Nintendo Switch Dev Kits are only $450
Masaru Mitsuyoshi, a representative of Nintendo, has announced at the Japanese Game Creators Conference 2017 that Nintendo Switch Dev Kits will cost just 450 dollars.
This is a big change from Nintendo’s previous approach, in which Wii U Developer Kits cost around $5000. This will come as a great relief to Independent developers, as the cost of a Dev kit is usually a huge barrier in developing for a console, especially if they are on a shoestring budget. The Wii U was devoid of large third party support, and whilst it is currently unknown if the Switch will or won’t suffer the same fate, offering easier access for smaller developers can only be a good thing.
I personally think this was a great move by Nintendo, they need to make an initial splash rather than try and build up support slowly over the years – we are living in a fast paced world in which technology and peoples desires change quickly, so the importance of their first year cannot be underestimated. Doing this should hopefully allow plenty of indie developers to create interesting games for the Switch or port over popular ones, which should be a boon to the new console. For comparison, PS4 Dev kits cost around $2500, which will make the Switch an attractive and inexpensive investment for aspiring developers.