Nintendo did not offer a price for its Switch 2during its hour-long showcase.
Instead, customers found out through the grapevine that the console would cost $450.
But for many, the realeye-watering surprisewas the price of launch titleMario Kart Worldat $80.
Is 24-player Mario Kart worth $80? © Alex Cranz / Gizmodo
It will only get more expensive from here.
Almost every single first-party Switch 2 game will cost you more than they have in the past.
He suggested that whats more likely is that well see games at many different price points going forward.
© Walmart
It also may lead to gamers being more selective in their purchasing habits.
Multiple analysts we talked to said publishers are swooning over Nintendos pricing choices.
Nintendos $80 games dramatically increase the likelihood of $100GTA VI.
© Nintendo
Nintendo has opened the game pricing floodgates, and unless the console bombs theres likely no going back.
The price gouging couldnt come at a worse time for gamers.
A report fromThe Financial Timeslast week cited analysts who said Nintendos hardware is made in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Trumps tariffs now put a 46% and 49% tariff on both countries, respectively.
That would potentially increase the price of the Switch 2 significantly.
But that wont be nearly enough for demand.
If hardware is getting more expensive, software is sure to follow suit.
Still, Nintendos pricing push has been in the works for a lot longer than the Trump Tariffs.
Publishers from all over the industry havemoaned about the cost of gamessince before the 1990s.
A major first-party title like Super Mario 64 launched for $60 in 1996.
Adjusted for inflation, thats the equivalent of $124 as of February this year.
Publishers have resisted the urge to ask for more out of fear of a player revolt.
Now things are changing.
Its carrying traditionally graphically intensive titles likeCyberpunk 2077.
The Switch 2 ecosystem is starting to feel more like that of other big consoles.
Meanwhile Bloombergs Jason Schreiernotedthe rising costs of game development are exacerbated by know-nothing management.
Thats bound to push up costs.
Nintendo is pushing forward with whats long been an industry sticking point.
That doesnt make it any easier to swallow.
Is Mario Kart World worth $80?
We dont know, we havent played it in full, yet.
But is any game worth $80, orhell$100?
The only thing consumers have left is their wallets, and thats what has to do the talking.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
Those who want a console at launch June 5 should get in line as soon as possible.
