It has been confirmed that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will cost $70. Following the latest Nintendo Direct live stream on Wednesday, the company confirmed that the Switch title will have a higher price tag.
In addition to the standard version, which will be available at the recommended retail price of €69.99, a Collector’s Edition will be released at the recommended retail price of €129.99, including a physical version of the game, an artbook with concept art, a Steelbook Box , a poster and a set of four pins.
This is the first time Nintendo has charged more than $59.99 for a standard edition of a Switch digital game. Rival consoles PlayStation and Xbox have raised all of their first-party game prices to $70 over the past two years.
It’s not yet clear if stores will stick with the $59.99 preorder price, though Amazon generally honors the lowest price a product hits during its preorder period.
Earlier this week, Nintendo’s chairman told investors that the company had “does everything possible to maintain both the value and the price of hardware and software in our long-term business strategy”and “He does not believe a change to this policy is necessary at this time.”
Nintendo released its latest financial results on Tuesday, in which it says fluctuations in currency markets contributed to lower sales and profits, despite strong sales of Switch games and hardware.
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa reportedly said during an earnings briefing that the company does not plan to raise software or game console prices in response to market conditions in Japan, but will consider doing so. if the circumstances required it.