Nintendo says Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s $70 price isn’t the trend going forwards
The company says it will price games on a “case-by-case basis”
Nintendo has stated that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom‘s $69.99 price point won’t be the standard for all first-party Switch games going forward.
It was confirmed yesterday that Tears of the Kingdom will cost $10 more than Nintendo typically charges for its Switch titles.
However, in a statement to Game Informer Nintendo claimed this isn’t the beginning of a new permanent price increase for its games.
When asked for its reasoning behind the price and if $70 was the trend for Nintendo titles going forward, a spokesperson replied: “We determine the suggested retail price for any Nintendo product on a case-by-case basis.”
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom guides:
Master Sword location | How to increase inventory space | How to increase hearts and stamina | How to get warm clothes | Wingsuit location | Hylian Shield location | Duplication glitch
Nintendo confirmed the $69.99 price for Tears of the Kingdom shortly after its Nintendo Direct presentation on Wednesday.
The decision marks the first time Nintendo has charged more than $59.99 for a standard edition of a digital Switch game.
Sony began charging $70 for first-party games when PS5 launched in 2020, while Microsoft started charging $70 for first-party Xbox Series X/S games this year.
Numerous retailers have changed their pre-order prices to match Nintendo’s new pricing. It’s not yet clear whether they will honour existing $59.99 pre-orders, though Amazon tends to honour the lowest price a product reaches during its pre-order period.
Further reading
Gallery: Nintendo releases 27 new Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom screenshots
Earlier this week Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa told investors that the company had “done our best to maintain both the value and price of hardware and software within our long term business strategy”, and that it does “not believe that any changes to this policy are necessary at this stage”.
Nintendo published its latest financial results on Tuesday, in which it said fluctuations in foreign exchange markets had contributed to a decline in sales and profits, despite strong sales of Switch games and hardware.
