The US$90 price tag on physical copies of Mario Kart World has proven controversial.
Nintendo has officially unveiled its next-generation Nintendo Switch 2 gaming console, replete with all-new mic and voice chat features, mouse-like capabilities for the Joy-Cons, and more. Unfortunately, the reveal has not gone down without any controversy. While the console’s US$449.99 price tag has already stirred up online debates over its value, the pricing of its games might be a bigger problem.
According to Insider Gaming, games for the Nintendo Switch 2 will cost up to US$80 for digital and US$90 for physical.
Nintendo games will cost up to US$30 more for the Nintendo Switch 2
The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S generation of consoles saw a price hike for video games, which went up from US$60 to US$70 across the board. Nintendo appears to be fast tracking yet another price hike in this regard, only with a bigger jump: its Nintendo Switch 2 games will cost up to US$90 for physical game enjoyers.
Nintendo’s website confirmed that Mario Kart World has a US$80 price tag, but another localised store page revealed that the game will cost €80 for digital and €90 for physical. These prices are not universal, however. The same store page lists Donkey Kong: Bananza for €70 digitally and €80 physically. While the prices differ, one constant remains: games will cost €10 more physically.
The price difference between Donkey Kong: Bananza and Mario Kart World also suggests that Nintendo plans to price its games differently, though the logic with which the company goes about its price-setting is unknown to us at this time. One can safely assume that it feels more comfortable giving a higher price tag to Mario Kart World, given that its predecessor Mario Kart 8 sold over 75 million units in its lifetime.
It’s safe to say that this price increase has proven to be controversial among Nintendo fans, with some even reconsidering their purchase of the console. It’s not just that Nintendo Switch 2 games cost more, or that the console itself costs more. Players will also have to pay to upgrade Nintendo Switch games for the Nintendo Switch 2, and fork up a whopping US$80 for games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the new console.
We’re not even taking into consideration various accessories users are encouraged to pick up to make use of the Nintendo Switch 2’s full spread of features, like the Nintendo Switch Camera and Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller. There is, at least, a bundle that packages the Nintendo Switch 2 and Mario Kart World together for US$499.99. That gives the user up to US$40 of savings for the new Mario Kart game, so that’s nice!
Read up on all the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct announcements here.
