When it comes to prices for first-party Nintendo releases, the company hasn’t exactly been consistent with the MSRP of its games. Mario Kart World and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave are $80, but then Star Fox and Splatoon Raiders are $60. You also have other games coming in at $70, and eShop prices are a flat $10 cheaper than retail. How does Nintendo make these decisions?
In a new interview with Brazilian YouTube channel Coelho no Japão, Nintendo Latin America vice president Bill van Zyll explains that “a lot of factors” are involved, including “the value proposition, the hours of play you can expect, the complexity, the costs that went into making the game.” It’s not exactly unexpected information, but interesting to hear Nintendo talk about. The full quote can be read below:
“The pricing is set based on a lot of factors. Certainly one factor is we look at at the game. We look at the value proposition, the hours of play you can expect, the complexity, the costs that went into making the game. So there’s a lot of different factors that certainly go into pricing the game and each game goes through its own individual process and analysis. So it’s already factored into the expectations.
So based on that price, there’s always going to be price elasticity. Certainly, you know, if the price is higher, it may impact numbers, and it’s also going to be impacted if the price is lower. But it already goes into the expectations when you’re setting the pricing on what you’re going to sell. Again, as we’ve talked about before, there’s a lot of factors that that impact the price of the game itself, and each case is individual.”
As for why digital games are coming in cheaper than retail ones, that has to do with the current cost of microchips and the added cost of cartridges. Van Zyll breaks down how physical packaging, distribution, and production result in lower margins on physical media, which means Nintendo is able to pass on some of the savings from going digital to customers on the eShop. Noting how physical does give you more options in terms of ownership, he says, “If you want that so you can trade or resell, that’s fine, here it is, we’re offering up that choice.”
Nintendo isn’t abandoning physical media
Lastly, Van Zyll confirms that Nintendo is dedicated to creating physical media for the foreseeable future. With talk of Sony ditching discs entirely and even Microsoft offering a program to convert discs into digital licenses, the fear is that Nintendo may follow suit. “There’s no plans to ditch physical. We know how much the fans like it as well, so our position has been to be agnostic,” Van Zyll states. I suppose that means Nintendo could change its mind, but the company will be producing physical cartridges for the time being.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
