Author: Game Infliction

Nintendo said that it will evaluate the $70 price tag for its games on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, the company clarified that the $70 price for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will not set a precedent for every Nintendo title.

In a statement to Game Informer, Nintendo explained the reasoning behind the higher price for its most anticipated game of 2023 so far. “We determine the suggested retail price for any Nintendo product on a case-by-case basis.”

When asked whether the $70 price tag will be the trend for first-party games going forward, Nintendo reiterated, “No. We determine the suggested retail price for any Nintendo product on a case-by-case basis.”

During the February 2023 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo showed off a brand new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. When preorders for the game appeared shortly after, the updated price tag of $70 was revealed. It also has the highest file size at of any first-party Nintendo game, sitting at 18.2 GB. Hopefully, this means that the amount of content in the game justifies the higher price.

Nintendo is the latest company to join others such as Sony, Ubisoft, and Electronic Arts to charge $70 for its newest games. However, it seems like Nintendo is staying true to its case-by-case philosophy for now, as the upcoming Pikmin 4 and Bayonetta Origins: Cereza And The Lost Demon games are still $60.

Nintendo also revealed that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is receiving a new Link amiibo as well as a $130 Collector’s Edition.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.

When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey

Nintendo has admitted that Switch sales are unlikely to grow at the same pace going forward as the console prepares to enter its seventh year on the market.

Following its financial results being released earlier in February, Nintendo shared the English version of its investors Q&A session which revealed that the Switch’s best selling year might be behind us.

“Nintendo Switch is coming up on its seventh year of sales in March, and we see this as uncharted territory in the history of our dedicated video game platforms,” said Nintendo director and president Shuntaro Furukawa. “Under these circumstances it is hard to imagine that hardware sales will continue to grow at the same pace they have to date.

“Nintendo is still hopeful that sales could increase, however, through the launch of new games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom or from customers buying a second console.

“There are titles under development for Nintendo Switch, and new titles will continue to be proposed going forward,” Furukawa said.

“We are seeing both new demand and multiple system demand for the hardware, so we think there is still room for growth in sales. To that end, we want to maintain a high level of engagement with the hardware and create new demand not only by releasing new titles but also by working further to convey the appeal of existing titles.”

No console since the original NES, which launched in Japan in 1983 and wasn’t surpassed until the SNES launched in 1990, had been on the market for seven years. Nintendo hardware usually remains the company’s premiere option for five or six years.

The console is certainly performing well for Nintendo, however, as it’s now surpassed 122 million units sold and become the third best selling console of all time. As Nintendo noted, the upcoming launch of Tears of the Kingdom will also likely cause a spike in sales, even despite the $10 price increase.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.