handheld consoles are still good.

Right after the Nintendo Direct yesterday, we said that PC-based handheld consoles are now facing a crisis. In retrospect, handheld consoles will probably be fine. This is because today’s handheld gamers have something over Switch 2 gamers: They already own a handheld console.

The Switch 2 is a worthy console for prospective handheld gamers… if they don’t already own another console. If they already have a handheld console of their own, it’s hard to justify ditching that for a Switch 2.

Despite the number of titles announced for the Switch 2, PC-based competitors still have access to Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG. The games on these platforms are only just trickling to the Switch 2. As such, they still have the wider library. Because some run on Windows, they also feature more customizability to fit your needs.

But there is one reason to get a Switch 2.

Since the Direct, I’ve slowly convinced myself to only cautiously bite into the launch day hype. All it took was five reasons. I am, however, still a bit optimistic because of one reason.

It’s a Nintendo console. While you can certainly argue that Nintendo doesn’t have a perfect track record, even the less successful consoles, like the Wii U, had their bright spots. The original Switch is still one of the bestselling consoles of all time. A Nintendo console is also the only (legal) way to play the company’s games.

Even if I don’t fall for the launch day hype, I can still see myself buying a Switch 2 somewhere down the line.

SEE ALSO: All the announced Switch 2 games will make you buy the console