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No seriously, Nintendo Switch has no pack-in games - not even a demo

Nintendo Switch is reasonably inexpensive, but don't expect any extras at that price.

Switch won't ship with a bundled game, or even any demos or trials, Nintendo told investors this week.

The news comes via regular Nintendo briefing correspondent Takashi Mochizuki of the Wall Street Journal, and is something of a surprise: the Wii and Wii U both shipped with bundled games, and 1-2-Switch really seemed like a natural pack-in - at least in demo form.

This provides a little extra context to Nintendo's comments about the Switch selling at a profit from day one and how the lack of pack-ins keeps the price down.

That all makes sense, of course, but one can't help of think of how Wii Sports helped make the Wii one of the best-selling consoles of all time. That said, NintendoLand doesn't seem to have helped the Wii U much.

Maybe the Switch doesn't need a killer novelty app with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as a launch title? Certainly Switch stock is thin on the ground, and has been almost since pre-orders opened. Nintendo has promised to ramp up production, which feels like a healthy sign.

Still, the lack of pack-in is something to remember when you're contemplating the console's lower price tag - especially as Switch peripherals are a bit pricey.

Ah well, let's all cross our fingers for Switch. It doesn't seem like my personal cup of tea, but the Nintendo faithful deserve a break.

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About the Author
Brenna Hillier avatar

Brenna Hillier

Contributor

Based in Australia and having come from a lengthy career in the Aussie games media, Brenna worked as VG247's remote Deputy Editor for several years, covering news and events from the other side of the planet to the rest of the team. After leaving VG247, Brenna retired from games media and crossed over to development, working as a writer on several video games.

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