Nintendo is reportedly price-hiking its new video game release starting with the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The company is set to host a Nintendo Direct tomorrow morning at 00:00 where it will showcase new games and updates on existing titles. The Nintendo Direct will likely include the announcement of a pricier entry point for Switch games going forward.
The news comes from multiple retailers who have unexpectedly removed pre-orders for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom from their storefronts. Amazon has taken down pre-orders for the game after listing it for $69,99. Both GameStop and Best Buy in the United States have also halted pre-orders for the upcoming title.
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Nintendo’s store listing is likely the most obvious indication of a price hike. The company accidently listed the price as $69,99 before removing it from the store. After that pricing went up, gamers decided to cancel pre-orders on the Nintendo Store and place them on Amazon, GameStop and Best Buy. However, soon after Nintendo noticed this, these stores also removed the game listing.
At the moment Nintendo has yet to confirm the new $70 price tag for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It seems like it will happen later today. Nintendo isn’t the first company to increase the price of its games. Both Sony and Microsoft now release first-party games at a higher price point for PS5 and Xbox.
Not to mention publishers have followed the same process too. Ubisoft, Activision, EA Games and 2K Games all sell titles at $70. Sadly, this is making gaming unaffordable for the masses. Here in South Africa, we were hit with the most expensive retail release to date. Diablo IV costs an eye-watering R1700 for a standard edition.
We will update you on this story once Nintendo confirms the inevitable.
Source: Twitter