LogInAccording to Doug Bowser, they "haven't set a benchmark" by pricing MKW $10-$20 higher than the industry standard.
The news about the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 and its lineup of new games has been overshadowed by the reveal that Mario Kart World will be priced at $80 for the digital version and $90 for the physical – which isn't really physical – edition, sending shockwaves through the gaming community and sparking concerns that other AAA developers might follow suit, hiking prices for their own games without offering meaningful improvements in return.
Addressing the controversy and gamers' backlash is Nintendo of America's President, Doug Bowser, who, in a recent interview with The Washington Post, attempted to justify Mario Kart World's price being higher than the industry standard of $70.
Speaking to the Post, Bowser explained Nintendo's approach to pricing, saying they evaluate each game individually and set the price based on factors such as the "development that's gone into the game," the depth of gameplay, longevity, and replayability. Nintendo insists that the $80 price tag doesn't set a benchmark and that they will continue to follow a variable pricing model going forward.
He also touched on the main point of concern in all this debacle – that the real issue isn't just Nintendo raising prices, but the possibility of other developers viewing the hike as a precedent and doing the same – essentially stating that Nintendo is focused solely on its own products and isn't particularly concerned with how its pricing decisions might influence the industry at large.
"I think it's less about representing the industry, this is really about Nintendo deciding the right thing to do for its products or what the pricing should be for its products overall," Bowser said. "Even in the previous generation, we had some variability. I think, for us, that's really how we want to proceed and go forward. I can't speak for other games that might be released by other publishers or other platforms. It's more about what we think is right for our content, what is the right value for the consumers as they come into our platform."
In a separate interview with IGN, Nintendo's Vice President, Player and Product Experience, Bill Trinen, echoed Bowser's comments on variable pricing, emphasizing that Mario Kart World is "big and vast" and describing it as "probably the richest Mario Kart experience" to date – the qualities that, according to Trinen, justiy its price being higher than that of any previous standard edition AAA video game.
"I would say it's less about the strategy of pricing Mario Kart World, it's more just whenever we look at a given game, we just look at what is the experience, and what's the content, and what's the value," he said. "Mario Kart World, I think especially as you see from the Nintendo Direct, not to give you any hints or anything, but I did read your article this morning and I think you had mentioned that you didn't find a lot to discover when roaming around. So I would say tune into our Mario Kart Direct to see what, maybe you'll be able to find out about that.
But honestly, this is a game that is so big and so vast and you will find so many little things in it to discover. And there's still some other secrets remaining that I think as people end up buying and playing the game, they're going to find this to be probably the richest Mario Kart experience they've ever had."
Unfortunately, both interviews focused solely on the prices of the digital editions, neglecting to address the $90 price of the physical copy of MKW and the fact that Nintendo Switch 2's "physical copies" don't actually contain the games themselves, but instead act as "keys" to download the full game via the internet.
And what do you think about the revelations of Nintendo executives? Will Mario Kart World actually be that good to make the $80-$90 price tag justifiable? Tell us in the comments!
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