Nintendo has finally addressed the discourses around the prices of the Switch 2 itself and Mario Kart World. You know, the ones that folks have been a little bit narked about.
If you need a quick refersher, the Switch 2 was announced at a price point of $449.99/£395.99/€469.99, assuming you want just the console, rather than a bundle that also includes MKW for $499.99/£429.99/€509.99. MKW on its own, meanwhile, will cost $79.99 / £74.99 standalone. Woof.
So, what’s Ninty said about these two price points, after opting not to issue a statement right away? Well, first of all, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser told The Verge that the freshly deployed US tariffs – which led the company to delay the start of US Switch 2 pre-orders last week – weren’t factored into the $449.99 price.
“Put [the April 2nd announcement] aside. Any previous tariffs were not factored into the price itself,” the exec said, adding that Nintendo is “actively assessing what the impact may be”. That ladt bit’s very much in line with what Ninty said when it announced that pre-order delay last week.
As for why these things do cost as much as they do, Bowser said pretty similar stuff in both that chat about the Switch 2 and one with the Washington Post about Mario Kart World being $79.99. In the former case, The Verge reports Bowser listed a bunch of the Switch 2’s new features, adding that a driving factor Ninty considered was “what is a part of this particular gaming experience versus what it is relative to the Switch 1”.
Meanwhile, Bowser said that MKW being more expensive than the $70 Donkey Kong Bananza is an example of “variable pricing”. “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,” he explained.
Does any of that make you feel any less inclined to demand Nintendo ‘DROP THE PRICE’? Let us know below!
