April 13th 2025.
Could Mario Kart World be at risk of being seen as a cheap game? It seems that the video game industry is heading towards a major price increase across all platforms and the Nintendo Switch 2 is only the beginning. This week, there has been a lot of discussion and debate surrounding the high prices of Nintendo Switch 2 games, and I completely understand the frustration. Paying £75 for a physical copy of any game is an exorbitant amount, even if it is technically a good value compared to other forms of entertainment such as going to the movies.
The issue here is that while it may be a good value in theory, it is still a significant amount of money that most people would think twice about spending, especially with all the current financial uncertainty in the news. What worries me is the suggestion from GC and others that this could be a glimpse into our future, where all games will cost at least £75. Instead of Nintendo being the most expensive, they may be leapfrogged by other publishers, leaving them as the cheapest option.
I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of a new gaming generation where £75 is considered a "cheap" price or even the norm. Some triple-A games are already priced at £70, and this week we saw The Last Of Us collector's edition listed at a staggering £100. Who knows what the price of GTA 6 will end up being. It's clear that the cost of making games has increased, and this has been known for years. But what is the publishers' solution? To decrease budgets? To make shorter games? To explore free-to-play options for single-player games? No, they are simply increasing the price and making it our problem.
This is a short-sighted and unimaginative response to a complex problem, and it was almost guaranteed that this would be their reaction. I'm not saying it's an easy issue to solve, as we all want our games to have stunning graphics and plenty of content. But a wise publisher would also consider the negative consequences of this, where games take longer to make and the only way to recoup costs is by charging exorbitant prices.
Even the highly anticipated GTA 6 will likely be priced at more than £70. This will lead to several problems, including pushing people towards free-to-play games, which these companies were trying to avoid. If given the choice between a £75+ game and a completely free one that everyone is playing, the average casual gamer won't think twice.
Additionally, only a small number of games can justify such a high price. First-party Sony games and titles like Assassin's Creed: Shadows are one thing, but who will spend £75 on a game that received good but not great reviews or that they're not sure they'll enjoy? This will lead to a two-tiered video game industry, where triple-A games in a limited number of franchises and genres cost £75+, while indie games are priced at a maximum of £20.
Perhaps this isn't the worst outcome, but it means that many fantastic games will be out of reach for a lot of people. It's a shame that subscription services didn't take off, but I don't see any other solutions to this problem. Games will continue to become more expensive, and the number of people who can afford to purchase them regularly will decrease.
By reader Taylor Moon
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