The

Nintendo
Switch
2
event
held
today
offered
up
heaps
of
details
about
Nintendo’s
upcoming
console
which
is
due
to
release
on
June
5
for
$449.99
/
€469.99
/
£395.99.
However,
Nintendo
has
also
sparked
some
controversy
with
how
it’s
pricing
its
games.
Well,
one
game,
to
be
exact.

As
part
of
the
event,

Nintendo
lifted
the
hood
of
Mario
Kart:
World,
the
long-awaited
sequel
to
Mario
Kart
8.
It’ll
be
available
on
the
same
day
as
the
Switch
2,
and
features
a
new
open
world
to
drive
around.
It
looks
pretty
damn
cool,
actually.

The
pricing
isn’t
as
cool,
though,
because
the
game’s
official
MSRP
(Manafacturer’s
Suggested
Retail
Price),
as
listed
on
Nintendo’s
own
site,
is
$80
/
£75
for
the
physical
edition.
It
wasn’t
that
long
ago
the
industry
shifted
toward
$70/£70
becoming
the
norm,
so
this
is
quite
a
leap.

Except,
it
isn’t
quite
as
simple
as
all
that.
You
see,
the
digital
version
is
priced
at
£66.99.
I
haven’t
been
able
to
confirm
US
pricing
for
the
digital
version
yet,
though
I’m
guessing
at
around
$70.
In
other
words,
you’re
being
charged
quite
a
lot
extra
if
you
want
to
own
the
physical
edition
of
the
game.

You
can
get
a
fairly
large
discount
by
buying
Mario
Kart:
World
with
the
Switch
2
console
itself,
though.
Grabbing
it
as.part
of
the
bundle
knocks
around
$30
off
the
price,
so
it
seems
like
Nintendo
fully
expect
most
people
to
get
the
game
this
way.

For
context,
most
first
party
Switch
games
last
generation
came
with
an
MSRP
of
$60,
although
The
Legend
of
Zelda:
Tears
of
the
Kingdom
arrived
with
a
$70
price
tag.

It
seems
like

Nintendo
doesn’t
plan
on
charging
the
same
base
price
for
all
of
its
first
party
games,
either,
as
Donkey
Kong:
Bananza
is
priced
at
£58.99/
$59.99
for
the
digital
version
and
£66.99
for
the
physical
version.
Note,
I
haven’t
been
able
to
confirm
physical
pricing
in
the
US.

It’s
worth
noting
that
these
are
just
the
MSRPs
and
while
they
will
apply
when
buying
directly
from
Nintendo,
other
retailers
will
probably
be
selling
it
at
far
less.
For
example,
while
Tears
of
the
Kingdom
was
recommended
at
£59.99
here
in
the
UK,
I
bought
it
for
£50,
and
it
was
even
possible
to
get
it
for
as
low
as
£44.

So,
does
this
mean
Nintendo
is
shifting
to
$80
as
the
baseline
for
all
of
its
games?
Well,
the
evidence
seems
to
suggest
not,
but
that
certain
big
releases
will
be.
It’s
a
scary
thought
and
for
very
good
reason:
while
games
are
actually
quite
cheap
when
you
take
inflation
into
account,
the
economic
situation
right
now
for
most
people
means
games
are
already
a
pricey
luxury.
Raising
prices
to
$80
risks
alienating
a
lot
of
people.

The
second
thing
to
consider
is
the
physical
tax
being
imposed.
It
looks
like
Nintendo
might
be
doing
this
to
combat
the
pre-owned
market.
Nintendo
likes
to
keep
its
perceived
value
high,
which
is
why
Nintendo
games
rarely
get
discounted
and
even
when
they
do
the
discount
is
minimal.
That
means
on
the
second-hand
market,
Nintendo
games
retain
a
lot
of
their
value,
but
of
course,
Nintendo
doesn’t
get
a
penny
from
second-hand
sales.
By
ramping
up
the
initial
purchase
price
of
physical
games,
Nintendo
would
mitigate
the
“lost”
sales
somewhat.

What
do
you
guys
think
about
the
pricing?
There’s
been
a
lot
of
knee-jerk
panicking
out
there,
but
it
seems
a
tad
more
complicated
than
the
headlines
would
suggest.
Are
you
worried
that
this
$80
MSRP
could
also
lead
to
other
publishers
following
suit,
too?