Nintendo has announced that Mario Kart World, an exclusive title for the upcoming Switch 2 console, will launch at a price of $80. This is quite a jump from usual video game pricing and sets a fresh standard for the company’s top titles.
Nintendo’s Bill Trinen stood by the higher cost, saying the game’s massive content and special features make the higher price worth it. While specific details about these features are still under wraps, Trinen encouraged fans to continue watching upcoming Nintendo Direct presentations for a full look at what Mario Kart World has to offer.
The $80 price comes as part of a broader change in video game pricing across the industry. Big players like Sony and Microsoft have already moved to a $70 standard for their top titles with the current console generation, citing higher development costs.
Nintendo’s pricing strategy stands out because the company rarely drops prices over time. While other publishers usually offer big discounts a few months after release, Nintendo games often keep their near-launch prices for years, with discounts being somewhat rare.
The Mario Kart series is a big deal for Nintendo. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has sold over 50 million copies, making it the best-selling game on the Switch platform. This popularity probably gave Nintendo the confidence to price the new entry higher.
The Switch 2 is set to be Nintendo’s next big thing, promising better graphics and performance while keeping the portable/home console style that made the original Switch so popular. Over 100 million units of the console have been sold since its 2017 launch.
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Some industry folks point to past times when Nintendo charged more, like with cartridge-based games during the SNES and N64 days. Others note that Nintendo games usually come as full packages without the microtransactions and paid DLC you often see in games from other publishers.
Fans have mixed feelings, with some worried about the new pricing. We’ll likely get a better sense of how this will play out once Nintendo shares more about Mario Kart World’s content and the Switch 2’s features in future presentations.
