Nintendo finally revealed details about the Switch 2 during their latest Nintendo Direct presentation. Unfortunately, a lot of the hype for the console and its revealed games thus far was mostly overshadowed about news of what sort of prices we should expect, which was information that got conveniently left out of the livestream itself.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is set to launch for $449.99 while games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza will be available for $79.99. Things only seem to be getting worse as it was recently announced that Nintendo would be delaying their preorder date (originally set for April 9, 2025) due to the potential impact of tariffs recently announced by the United States. This suggests that the prices could end up rising even more than what was originally reported.
At long last, the President of Nintendo of America Doug Bowser recently commented on the price controversy relating to Switch 2 games in a discussion with the Washington Post (via Wario64).
“We’ll look at each game, really look at the development that’s gone into the game, the breadth and depth of the gameplay, if you will, the durability over time and the repeatability of gameplay experiences.” — Doug Bowser
“What you see right there is variable pricing,” stated Bowser. “We’ll look at each game, really look at the development that’s gone into the game, the breadth and depth of the gameplay, if you will, the durability over time and the repeatability of gameplay experiences.”
Of course, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will go down in history as the Switch’s best selling game. To date, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has sold over 67.35 million units worldwide. Meanwhile, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate have sold 47.44 million and 35.88 million respectively.
Needless to say, Nintendo’s decision to push the next entry in the Mario Kart lineup, Mario Kart World, as a launch title for the Switch 2 makes a lot of sense.
With the success of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it’s reasonable to assume that Mario Kart World is the type of game that feature a lot of these “repeatable gameplay experiences” that Bowser alluded to. We can also assume that Nintendo has put a lot of resources into making Mario Kart World as good as it can be.
“So I think you can anticipate that there will be variable pricing, and we haven’t set a benchmark.” — Doug Bowser
However, these sort of costs have gamers worried that if consumers buy games at these prices, it will lead to more developers releasing games at these sort of retail prices. From this, Bowser then went on to talk about how other games might end up being priced differently depending on the circumstances.
“Those are all factors, and there’s many more that go into consideration of what is the right price point for the game,” continued Bowser. “So I think you can anticipate that there will be variable pricing, and we haven’t set a benchmark.”
This suggests that there could be a number of games that are set at the prices that consumers tend to be more comfortable with. Of course, it also means that there will probably be more games also priced at $79.99.
Should another Super Smash Bros. entry ever be released for the Switch 2 (which is a very likely possibility), it will probably also be priced similarly to Mario Kart World due to how insanely successful the last entry was on the Switch.
On the other hand, Street Fighter 6 was also revealed to be coming to the Switch 2. Players will be able to pick that game up (along with the Year 1 and Year 2 Character Passes) for $59.99 as a launch title for the Switch 2.
So overall, it seems like the developers will have direct control over how released games are priced when they become available. We’ll just have to see how things work out from here to see just how often that dreaded $79.99 price tag shows up.
Source: Event Hubs
