Leave them alone🤬🤬🤬

[u/Yolo065]

[u/Sprite_Bottle]

$80? I thought you said 2 whole internet doubloons 🏴‍☠️

[u/Springingsprunk → u/Sprite_Bottle]

Nooo you’re supposed to spend money on the games otherwise they won’t make new games 😭

/s

[u/Excellent_Land7666 → u/Springingsprunk]

dangit I need that middle guy from the bell curve meme for this

[u/iamtheduckie → u/Excellent_Land7666]

here

[u/Arxid87 → u/iamtheduckie]

It's too expensive

The company needs money

It's too expensive

[u/Excellent_Land7666 → u/iamtheduckie]

tysm lol

[u/Taswelltoo → u/Springingsprunk]

Noooooo you don't understand they don't have the cash reserves to fairly price anything they'll go out of business uwu

[u/Drudgework → u/Taswelltoo]

Yes, please disregard that the company could stop all sales and still be fully funded for the next fifty years.

[u/Photoshopdoge → u/Sprite_Bottle]

[u/Key-Cry-8570 → u/Photoshopdoge]

[u/LionHeartedLXVI]

[u/Automatic_Tie_3188 → u/LionHeartedLXVI]

Hey look it’s that scene from Meet the Spartans. (I’m not ever gonna watch that movie, I just know this video is referenced in that movie)

[u/froderick → u/Automatic_Tie_3188]

That movie is unironically my guilty pleasure. I know it's hot garbage but for some inexplicable reason I enjoy it.

[u/AceyPuppy → u/froderick]

All those parody movies are hot ass but perfect at the same time. I was dying laughing at The Comebacks a few weeks ago.

[u/Indomitable88 → u/AceyPuppy]

Not Another Teen Movie will always been the GOAT

[u/must_go_faster_88 → u/Automatic_Tie_3188]

Oh that movie was such ass

[u/IDKWTFimDoinBruhFR → u/must_go_faster_88]

Literally the worst movie I've ever seen

[u/Zonnebloemkrans → u/IDKWTFimDoinBruhFR]

And i loved it

[u/butlovingstonTTV → u/LionHeartedLXVI]

Wasn't that guy a bit right in retrospect?

[u/ExplodingCybertruck → u/butlovingstonTTV]

I just recently watched the South Park episode about Britney. Dude was totally right. Society and the music/movie industry loves to chew up and spit out young pretty women.

[u/KaffY- → u/butlovingstonTTV]

"a bit"??????

[u/NewCobbler6933 → u/butlovingstonTTV]

Yes

[u/BDCRA → u/LionHeartedLXVI]

At the time this seemed like the most unhinged thing to ever grace the internet. now its just a normal Tuesday.

[u/Uberpastamancer → u/LionHeartedLXVI]

Lay off, Brittney really did deserve to be left alone

[u/Mughalbadsha12]

leave the billion dollar corporation alone theyre just a small indie team

[u/Lord_Viktoo → u/Mughalbadsha12]

Well, look at how Pokemon looks, and you could be fooled. :P

[u/Fearful-Cow → u/Lord_Viktoo]

small indie teams would at least innovate mechanics over a 30 year period.

[u/corvettee01 → u/Fearful-Cow]

With Palworld they actually did.

[u/our_potatoes → u/corvettee01]

Competition breeds innovation

[u/Sketch13 → u/Fearful-Cow]

to be fair, they have introduced new stuff, the problem is all the new stuff is worse than the old stuff lol. Pixel-era Pokemon was still the best, everything after has been a bit weird and ultra gimmicky.

But it's a game for kids, so what do I know.

[u/Aggressive_Ask89144 → u/Sketch13]

Black and White 2 just feels like literal perfection having a beloved style, story and there is so much content to do. I wish they would make a proper pixel game again, but that's a fever dream.

I'm personally very fond of ORAS though lmao. I played Black first, but it's the main pokemon game I spent several times more than the others at about ~500 hours. I actually loved Scarlet's gaameplay but I only sunk 120~ and that's several times more than the usual of 30 or so like Shield 💀

[u/Spinnie_boi → u/Lord_Viktoo]

Honestly the issue there is that The Pokémon Company sets super hard deadlines for GameFreak to put the games out by (for merch and anime production purposes) and it’s just not enough time to polish the games as well as they did 15+ years ago. At least it seems they’re slowing things down now, they didn’t release a new game or DLC last year for the first time since 2015

[u/MasterChildhood437 → u/Spinnie_boi]

and it’s just not enough time to polish the games as well as they did 15+ years ago.

The games were never polished because GameFreak's dev. team kind of bites. It took Iwata coming in to actually fix the damn things for them to even function.

Nintendo had similar issues in the 80s and early 90s and also relied on HAL's staff--who actually knew what they were doing--to clean up the unworkable software they churned out. GameFreak just never really evolved the way Nintendo's in-house dev teams have.

[u/-Cinnay- → u/Lord_Viktoo]

They are too small for the games they're trying to make and the strict deadlines they've been trying to meet.

[u/Wooden_Echidna1234 → u/Lord_Viktoo]

What you dont like NPCs without shadows and flat buildings with copy pasted windows?

[u/UnpluggedUnfettered → u/Mughalbadsha12]

They barely scraped by in 2024 with $1.5 billion in (net) profits, and people expect them to be able to continue to be able to pay their 7,724 employees without raising the price of their games?

I mean, if Nintendo tried to give every employee (including janitors and customer service) a paltry $175,000 annual salary increase, they'd barely have (net) profitted $200,000,000 last year.

People need to grow up, no business can be expected to survive like that!

[u/Solid_Snark → u/UnpluggedUnfettered]

The saddest part about modern gaming is the developer companies are making huge profits but then they layoff the actual developers that made the game.

God forbid you share the profits with the people most responsible for them. No. We gotta give all that money to the CEO that keeps making bone-headed decisions.

[u/Rock_Strongo → u/Solid_Snark]

Nintendo specifically is pretty famous for doing very few layoffs though. They prioritize long term talent retention way more than most game companies, especially in the west.

You're correct they don't do profit sharing though. And they are still a public company so they do prioritize profits and shareholder benefits in the form of dividends.

[u/Geno0wl → u/Rock_Strongo]

Japan expects loyalty from their employees and shockingly frequently actually shows loyalty back. Their work hour expectations are a nightmare, especially for people who want to have families, but they otherwise do treat their workers a lot better than the US does easily

[u/DetectiveGold4018 → u/Geno0wl]

I mean, in Japan a man can spend practically Zero time with his family and still be considered a good family guy, East Asian societies are kind of like that, even Hindus MENA and Latinos who work ridiculous hours still value spending time with their families in a way that's just alien to Asians

Not even defending how brutal the working hours can get, but it's a completely different culture

[u/kirby_krackle_78 → u/Solid_Snark]

Isn’t Nintendo well known for retaining their staff? I think Iwata took a pay cut so that they didn’t have to do mass layoffs?

(Sorry for interrupting Hate Week. As you were.)

[u/jaxonya → u/kirby_krackle_78]

98% retention rate, but how dare you come in here and disrespect us with facts.

[u/Annual-Jump3158 → u/Solid_Snark]

The saddest part about modern gaming is the developer companies are making huge profits but then they layoff the actual developers that made the game.

"Money people" on one side and creatives and code wizards on the other. People might wonder how games can bring so much joy, but the gaming industry always seems to have something lined up to try and cram down consumers' throats against their will. Let it be a mystery no longer.

[u/Upstairs-Yak-5474]

i have a question do u need to pay the $20 subscription community fee to communicate with people online or find lobbies along with the $80 to get mario kart?

like whats the community fee for its seems like discord but nintendo

[u/Yur1n4M00n → u/Upstairs-Yak-5474]

You need subscription for online games/function but that's with every console. Nintendo has either cheapest or 2nd cheapest (idk xBox prices).

The new function is discord without being bound to discord

[u/Jealous_Answer3147 → u/Yur1n4M00n]

It's the cheapest for a reason, it's generally a terrible service

[u/Ninja0verkill → u/Jealous_Answer3147]

Isn't that because they don't use dedicated servers for multi-player? I think even smash bros uses peer to peer connection that has horrible lag.

[u/stunt876 → u/Ninja0verkill]

Then wth are they charging for? If its a subscription it goes towards the server but if its peer to peer we are paying to maintain the server and access to our own server

[u/cheesetombatta → u/stunt876]

Nothing. It’s a racket. But it’s been the norm since the first Xbox so consumers pay it without question

[u/Vrazel106 → u/Yur1n4M00n]

So you need the sub and to pay for the game itself at 80$ a piece?

[u/dsj762 → u/Vrazel106]

The sub fee for Nintendo is only $20 for a full year. It's still not zero but you also don't need it for a lot of games.

[u/Stargost_ → u/Yur1n4M00n]

"but that's with every console" the Steam Deck doesn't charge you a dime for either online functionality or cloud storage.

[u/Avnesya]

Is there actually "people" unironically defending em at this point?

Legit asking

edit : typo

[u/Apprehensive_Foot139 → u/Avnesya]

I remember when people were out for Palworld's devs' blood when it came out. I remember people rejoicing when nintendo finally filed for a lawsuit. I don't get these people tbh

[u/ImNotSkankHunt42 → u/Apprehensive_Foot139]

Which is stupid because patents don’t belong in games, but fanboys gonna do

[u/BobTheKekomancer → u/Apprehensive_Foot139]

The church of nintendo has THE WORST, most braindead fanboys you could imagine.

[u/LightbringerOG → u/BobTheKekomancer]

Nostalgia is a powerful drug.
Same thing would be Sonic fans, only difference is Sega is not an asshole company, not that I know of.

[u/ExiledFromSpace → u/LightbringerOG]

Sega banished their collective assholes to "work on" Phantasy Star where they can't hurt anyone (except fans of Phantasy Star).

[u/misterfluffykitty → u/ExiledFromSpace]

I’m still mad at sega for new genesis

[u/SenorSnout → u/LightbringerOG]

I'd say Disney fans are a more apt comparison.

[u/HooHooHooAreYou → u/SenorSnout]

or Apple

[u/MightBeTrollingMaybe → u/Apprehensive_Foot139]

AFAIK Palworld shrugged the lawsuit off by just slightly modifying the game mechanics anyway.

Game's still there, perfectly healthy. And by the looks of it its graphics are still gonna be better than the upcoming new Pokémon game anyway.

[u/Petrol1991 → u/Apprehensive_Foot139]

Because fanbois gonna fanboi

[u/LuckyBlockReddit → u/Apprehensive_Foot139]

I don't really care too much about Palworld, but as an artist I don't like that they took designs from Pokémon and changed a few things, then called it a Pal. I'm no fangirl for Pokémon, but I'm not a fan of plagiarism either.

Though the hate isn't justified. I dislike the game, but I wouldn't say I hate it to the extent I want the developers sued. Those people need to grow up.

[u/Findict_52 → u/Avnesya]

Not so much defense, more like "uhh, yeah, things cost money, inflation exists, welcome to the real world", and I can't disagree honestly. People gotta use an inflation calculator on old games.

This meme does have real "too late, I drew you as the soy cuck and myself as the chad!" energy.

[u/Yohnavan → u/Findict_52]

Definitely. The only "defense" I've seen is people reminding others that inflation exists and how many nes and snes games were $90+. 

Hell, there is even a Simpsons clip from 30 years ago where Marge refuses to buy Bonestorm for Bart, citing how new games cost "upwards of ninety dollars"

"You reminded me inflation is real! Stop defending a billion dollar company. Ya'll are so brainwashed and cannot think for yourselves" - Guy who spent hundreds of hours online trying to tell people they were wrong for liking Tears of the Kingdom.

Of course, the solution for this new generation of gamers is to release the game for $30, then make a killing on in game transactions they are stupid enough to make. Then use the money from those transactions to actually finish the buggy game they released 

[u/Thrasy3 → u/Yohnavan]

I assume along with the “There a no good games today” crowd it’s mainly people too young to remember the snes and the days before YouTube(rs) existed.

I only bought a switch last year because was travelling and haven’t had a Nintendo since the N64 - but I was under the impression Nintendo still puts out quality, finished products.

I mean at least I’ve never heard of the Nintendo equivalent of Anthem, Cyberpunk or Concord.

And I’m part of the crowd that only buys games on discount when it’s packaged with DLC and the bugs have been fixed.

[u/RhynoD → u/Thrasy3]

"Today they release half-finished games full of bugs and then spend years patching them to be playable!"

Yeah and 20 years ago they released half-finished games full of bugs and then didn't do shit to fix them. Because without the internet being as pervasive as it is now, they could sell out the game before word got around that it was shitty and not worth buying. Some of the most beloved games from that time are horrendously broken.

Doesn't make it ok for studios to release unfinished garbage today just because they can patch it to playable later. Just saying it was often shitty back then, too. Nintendo charging too much for their games isn't their fault, it's the fault of the political party that's been fighting against unions and raising the minimum wage and has been crashing the economy once a decade at least since I've been alive. Nothing wrong with pointing out to Nintendo that we can't afford these prices, but be mad at the people who are making wages stagnate.

[u/ElmsVidsOff → u/Findict_52]

Anytime who has been a gaming adult for any length of time understands that, overall, gaming is cheaper than the past.

[u/House-of-Raven → u/Findict_52]

Also, comparatively, it’s still one of the cheapest forms of entertainment. You buy a movie ticket and it costs you $25-30 for an hour or two of entertainment. I bought BG3 for $80 and have 400 hours on it (so far) and will very much have more on it. That averages out to 20 cents for an hour of entertainment. Even factoring in a need for a console, $400-500 spread out over thousands of hours ends up being a cheap investment.

I’m not defending Nintendo, they do lots of shady stuff and their controllers are shittily made these days. But the price of games these days isn’t entirely outrageous.

[u/A2Rhombus → u/House-of-Raven]

Yeah I imagine myself breaking 100 hours in Mario Kart, as far as I'm concerned $80 is a steal 🤷

[u/Loud_Interview4681 → u/Findict_52]

They no longer have to make and ship cartridges to distribute them. They just let you download said game. The margins are insanely large. Add in they not longer subsidize consoles and release a new one every few years... yea. also the technology isn't improving that much as we have reached a pretty big limit on screen size etc. No more big innovation to make graphics look perfect- it is just art style now and most of the games reuse what works.

[u/Itkillsmeinside → u/Loud_Interview4681]

The hardware margins are insanely large, but how can you calculate the software costs? Software engineers aint cheap. I’m not defending I’m just understanding that its not free to sell video games. I’m not buying an 80$ game.

80$ likely pays for around an hour of one engineers time, if that

[u/ElmsVidsOff → u/Loud_Interview4681]

"graphics can't get much better" has been a lie for decades

It's certainly not the truth now.

Also... ironic that you mention cartridges, because the Switch 2 games will absolutely be cartridge-based, just like the switch.

Nintendo games might but have to pay for retail space, but they are definitely still being manufactured.

[u/237throw → u/Loud_Interview4681]

Bro do you know what the cost of labor is for a well polished game?

The upfront cost is enormous.

[u/Few-Requirements → u/Loud_Interview4681]

The margins are insanely large.

Pfft, that's a great joke.

Oh, you're serious.

I really want to see what "margin" you are specifically thinking of.

AAA game dev is one of the highest risk industries in the world. Games generate losses constantly. 2023 and 24 saw about 50'000 layoffs across the industry. With 1500 more in 2025.

One of the biggest game publishers in the world is on the brink of shuttering.

So please, be specific. What margins?

Edit: Go figure, the person I responded to mentioned nothing about "margins" and instead claimed "We have better tools, AI and Unreal Engine so games are easy and cheap to make now". What a fucking moron.

[u/theturtlemafiamusic → u/Few-Requirements]

Mario Kart World is absolutely not a high risk release.

Mario Kart 8 made about 3 billion dollars on an estimated 100 million dollar budget.

Following your logic Mario Kart World should cost less than the average game, when it's actually more expensive than a riskier game they're releasing (Donkey Kong Banaza). The most recent Mario Kart (Tour) was also free to play.

[u/NazzerDawk → u/theturtlemafiamusic]

Wouldn't it be sensible to put the higher price on the sure thing than on the game that seems far riskier? People WILL pay for Mario Kart. They won't pay a higher price for a 3D Donkey Kong.

[u/DrDiablo361 → u/theturtlemafiamusic]

The big releases like Mario Kart subsidize other games

[u/Bea-Billionaire → u/Few-Requirements]

You referring to Nintendo, the $80Billion company?

[u/Few-Requirements → u/Bea-Billionaire]

Microsoft and Sony's gaming divisions are among their smallest, and Nintendo's valuation is so low that Microsoft wanted to acquire them before buying Activision.

Which shows you how small the biggest games companies are.

[u/Digitalion_ → u/Loud_Interview4681]

Development costs are higher than ever. With the progression of technology, it takes more time and effort to take advantage of that extra power. This is especially true with Nintendo games who are specifically known for putting a "Nintendo polish" on all of their games. That polish doesn't come cheap. And this is despite their consoles being less powerful than other modern consoles, meaning they have to put additional resources into overcoming technological obstacles.

Now add in inflation and wage increases (in Japan where these games are being developed) into the equation and you start understanding why they need to raise prices on their games.

[u/BLSS_Noob → u/Findict_52]

Back then the market wasn't so large that's why they were more expensive, more consumers menat lower prices. Now they just want to push the boundaries and make more money, idk how people can defend large companies like Nintendo at all.

[u/TheBigness333 → u/BLSS_Noob]

The markets growing is why games haven’t gone up in price for 20 years. That growth is slowing down and the 60$ is no longer sustainable.

Also, it doesn’t matter anyway because if people will pay more for a product, that’s what the product costs.

[u/11711510111411009710 → u/TheBigness333]

Can you show me that the $60 is unsustainable for Nintendo, super giant multi billion dollar corporation?

[u/TheBigness333 → u/11711510111411009710]

No. I explained why the industry is shifting its prices. Just reread my post if you need the information again.

[u/balatro-mann → u/BLSS_Noob]

it's less defending the company and moreso expressing general annoyance at gamers who throw a fit everytime nintendo does a totally expected fuck up.

like there are people genuinely surprised that a console in 2025 is 450 bucks, and i'm not allowed to point fingers at them? nintendo fans are notorious for setting themselves up with horrid expectations and being upset when they're ultimately not met.

[u/Cautious_Trouble6738 → u/Avnesya]

Yes...

[u/pragmaticzach → u/Avnesya]

I just don't really care? It either works out for Nintendo and they were right, or it doesn't. People will either pay the price, or they won't.

There's nothing to defend here, in my eyes. If you don't like the price, don't buy it. If enough people agree, Nintendo will have to react.

[u/milf-hunter_5000 → u/Avnesya]

its not a defense of nintendo for me. its a matter of common sense. inflation has an impact on everything, but gamers seem to think games should only ever cost $60.

it would be a fairer conversation if we knew the actual cost of games translated to a paycheck for the people who deserve it, but we all know the people at the top get richer while they cut costs and people.

but think about it, games should cost about $100. they don't, so you're getting fleeced with dlc and battle passes to try and claw the other $40 at least out of you.

[u/Substantial-Sun-3538 → u/Avnesya]

A lot actually

[u/Longjumping-Crazy564 → u/Avnesya]

I "defend" it because I, as a consumer with a functioning brain, can simply choose not to buy a luxury good if I deem it not worth my money.

Admittedly I only got a B in my high school economics class over 20 years ago, and never want to college, so it's entirely possible I simply don't understand any of this.

[u/labree0 → u/Longjumping-Crazy564]

And we, as consumers, can also complain about the pricing.

[u/McMorgatron1 → u/Longjumping-Crazy564]

Yeah I'm the same.

I can afford it, and it looks fun, so I will buy it.

If it didn't look fun or worth the money, I wouldn't buy it.

Simple.

[u/Metal__goat → u/Avnesya]

I'll criticize them for never putting games on sale, even a decade later! But, It's almost to the penny with (US) inflation.

49.99 AAA game in 2004 comes to $86.

If 80 is too much then don't buy it, wait for a used copy at your local game store.

Not buying stuff is voting with your money, if their sales take a hit, shit will come down.

[u/Tortue2006]

I don’t have a problem with a higher price, although 80 bucks is quite a bit. I have a problem with salaries not going up as well.

[u/Ok_Buffalo_423 → u/Tortue2006]

Oh salaries definitely went up, just not for the people who actually make the games

[u/kingrufiio → u/Ok_Buffalo_423]

He isn't talking about Nintendo salaries.

[u/Ok_Buffalo_423 → u/kingrufiio]

Oh my bad lol I misunderstood his comment

[u/MrWaluigi → u/Ok_Buffalo_423]

Though your comment made me realize something, compared to most AAA game studios, they’re a select few that have little to no articles about them having the, “mass layoffs, biggest profits ever.” I think they have a low turnover rate over at their company. Granted, could be biases that are not letting me see those things but still. 

[u/Ok_Buffalo_423 → u/MrWaluigi]

From what I understand execs at Japanese companies are held accountable a lot more than their American counterparts. Execs will often take a hit to their pay in order to avoid layoffs where most American companies will lay people off to avoid having to pay the execs less.

According to their 2023 financial report the top executives at Nintendo made around 2m$ which is significantly lower than most other gaming companies which probably helps avoid layoffs where

[u/Ppleater → u/Ok_Buffalo_423]

One person profiting while the rest of their colleagues suffer for it would be quite frowned upon in Japan, its culture is largely focused around supporting the collective. It's much more shameful for an executive to take more than what would be considered their due at the expense of those under them. If they got caught for it at least.

[u/Forward_Ad4727 → u/Tortue2006]

$80 is specifically for Mario Kart most of the games are going to be $70. We all knew this was going to happen when PlayStation 5 games went up to $70.

[u/Independent-Dust5122 → u/Tortue2006]

CAUSE NINTENDO IS SUPPRESSING YOUR SALARY!!! GET EM INTERNET!

[u/Merfen → u/Tortue2006]

I find it odd that people think games can just cost $60 forever, this is what we paid in the 90s for games, like at some point they were bound to raise with inflation. Did people expect to still be paying $60 in 2045 too?

[u/LanyardJoe → u/Merfen]

Yeah, tbh I was upset then I thought about this too, when I was like, a wee lad (I'm 21 now) the 360 games were like 60 dollars. We've had a recession and a whole plague outbreak but the price has only went up very recently. I don't think there would be any outrage about the price if wages also went up and people's basic needs were covered for

[u/IAmBLD → u/LanyardJoe]

I just think the outrage is misplaced, like the economy is somehow Nintendo's fault.

Shit, in high school I could get a beefy 5 layer burrito at Taco bell for a buck, that shit costs like 4x as much now but I don't blame Taco Bell specifically for that.

Nintendo's getting a lot of blame here because of console war mentality that doesn't exist for many other markets. Like, there are no Del Taco fanboys to make memes like this about Taco Bell, no Walmart defenders who meme when the price of something at target rises, etc.

[u/PorkedPatriot → u/LanyardJoe]

people's basic needs were covered for

We are talking about videogames hoss. Just don't buy.

[u/TheBigKuhio → u/Merfen]

The cost of most things went up after Covid so I feel like AAA games also going up is not a shocker

[u/Merfen → u/TheBigKuhio]

Exactly, basically everything everyone buys has increased in price except video games, how are people this shocked and outraged when games finally catch up. Sure these companies make a ton of money, but they can't just be expected to take a loss because people want video game prices to stay the same for their entire lives while everything else raises with inflation.

[u/UUtch → u/Tortue2006]

Unless you were already a top earner, they have

https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w31010/w31010.pdf

page 47

[u/Pixel22104 → u/Tortue2006]

Yeah same. I mean like yeah it sucks that it’s going to be $80. But I’ll just learn to live with it. Like I do with most things

[u/Blue_Bird950]

DK costs $70

[u/obeymeorelse → u/Blue_Bird950]

And Mario Kart is $50 with the bundle. I know that's its own problem as it's essentially nintendo telling us to screw physical games but it seems to be a one and done thing as Mario kart has that much demand. I'm not defending the price but I highly doubt it will be a regular price for the generation

[u/hahaxdRS → u/obeymeorelse]

£35 with the bundle in the UK 🤷‍♂️. That's with tax included

[u/-Cinnay- → u/Blue_Bird950]

Yeah, but it's easier to complain while pretending all games will be 80/90 bucks from now on

[u/AdvancedTower401]

Y'all buy games incomplete for 80 dollars because it lets you play 2 days earlier

[u/magikarp2122 → u/AdvancedTower401]

Don’t forget $120 for the special mega edition that lets you play 3 days early, and comes with the day -1 paid DLC game mode that was in the previous iterations’ base game.

[u/AdvancedTower401 → u/magikarp2122]

I'm also absolutely flaming everyone who bought Skyrim on the switch who has already bought it, and definitely flaming the same with cyberpunk. Tho I do need to try it again on PC

[u/magikarp2122 → u/AdvancedTower401]

To be fair, the multiple versions of Skyrim I have bought have all gotten well over 200 hours.

[u/Kenny-KO]

I hate to break it to people, This isn't a Nintendo only problem.

[u/runnytempurabatter → u/Kenny-KO]

Except it is? Haven't paid over 30€ for a single game on steam or PlayStation

[u/xxademasoulxx]

I don't play Nintendo hardware as I game on PC, but I paid more for games in the 90s. Street Fighter 2 was $80, and Pilotwings was $60. Adjusted for inflation, that's like $171.63 and $134.79, respectively. I'm not defending Nintendo, but for me, who's been gaming since the 80s, nothing has changed what has is prices for other shit and just more whiny people who have a voice on the internet.

[u/TheBohoChocobo → u/xxademasoulxx]

Literally what I said in a different group. If games kept up with inflation like everything else for the last 30yrs (thank the gods they haven't!) games should be at least double what we pay now. You damn right I'm going to have some sticker shock, but I'm not going to complain bc a game from any game studio is 80$.

[u/skeletist]

Had a whole conversation with my Nintendo fan roommate and it came down to consumers really emphasizing the content value before they buy. An example is that last Mario kart game came out nigh on like ten years ago and honestly for how popular the game series is it sounds like it’s worth $80 of content if you’re a fan or just a family. He’s not a total die hard fan but nintendo has some of his fave series. I’m trying to make the jump to pc or at least a steam deck so I’m not completely sold either way.

[u/Funeque → u/skeletist]

My metric is that its worth it if I get an hour for each dollar spent, and at $500 for the bundle, and my time spent in MK8D, I fully anticipate getting my money's worth.

[u/Nice_Block]

There’s more drama in this comment section than any of the tariff posts lol

[u/ablueconch → u/Nice_Block]

redditors are poor and socially isolated, surprise surprise

[u/Ok_Buffalo_423]

Just remember these companies made BILLIONS of dollars selling games at 60$, this isnt about keeping the lights on or having enough money to make the next game. This is about siphoning as much money from the consumer as possible

[u/Arachno033 → u/Ok_Buffalo_423]

Yeah, that's what's usually called "business" or "corporate greed". Nobody likes it, but every business motto is "we want your money".

[u/Mr_Isolation → u/Ok_Buffalo_423]

Yeah i am sure they are getting more than by every year. All of their games were 60 bucks and people still buy them like doughnuts + with their internet subscription fees and selling consoles i don't think Nintendo is gonna start begging at any pont.

All the shit about employees needing pay and inflation and tariffs doing stuff its all the most braindead excuse i can hear.

They could have been doing 60 bucks for like 10 more years without any issue but i guess can't expect any company to be humble.

[u/Ok_Buffalo_423 → u/Mr_Isolation]

They have infact seen record growth in the last 5 years so they absolutely could get away with charging 60$ and still see massive profits. Inflation is just an excuse companies use to act like prices are totally out of their hands, like they (not Nintendo specifically) arent the driving force for inflation

[u/CaptainCarrot7 → u/Ok_Buffalo_423]

This is about siphoning as much money from the consumer as possible

I mean yea, that always was the only goal for literally every company.

[u/Ok_Buffalo_423 → u/CaptainCarrot7]

Im not saying it isnt, my comment was directed at the people acting like Nintendo needs to raise prices in order to stay alive. So many people online act like Nintendo isnt also a greedy company just like the rest of them

[u/Rickpac72 → u/Ok_Buffalo_423]

Yeah that’s how things work. If you have something people want to buy, you want to sell it for as much as people are willing to pay without pushing too many people away. If you are selling your house, you would take the highest offer even if you still come out ahead with a lower offer.

[u/kittenTakeover]

I remember somewhere around 2000 good games cost $40-50. In today's dollars that's $75-95.

[u/Extermination-_ → u/kittenTakeover]

Ocarina of Time was $60 in '98. Today that's about $118. I think we should count ourselves lucky that we had 30 years of games not going up in price alongside inflation.

[u/uCodeSherpa → u/Extermination-_]

Gaming found different ways to extract dollars rather than raising prices. On top of that, those were big years for growth. 

These days, gaming is not exceptionally growing like it was, and new methods to extract more money are not really happening. So we get price increases instead. 

This is the way of investors demanding year over year growth. If you cannot get it another way, it comes as a major price increase. 

[u/only-won → u/kittenTakeover]

Mario Kart 64 was $60 in 1996. That's $121 in today's dollars.

[u/kinlopunim]

Why is every other game $70? Why is mcdonalds $15 a burger now? Why did you skip economics class?

[u/BlueGlace_]

The new Donkey Kong costs $70 tho? Like the same price as a modern CoD game, it’s just Mario Kart that is $80

[u/mennydrives]

There's no defending it but DK is $70 and Nintendo clearly wants everyone to give them $50 for Mario Kart at launch via the bundle option.

All of their $80 software options have some kind of workaround like that. All the $80 "Switch 2 Edition" games purchased as the cheaper Switch 1 version come with "free" upgrades if you subscribe to the "Expansion Pak" online service.

[u/cinderbrewmeadery]

It's amazing. 30 years ago some Super NES games were $80. After THIRTY years prices haven't gone above that.

[u/twitchy-y → u/cinderbrewmeadery]

Completely agreed. I remember +-60 euros being the baseline from when I was a little kid about 20 years ago. I truly don't understand what all the fuss is about but I guess that statement makes me team "leave billion dollar company alone"...

[u/Jazzlike-Lunch5390]

[u/Constant-Parsley3609]

If that's too much then don't buy the games.

I don't see how this is becoming such a big issue. Nobody needs to defend Nintendo, because they haven't done anything wrong.

This isn't some sort of mandatory video game tax. You can just buy games from someone else. Steam is flooded with so many amazing £10/£20 games that it's impossible to play them all. If mario kart is too expensive, then there are other games to buy and play.

[u/CaptainRogers1226 → u/Constant-Parsley3609]

Mind you, half the people crying about these prices are going to spend $15+ on a single character cosmetic change in the next week or so.

[u/MBCnerdcore → u/CaptainRogers1226]

And they will complain about forcing people to buy digital games being anti-consumer when Nintendo does it, while also shilling the Steam Deck.

[u/Minute_Road8813 → u/Constant-Parsley3609]

Exactly, this isn't an ethical issue. Nobody is "defending" them. Some people are saying that they can't afford this system, others are saying that they do.

It's not like Nintendo is abusing its employees or anything (at least as far as we know).

[u/Arnorien16S]

People can sell anything for any amount they want, I will only buy at amounts I feel is worth it. I don't really see the point of pissing and shitting myself over Nintendo game prices like how I don't piss and shit myself over 600 USD LV key chains.

[u/drunkbusdriver → u/Arnorien16S]

Well maybe that’s because you’re a normal adjusted person who hasn’t made the a handheld gaming system 80% of their identity.

[u/Arnorien16S → u/drunkbusdriver]

I don't think the people who made it their identity are complaining about the price.

[u/Kqtawes]

The price in America makes sense because of inflation and Trump's dumbass tariffs.

Europe is getting fucked though.

[u/Zyrian150]

The thing I find interesting is the argument "wages haven't increased". Like, isn't that between you and your boss? What does Nintendo have to do with your wages?

[u/nifterific → u/Zyrian150]

It’s also one of the reasons game development is more expensive. Wages increased.

[u/TheTalley]

Already tired of hearing about this. You don’t have to buy the game or the console. I would guess most people complaining weren’t going to either way.

[u/TomaszA3]

Yeah we know can you stop posting about it? I've only seen this image 15 times today.

[u/SecondBottomQuark]

Did you know you can emulate Nintendo games on a PC or Steam Deck and download cracked copies?

[u/IMN0VIRGIN → u/SecondBottomQuark]

Oh my god, how could you suggest people to do that?!

Please don't tell me what sites I can use to do that! That would really piss me off!

[u/IMN0VIRGIN → u/[deleted]]

Shut up, man! I'm trying to DMCA the next slightly relatable pokemon game.

[u/Remnant_Echo → u/IMN0VIRGIN]

Make sure to patent an obscure action after you see it used in a game reveal of the game at a GameFest so you can claim you technically had a patent before the game was released.

[u/fly_over_32 → u/SecondBottomQuark]

I would never. Please tell me how one would do that, so I don’t do it by accident

[u/GlitteringStatus1 → u/SecondBottomQuark]

Or, hear me out: You can not buy and not play their games. You can support other publishers who align better with your values, and lift them up instead.

[u/mad_grapes → u/GlitteringStatus1]

No no, you’re making too much sense here

[u/Edmundyoulittle → u/SecondBottomQuark]

Not realistic to emulate a switch 2 game on steam deck. You'll need to wait for steam deck 2 for that

[u/Paetolus → u/Edmundyoulittle]

Also might not be realistic for anything to emulate it. At least for a couple years. Depends on how well Nintendo locked it down.

[u/Probably_BBQ]

One my friend is a fan of Nintendo. His reaction was "Why am I even watching Nintendo Direct, if I would not be able to buy it anyway?"

[u/anweisz]

Dude no one hates nintendo more than the fans. The moment the prices were announced everyone did a 180 towards an otherwise good direct and started complaining.

[u/A_random_poster04]

The joycon blades do look sick tho

[u/Imaginated_Gamer]

Only Mario Kart is $80 USD. Pretty sure the new Donkey Kong game is $70 USD.

That being said…I can’t tell if the high price is because of inflation and all the tariffs on foreign goods or it’s just Nintendo being greedy (probably the latter, but then again, when is a company NOT greedy?) whatever it is, it’s gonna be a blow towards the casual gamer market they predominantly have.

[u/kaminari1]

PlayStation, Xbox, and PC fans when they rose the price from $60 to $70 a few years ago.

[u/TheMoonOfTermina]

Not defending the pricing at all, but Donkey Kong is $70, only Mario Kart is $80 at the moment. Be outraged responsibly, please don't spread misinformation.

[u/Mythosaurus]

None of the Nintendo fans I know are defending this.

Everyone is instead talking about why and how video game are priced the way they are, and instead the companies are using DLC, battlepasses, and loot boxes to make the rest of that money.

[u/mikedvb]

When you don't understand inflation and the fact that you're not going to buy things today for the same price you paid years ago.

Blaming Nintendo is silly, but easy to do.

[u/Sharkaw → u/mikedvb]

Back then there were no microtransactions or dozens DLCs for every game. The sales were also much smaller. Gaming companies make more money now than ever.

Defending huge companies acting against your own interests is so unbelievably dumb.

[u/Creepy_Night4333]

I’ve never seen a customer base be so dedicated to a company that fucking hates them.

[u/733t_sec]

Idk about Nintendo either way but this seems to be a long overdue adjustment in the gaming industry after prices were kept at $50 dollars for so long.

Using https://www.usinflationcalculator.com

$50 in 1990 is $122.07 in 2025

$50 in 1999 is $95.76 in 2025

[u/Impossible_Twist_647]

Thought donkey Kong was 69 if I recall?

[u/BlueGlace_ → u/Impossible_Twist_647]

Yeah DK is $70

[u/tormentedpersonality]

Probably the same guys that complained to Nintendo about pal world. People are weird.

[u/FlamingPhoenix2003]

I felt my head falling off because what the fuck? Even though TotK was 70 bucks, it still felt like too much, and now the price is going up?! I hate this shit…

[u/crestpetal]

80! when people told me it was gonna be expensive I thought it was still gonna be like 65 but 80! yeah nooooo

[u/The_Dogelord]

I'm a Nintendo fan, but Jesus Christ that's expensive. I usually defend Nintendo, but the shit they're trying to pull is a fucking scam.

[u/Negative-Shoe2875]

I hate getting grouped in with these guys... Because I can't justify it

[u/hereforfun976]

And they never go on sale. I was excited but honestly don't need it

[u/SharkInSunglasses]

I’m not defending Nintendo, I’m defending the fact that I can buy whatever I want with my money.

[u/Right_Atmosphere3552]

gotta pay for those palworld lawsuits somehow

[u/Lamprophonia]

They're going to pay for it no matter what the price is because they can't differentiate between a hobby and an identity.

[u/CaptinHavoc]

I’m not gonna say that Nintendo is right for this, but after 17 years of inflation 80 dollars honestly not the worst. Had they kept up with inflation it would be 115 dollars.

Still not saying that it’s a good price point, just saying that an 80 dollar game isn’t the worst think Nintendo has ever done

[u/Lenore_Sunny_Day]

From one loyal nintendo fan to others, they are making a terrible mistake.

[u/midnightmeatmaster]

Tariffs are placed on Japan, Taiwan, China and other manufacturing countries and something made there gets more expensive. Nintendo is so greedy! 😂

[u/frozen_toesocks]

Y'all, games have stayed at $60 in the time inflation has cut the buying power of $60 in HALF. This isn't a "leave the billion dollar corporation" alone thing, this is a "literally everything costs more than they did 25 years ago" thing

[u/Unable-Head-1232]

Is $80 supposed to be a lot? In today’s currency that’s just a burger meal for 4.

[u/Another_Road]

I get the knee jerk reaction to saying it’s bootlicking, but inflation has increased significantly since games were $60. Enough to where $60 back then was worth more than $80 is now.

[u/New_Physics_7855]

Amazing how a lot of the comments here reflect this image.

[u/Stratostheory]

The honest answer is $80 for a game isn't that outrageous when you consider they've been priced at $60 for almost 20 years now and haven't kept up with inflation.

The problem I have with it is NINTENDO charging $80 for a game. They honestly haven't innovated enough or modernized their hardware enough to justify the price.

They're charging $450 for a console and $80 for games that would have been the baseline quality last generation at best.

ESPECIALLY when their biggest direct competitor in the handheld market is the Steamdeck

But Nintendo is the Apple of the gaming industry, they don't HAVE to innovate, because people are going to keep buying their shit no matter how bad it is.

[u/bip_bip_hooray]

ask ANY GAMER you know - anyone at all - if they'd rather have $60 games with increasingly pervasive and absurd microtransactions, or whether they'd rather just pay $80 for the game. then you'll have your answer.

[u/Sharkaw → u/bip_bip_hooray]

In reality we will have $80 games with increasingly pervasive and absurd microtransactions.

[u/Kira887]

ok, i’m not defending $80 price tags, but i feel like i should say that i’m pretty sure Donkey Kong isn’t $80