It’s no secret that I’m big into video games. Some of my favorite memories involve playing video games, and it’s one of my favorite ways to wind down after a long day. I even plan to go into the video game industry! Because of this, it’s probably unsurprising that I was among the thousands to watch the past two Nintendo Directs, online presentations that detail new games coming to the Nintendo Switch and features associated with the forthcoming Nintendo Switch 2.
However, maybe also unsurprisingly, the Nintendo Direct live chat was a toxic place to be. During the first Nintendo Direct on March 27, thousands of “fans” flocked to the chat to express their disappointment with the games presented, claiming that the only good thing to come out of the Direct was the new Metroid game. They were angry that news on the Nintendo Switch 2 hadn’t been discussed (it had already been announced that there would be no news on the Nintendo Switch 2 at this Direct), that there were too many farming games (there was, like, two), and that their favorite game hadn’t been announced for the Switch.
Gamers throwing temper tantrums isn’t new, but it has become increasingly more prominent. Gamebros threw fits over the fact that Tomodachi Life and Rhythm Heaven are getting resurgences while a release date for Silksong hadn’t yet been announced. They continued to yell the loudest, to call things “trash” and then retreat back into anonymity when the Direct closed. It begs the question, “Why do you think this game is trash?”. The discourse among toxic gamers is that anything that isn’t a first-person shooter is considered “trash” or a “girl’s game.” Because, you know, playing a game based on rhythm skills is for girls, right?
What’s truly wild is that during the second Nintendo Direct the following week on April 2, the game that these people had been clamoring for, Silksong, was announced as one of the third-party games on the new console. But this still wasn’t enough. Gamers then turned on Nintendo itself for their absurdly high prices, calling the company greedy and saying they wouldn’t buy the new games or console. For reference, the Nintendo Switch 2 looks to be retailing for $449 MSRP ($499 MSRP with the inclusion of Mario Kart World, the newest Mario Kart game). Mario Kart World looks to be retailing for $79.99 MSRP on its own, and these prices are all subject to increase in accordance with Donald Trump’s new tariffs.
Now, do I think these are ridiculously high prices? Yes. I paid probably around $347.99 for my Nintendo Switch console in 2022 (a special edition console about five years after the original launch), and don’t see the point in purchasing a new console when mine works fine. So I definitely won’t be buying at launch. For me, it’s as simple as that. But these gamebros are hellbent on finding something to complain about.
First, it’s the lack of FPS (first-person shooter) games. Then, it’s the oversaturation of cozy games and the absence of a game that had simply been rumored to be announced. Then, when that game is announced for a new console, the prices are too high. These are the same people who complain that there’s no news about a new Zelda game, despite the fact that Zelda games take almost a decade to develop (and the latest one came out only two years ago), but will also be the first ones to trash a game for looking “rushed”.
Nintendo gamebros will never be happy unless they’re complaining about something, and they are determined to ruin gaming for everyone who is simply excited about the hobby.