The Evolving Cost of Gaming

It has been almost a week since the Switch 2’s big showcase. The Direct itself was a wonderful showing of what Nintendo has in store for its highly anticipated Switch successor. A slew of big names ranging from Mario Kart to Final Fantasy and even a Switch exclusive FromSoftware game was announced. The lineup of games was diverse and showed what the system is capable of. Despite the big fanfare of these games one thing was very blatantly missing from the presentation, pricing. Afterwards we learned, from Nintendo’s own site, that the Switch 2 would sell for $450 and a bundle with Mario Kart World would cost $500. The biggest shock came with the price reveal of the standalone Mario Kart. A whopping $80. The videogames industry has been teasing for some time that game prices would be increasing. Multiple media articles taunted the idea of even $100 games. Added to this the recently imposed tariffs and the prices are expected to go even higher than what was initially shown. As part of Nintendo’s possible reevaluation of Switch 2 prices, they have postponed preorders in the US (and more recently Canada). This suggests that they might increase the price to mitigate the effect of tariffs on their bottom line. That said, the current landscape of the market has been completely shaken.

Nintendo had two additional presentations to showcase the Switch 2 some more. Their Treehouse Live streams were bombarded with messages to “drop the price”. A sentiment many fans have taken to heart, but is unlikely to happen. It’s even worse considering how there is a possibility that prices may increase further. It should be noted that it seems like Mario Kart World is an outlier in terms of price. Donkey Kong Bananza, also announced at the Direct, has been set to $70 which seems like the standard pricing as there are many others that share the same price tag. Previously Nintendo set that price to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, possibly as a way of testing the waters.

Basic economics tells us that an increase in price reduces demand. A brand that is so beloved by its fans tends to maintain loyalty from its consumers, but in the current economic landscape it will be difficult for many to justify the purchase of a new console. This price increase is not happening in a void. As the cost of other goods also increases, purchases shift to more important items like food, utilities and maybe clothing. Ultimately this could all lead to an eventual price reduction, if the 3DS is any indication. Then again, don’t hold your breath for it as it is unlikely to happen any time soon. As I mentioned, the current economic landscape is difficult and filled with uncertainty. Whatever Nintendo’s next move is, it will define its new, incoming generation.