Nintendo has seemingly trained its user base to not expect major first-party releases to go on deep discounts after release.
While the Nintendo Switch was an incredibly popular console, and it looks like the Switch 2 might shape up to be the same, one of the criticisms levied at Nintendo has been the fact that games on its systems often tend to be more expensive than on other platforms. Along with first-party titles, this also includes third-party games by both major companies as well as indie studios.
Former Nintendo PR managers Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang spoke about this in a new video. The duo spoke about Nintendo’s approach to games where the company tends to “respect the value” of each title released. This approach also extended to influencers that would contact the company to do game giveaway events. Check out the video below.
“Nintendo products have immense value, we must always respect that immense value,” said Ellis. “This is why these things don’t go on sale. The value is the value and we are seriously into that concept of ‘respect the value of what this thing is that we have made, because it is very special.’”
Yang mentions that this is a major contributor to the fact that games on Nintendo’s platforms, especially first-party releases from major franchises like The Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Bros., seldom ever go on sales. Contrast this to Microsoft with Xbox Series X/S, Sony with PS5, and even Steam on PC. Yang believes that the average Nintendo console user has been conditioned to just accept this fact as a part of playing Nintendo games.
“As a Nintendo customer, fan,” Yang explained, “you’re kind of conditioned to, ‘If I want to buy this, I might as well by this now, because it’s not going to go on sale.’”
The high prices of games released on Nintendo’s consoles is jokingly referred to by gamers as the “Nintendo Tax”. This is acknowledged by Ellis, who talks about how Nintendo sees the value of its games, especially when compared to other games in the market.
“It’s a Nintendo tax,” said Ellis. “What we made was $60. A lot of those other games that are $60 are junk. They don’t have the level of Nintendo quality or polish or attention, so we need to distinguish how premium this thing is through the pricing, and you will come to understand that.”
Nintendo has recently come under heavy criticism for its pricing of the upcoming Switch 2 as well as some of the first-party games that will be coming to the console. For context, the console is priced at $449.99, while Mario Kart World will be priced at $79.99 for the digital version. A physical copy will set you back by $89.99 instead.
Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser addressed these criticism. In a recent interview, he spoke about how the company sees the value of its hardware and software. As for the pricing, he mentions that, while many fans won’t be able to afford the new console and its games, they can look to the other Switch consoles to play the company’s titles.
“We recognize there are some people that may not be able to afford [the Switch 2’s] price point,” said Bowser. “That’s why we wanted to make the other Switch platforms available, so [people] still have an opportunity to come into our gaming universe, be a part of these characters in these worlds, and see value, if you will, in whatever rung of the platform they come in.”
The Nintendo Switch 2 is hitting store shelves on June 5.
