Update: Nintendo Says $70 Game Price Will Not Be A Trend Going Forward
Posted on February 08 2023 by Rod Lloyd
Update: Today’s Nintendo Direct event confirmed a $69.99 USD price tag for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
However, responding to inquiries by Game Informer, Nintendo confirmed that the new Zelda title’s price does not indicate an ongoing trend for the company. Instead, the company will “determine the suggested retail price for any Nintendo product on a case-by-case basis.”
While this confirmation should set our minds at ease a bit, the increased price for Tears of the Kingdom does set a precedent for Nintendo’s biggest releases. I would not be surprised to see a lot more $69.99 USD price tags moving forward.
Original: Mere hours before what is expected to be an exciting Nintendo Direct, eagle-eyed fans discovered something noteworthy on Nintendo’s online storefront. The official listing for the digital version of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom briefly showed the game’s price as $69.99 USD, before the listing was changed to remove the price entirely. Nintendo’s Canadian site meanwhile listed the game for $89.99 CAD, before that listing too was changed to remove the price.
Following news of the listing’s discovery, various online storefronts like GameStop, Best Buy, and Amazon have temporally removed their listings for Tears of the Kingdom.
Many have expressed concern that the listing gave away plans by Nintendo to start charging more than the standard $59.99 USD for new first-party games. Of course, we won’t know anything for sure until we get official word from Nintendo. Perhaps the game’s price will be a subject of today’s Nintendo Direct event.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is currently scheduled to release on May 12th, 2023 for Nintendo Switch.
What do you make of these rapid-fire changes to Tears of the Kingdom‘s online listing? Do you think it gives away a price increase by Nintendo? Would you spend $70 USD for the game? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Nintendo Life, Joey Ferris, Lbabinz
Rod Lloyd is the Editor-In-Chief at Zelda Dungeon, overseeing the news and feature content for the site. Rod is considered the veteran of the writing team, having started writing for Zelda Informer in 2014 as a Junior Editor. After ZD and ZI officially merged in 2017, he stepped into the Managing Editor role and has helped steer the ship ever since. He stepped up to lead the writing team as Editor-In-Chief in 2023.
You can reach Rod at: rod.lloyd@zeldadungeon.net
