Analyst Says Higher Game Prices Could be The Norm After Switch 2 Reveal

Earlier this week, Nintendo held a Direct that blew the lid open on its next-gen console, the Nintendo Switch 2. Much to everyone’s surprise, this also included yet another price increase for software with Mario Kart World now setting the precedent for games to potentially cost $80 or more. Market analysts say higher game prices will become the norm across the board after the Switch 2 reveal.

Niko Partners have suggested that higher game prices could become standard in the video game industry going forward as other publishers could follow suit and start pricing games at $80 within the next two years. When the current console generation kicked off, most AAA video game prices were already increased from $60 to $70. While there was a considerable amount of backlash, most players had to accept the harsh reality of increased software prices due to a number of factors. It looks like we’ll have to swallow another bitter pill soon.

Niko Partners stated:

“While there has been some sticker shock regarding the price of games increasing from $60 to $70 or $80, these price-points are set to become industry standard over the next two years, especially so for Nintendo first-party games. One reason for the higher price is the increased cost of the new and faster Game Cards themselves, with higher capacities being more expensive to manufacture than a PS5 Blu-ray disc.”

Analysts also previously speculated that GTA 6, which is arguably the most anticipated game release of the generation, might make the first big move to increase its price to as much as $100. However, nobody really anticipated Nintendo to fire the first shot. GTA 6 costing more than the current industry standard $70 is now more likely to happen.

It will be interesting to see if the rest of the AAA gaming industry adopts the new $10 increase in video games. If so, we’re looking at gaming becoming quite a costly hobby in the near future. In South Africa, Mario Kart World (along with a number of ‘Switch 2 editions’ of games) will cost anywhere between R1600 – R1900 with the price bump.

Source: Niko Partners