Last week, Nintendo dropped a bombshell that gamers weren’t expecting: it became the first gaming company to officially pull the trigger on $80 games. Most of this generation, we’ve had to get used to games already increasing from $60 to $70 but now, we have an extra $10 to digest on top of that. Mario Kart World, which launches alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 this June, will be the first game to cost $80, though Nintendo insists that the game is totally worth that steep asking price.
According to IGN, Nintendo insists that Mario Kart World is worth $80. This will be the first entry in the series to take the franchise open-world, allowing racers to veer off-course and explore a pretty big sandbox with friends. Nintendo has yet to provide a deep dive into what open-world activities we can expect to come across while exploring, though Nintendo believes it justifies the $80 price tag.
In addition to the open-world, Mario Kart World will also reportedly feature 84 characters – the largest roster seen in a Mario Kart video game yet. This also includes dozens of courses, cosmetics, and variants of characters to unlock, suggesting that it will be packed to the brim with content. However, fans are still left wondering if the experience will truly be worth $80 considering past games like Baldur’s Gate 3 or Elden Ring cost less but also definitely didn’t short-change players on a worthy amount of good content.
In other news, Nintendo is gearing up to launch the Switch 2 on 5 June for $449. The standard console will cost R12,499 in South Africa with the Mario Kart World bundle costing R13,499 (this only including a digital download for the game). However, if you want a physical copy of Mario Kart World at its full $80 price, be prepared to pay up R1999. Donkey Kong Bananza, which settled on a $70 price, will also cost a pretty penny locally at R1799. Read more on our full South African pricing and pre-order guide here.
Source: IGN
