Will $80 PS5 Games Price You Out of Gaming?

Despite predictions that Rockstar and GTA 6 would once more boost game prices, surprisingly, it’s Nintendo who has made the move first.

Just a heads-up, if you haven’t heard already, Mario Kart World will sell for $79.99. Similarly priced will be the Nintendo Switch 2 editions of Super Mario Party Jamboree and Kirby and the Forgotten Lands. However, there will be upgrade options for those who already own these games.

If you’re in Europe, you might find prices that are even higher than usual, with some physical game versions reaching up to €89.99 (approximately $98). It’s important to note that these prices are set before any potential economic problems that could arise from the implementation of US tariffs.

As our team at Nintendo Life delves deeper into the specific implications for the Switch 2, it’s important to note that there are broader consequences for the gaming industry as a whole at stake in these developments.

Should Nintendo achieve success by selling approximately 67 million units of Mario Kart World for $79.99 during a console generation, it’s likely that other publishers such as Sony would also adopt similar pricing strategies or strive to create comparable games.

And that’s going to price a lot of people out.

Indeed, it’s clear that economic factors are significant here. For instance, inflation causes prices to rise, such as a PS4 game costing approximately $82.17 today, compared to $59.99 in 2013. However, this doesn’t account for the fact that salaries have not kept pace with this price increase over the same timeframe.

Absolutely, it’s no secret that game production costs are on the rise. In fact, Shuhei Yoshida, a former head of PlayStation Studios, has discussed at length how Sony’s often criticized remastered games serve a purpose in offsetting their growing development expenses.

But none of this makes the pill any easier to swallow.

Today’s video games typically don’t cost as much as those from the Super Nintendo era. The reason being is that during that time, many games were sold at higher prices due to being distributed on expensive cartridges, some of which even contained additional hardware. In contrast, today’s games are not usually associated with such high costs because they are primarily digital downloads and don’t require physical hardware components.

Another perspective is that games provide significantly greater value compared to other types of entertainment, such as a cinema ticket. However, even though this is accurate, it seems that many consumers have already recognized this fact, as movie ticket sales have been steadily decreasing in recent times.

As a gamer, I’ve noticed that the gaming industry has been sneakily increasing prices under the radar. They do this by offering premium Early Access, aiming to squeeze more money out of us through fear of missing out (FOMO). Now, Nintendo seems to have given them an opportunity to hike up the base prices too, while they continue to offer pricier Deluxe Editions as well.

In simpler terms, our perspective is that the attempt to increase prices may lead to increased chaos within the industry. If we’re indeed stepping into an era where software costs $79.99, it’s likely that consumers will become increasingly choosy. This could result in fewer games or titles being successful.

It’s important to understand that games aren’t launched without any impact. Titles like Fortnite and Genshin Impact, which are free-to-play and continuously popular, are gradually claiming a significant portion of the market share. Many gamers prefer investing their money in these evergreen games instead of the latest high-budget releases.

It’s clear that some publishers are elated by Nintendo’s recent announcement, as it shifts the focus away from them. The executives at Take-Two Interactive might be celebrating today, given their impending release of GTA 6, no longer having to bear the brunt of criticism.

However, one might wonder, given our observation of their financials across numerous publishing houses, why do they persistently report unprecedented earnings, despite operating under economically adverse conditions?

Gaming is already an expensive luxury – but at what point does it simply begin to price you out?

2025-04-03 13:36

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