If you have not been keeping up with news revolving technology and the gaming industry, Nintendo’s newly revealed console, the Nintendo Switch 2, has gotten a lot of backlash recently. Hype was incredibly high for the upcoming sequel. However, recent developments have killed that hype for a lot of people, including me.
After a brief first look in January, we got a hour-long presentation on April 2nd showcasing the console’s new features and revealing the next big entry into the Mario Kart series, Mario Kart World. The showcase itself was positively received, with many fans calling it the best Nintendo presentation ever. However, this unanimous positivity was short-lived as fans went onto the Switch 2’s website to find something that was unmentioned in the presentation: the prices for the console and its games. The console itself costs $450 USD, which is not a big deal in my opinion and is understandable for a next-gen powerful gaming console. The real sticking point is the cost of Mario Kart World: $80 USD, the most a high-budget game has cost in recent memory. This price was not accepted well by the gaming community and generated a lot of pushback, even among Nintendo fans.
$80 is only $10 above the current industry standard price of $70. Why is pricing one game at $80 such a big deal? Let me tell you about the history of game prices. For over a decade, modern video games have cost $60 at maximum. However, in late 2020, this was increased after Take-Two priced NBA 2K21 at $70, resulting in a chain reaction throughout the industry. By 2022, nearly all high-budget games were $70 at maximum. Take-Two and other companies explained that the increase was due to higher development costs and the value of the game. While this received pushback among some more cost-conciencious communities, the increase was largely accepted. I think that this was because the increase was expected to be the only one for a while since the $60 price tag lasted so long. However, now Nintendo is increasing the price once more only four years later to $80, and the increase is not being handled as well. Now that one game is being priced at $80, the gates have opened for that being the new norm. Suddenly, just a $10 increase on one game results in a major increase in all high-budget game prices. Gaming is now less affordable for everyone.
I will bring up one argument regarding prices that has been used to justify increasing game prices. Due to inflation, the price of games in the past were more expensive than the games of today. Therefore, many people would argue that it is irrational to get mad over $80 games and that we as consumers should accept the increase in game prices. I would agree with this statement if everything was adjusted for inflation over time. The cost of living in the United States has drastically increased over time and wages have not increased to meet it. Perhaps the cost itself is not that high compared to what it was back then, but they are more of a financial burden for us, the consumers. I do not think that this argument justifies $80 games, in fact, I think that the inflation argument makes $80 games even more egregious in the current state of the world.
As the gaming industry grew in size and in profits, large game publishers have been more comfortable with making anti-consumer decisions. I will not go over a list of all of these practices, but the important thing is that increasing game prices is one of the most influential. Once the $80 price tag becomes normalized, a publisher will push up to $90, and then $100, and maybe even further. There are already rumors that Grand Theft Auto VI will be $100. There is no limit to how far game publishers can push the boundaries as long as people keep buying. While prices have increased, the quality of games is often not higher, with many considering high-budget game quality to have decreased in recent times. Maybe Mario Kart World is worth $80, but $80 games from other game publishers might not be. It especially hurts to see Nintendo being a pioneer of higher game prices, considering their reputation as an ecosystem for affordable gaming for families. While Nintendo is no stranger to anti-consumer practices, they have not been the first one to do it in recent memory.
Mario Kart World costing $80 also increases the standards for the game significantly. In an interview, Doug Bowser, the President of Nintendo of America, explained that the $80 price tag was due to the amount of value that the game had. Many, including me, do not see an $80 value in the game. However, even if it was everything I could have wanted, it still would not feel enough. In my perspective, by pricing the game at $80, Nintendo is waging a fight they cannot win. Mario Kart World does not only have to justify costing $80, it has to justify upending the pricing standards of the entire gaming industry. That is an impossible task from a company such as Nintendo. The expectations are extremely high, and that will inevitably lead to disappointment. This issue will hold true for any $80 game in the future, which will cause more and more games to feel like disappointments, and people will become less happy with the state of the industry.
I am a big fan of Nintendo and prior to the presentation I was ready to pre-order as soon as possible so that I could get the console on day one. However, after seeing the anti-consumer practices that Nintendo is engaging in (and the high costs of Switch 2 accessories, increased due to Trump’s tariffs, but that’s a separate concern) I will be waiting for the foreseeable future to purchase the Switch 2. My unwillingness to support these practices is stronger than my desire to keep up with Nintendo and to play the newest entry in the Mario Kart series. In fact, Mario Kart World costing $80 has brought down my excitement and made me more critical of the game. I am confident that the Switch 2 will have a successful launch and Mario Kart World will break sales records, as it is Mario Kart, after all. Most people who are mad at the costs will buy it anyway, and the community that won’t is just a loud minority of people on the internet. If you are excited for the Switch 2 and want to buy Mario Kart World, by all means, go ahead. You will find more value out of it than I would. I will stick with the original Switch and my Steam library of indie games (that I will definitely finish) for now.
Junior Nicholas Carpenter is the Opinions Editor. His email is ncarpent@fandm.edu.