Why does The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom cost $70? Because this price increase “reflects the kind of experience fans can expect,” according to Nintendo of America boss Doug Bowser.
Bowser discussed The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom price in a recent interview with AP (opens in a new tab). When asked how Nintendo reached the $70 figure, a first for Nintendo games, Bowser explained, “We looked at what the game has to offer. I think fans will find it a incredibly comprehensive and deeply immersive experience. The price reflects the kind of experience fans can expect when it comes to playing this particular game.” In fact, Tears of the Kingdom certainly looks pretty big, and it has the record file size (for Switch games anyway) to match.
Reiterating the company’s position that $70 won’t become the norm for all new first-party Switch games, Bowser added that “it’s not a price we’ll necessarily have on all of our titles. It’s actually a Fairly common pricing model here or in Europe or other parts of the world, where the price can vary depending on the game itself.
Regional conversions aside, $70 games have become more common in the years since the release of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, just as game development has become more expensive. The enduring Switch still straddles several console generations, and Bowser says the system will also perform “very well for years to come,” but even Nintendo is now raising prices on some of its biggest games.
Anyway, the second The $70 Switch game may be more informative on how Nintendo plans to handle pricing going forward, as Zelda has always been a hugely successful system seller for the Switch. Even as a cross-gen title also available on Wii U, Breath of the Wild was key to Switch’s explosive launch, so Nintendo is undoubtedly expecting big things from the sequel.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Metroid Prime 4, which recently went through four years of developmentIt ends up costing $70 I will say.