The former boss of Sony Interactive Entertainment America has commented on the backlash to Nintendo’s Switch 2 pricing, saying the desire for exclusive Nintendo games “mitigates the sticker shock.”
Last week, Nintendo confirmed the Switch 2 price at $449.99, which is around $50 more than some analysts had predicted, and, more controversially, the $10 jump to $79.99 for some Switch 2 games, including Mario Kart World.
It’s worth pointing out that Nintendo is bundling Mario Kart World with a Nintendo Switch 2 for $499.99, cutting the cost of the game by a huge $30 in the process. However, Nintendo has indicated this bundle is a limited-time offer, and it remains to be seen if the bundle holds at $500, given the uncertainty surrounding the tariff situation and Nintendo’s pre-order delay in the U.S.
But Mario Kart World isn’t the only Nintendo Switch 2 game to cost $80 — some of the Switch 2 Edition games announced during the Nintendo Direct also cost $79.99, such as Kirby and The Forgotten Land - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star Crossed World, Super Mario Party Jamboree - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.
IGN has plenty of reaction to Nintendo’s jump to $80 for the Switch 2 generation, including from analysts who have helped us understand why this has happened. Now, Shawn Layden, who used to run PlayStation in the U.S., has offered his thoughts, pointing to the fear of missing out on Nintendo exclusives as justifying price hikes.
Speaking on the PlayerDriven YouTube channel and podcast, Layden highlighted the contrasting strategies of Sony and Microsoft, and Nintendo, where Sony and Microsoft are downplaying exclusive games as they move to PC and rival consoles, but Nintendo is keeping its games on its own consoles.
"But right here you see, ‘wow, that’s kind of a hefty price hike from Switch 1 to Switch 2 and, wow, 80 bucks for a game?’ " Layden said.
"But if it’s the only place where you can play Mario, then you get your wallet out and you buy into it... and Donkey Kong and Zelda. That first-party exclusivity kind of mitigates the sticker shock, if you will, of these price hikes, because you want that content so bad."
Nintendo Switch 2 pricing in the U.S.:
- Nintendo Switch 2 by itself: $449.99
- Nintendo Switch 2 with Mario Kart World bundled in: $499.99
- Mario Kart World by itself: $79.99
- Donkey Kong Bananza: $69.99
- Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller: $79.99
- Nintendo Switch 2 Camera: $49.99
- Joy-Con 2 Controller pair: $89.99
- Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip: $34.99
- Joy-Con 2 Strap: $12.99
- Joy-Con 2 Wheel pair: $19.99
- Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Set: $109.99
- Nintendo Switch 2 Carrying Case and Screen Protector: $34.99
- Nintendo Switch 2 All-In-One Carrying Case: $79.99
- Nintendo Switch 2 AC Adapter: $29.99
Layden also talked about the price of video games generally, which, he insisted, have actually gone down over the years when you take into account inflation. Layden said console manufacturers should have hiked the price of games by $5 with each new console generation so that they would cost around $90 now.
"In 2025 dollars, $59.99 in 1999 is equivalent to $100. Your purchasing power compared to your cost of living, it's much smaller now than it was before, but still companies have been reluctant to push that price up.
"I was in it at the time — probably every generation they should have baked in a $5 software price hike, and make that the typical, 'well every generation it's another five bucks.' And you would have been up to $90 already by now."
This week, IGN published its interview with Nintendo of America's Vice President of Product and Player Experience, Bill Trinen, conducted at a recent Switch 2 preview event in New York, but before Nintendo announced the delay to pre-orders due to Trump’s tariffs.
In the interview, Trinen insisted Mario Kart World justifies its $80 price tag, and pointed to the upcoming dedicated Mario Kart World Nintendo Direct where fans will learn more about the game and what it has to offer.
“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?” Trinen 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.”
We also asked Trinen about the $80 cost of some of the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games. While there is a $10 upgrade path for existing owners of these games on the Switch, and both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition ($69.99) and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition ($79.99) are available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, Nintendo is not offering any sort of discount to newcomers on Switch 2.
Trinen’s answer here echoed his Mario Kart World response, pointing to the value Nintendo sees in its games.
“Well, again, what I would say is that we just look at each individual game and we look at the content and the value of that game, and then we say, 'what is the right price for the value of this entertainment?' " he said.
“What I would probably counter to some of that is that really what you're looking at is for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, that's the physical price for somebody that has not bought the base game. For somebody who has bought Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild, the upgrade packs for those are $9.99. And if you happen to be a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack member, both of the Zelda upgrade packs are inclusive within that membership. So there's no additional charge for those.
“But I think overall, our general approach is really just focus on what's the content, what's the value, and what's an appropriate price based on that.”
As for the current $450 price tag of the Switch 2 itself, Trinen again pointed to value, but also highlighted the increasing costs associated with releasing a video game console.
“Obviously the cost of everything goes up over time, and I personally would love if the cost of things didn't go up over time,” he told IGN.
“But I think any time you're building a new system that's got new features and new tech, there's costs associated with that. So again, we look at what is the experience on Nintendo Switch? What's the experience on Nintendo Switch 2? What are the new features that it offers? And certainly there's the cost of goods and things that factor into that, but we try to find the right appropriate price for a product based on that.”
As IGN has reported, some Nintendo fans have expressed concern that they may be priced out of the next-generation if the company goes even higher than the already controversial prices for the Switch 2 and its games such as Mario Kart World due to the tariff situation.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
