Nintendo boss Doug Bowser has explained the reason behind the controversial Tears of the Kingdom price of $70 in an interview. This increased price tag from the typical $60 for a first-party Nintendo game was revealed in early February when the $70 price was spotted in the Nintendo eShop and then promptly corroborated by other analysts. Since then, fans have been worried that other Nintendo games outside of The Legend of Zelda would cost $70 too.
Tears of the Kingdom price reflects the game’s “deeply immersive experience,” Bowser says
In an interview with the Associated Press, Doug Bowser believes that the new $70 price point for Tears of the Kingdom is justified:
I think fans will find this is an incredibly full, deeply immersive experience. The price point reflects the type of experience that fans can expect when it comes to playing this particular game.
He continues by suggesting that fans are already used to the $70 price tag, saying that “it’s actually a fairly common practice model either [in the US] or in Europe or other parts of the word, where the pricing may vary depending on the game itself.”
Bowser also tries to calm player concerns about other Nintendo games being $70 by stating that it “isn’t a price point that we’ll necessarily have on all our titles.” This response suggests that Nintendo is thinking about raising the price of other first-party games on a selected basis. So far, other games like Pikmin 4 aren’t being priced at $70, so it looks like Nintendo is being true to its word.
