‘If it’s the only place to play Mario, you buy it’: Former PlayStation boss reacts to $80 Nintendo games

I guess I don't play Mario then. It's a pretty simple concept.

Except it's totally not. Maybe the only 100% legal in every single country way, but not the only way by half. Fuck Nintendo. Fuck $80+ for a game. And fuck the switch 2.

If Mario is 100x more expensive than it needs to be, and there are millions of games that are just as good for a dime, you don't buy Mario.

No offence to folks who like Mario games, but I don't personally feel good playing them. They have a working class protagonist who works to maintain monarchic status quo (fighting evil kingdom to defend another kingdom). Also the games encourage violence toward turtles. Not cool in my books.

Anyway, jokes aside, I'm not getting a Switch 2 anytime soon, will probably get a Steam Deck before that.

And he’s right. Switch 2 and its $80 games will not only sell like hot cakes, it will set the standard for AAA publishers going forward. I fully expect to see $100 base games as standard before the end of the next generational cycle, and they’ll still have microtransactions and endless special editions.

Sounds like someone thinks there is only one choice, buy or don't.

🏴‍☠️Harhar! 🏴‍☠️

Yeah, no. It is not the only place to play Mario. There’s emulation and Piracy. I’m quite certain skilled people will try to hack the Switch 2 and sooner or later there will be a Switch 2 emulation (although might take a while). €80-90 euro for one single game is nuts.

The only reason I would purchase a Switch 2 is when it is capable of being hacked.

uh I fuckin wish I could play mario 64, sunshine, or galaxy on my current generation switch

You can play Mario on old dumb phones using J2ME emulators.

nope. they might be counting dumptruckloads of cash, but $0.00 of it will have come from me

Your friendly reminder that Half Life was $49 in 1998, which is roughly $100 today.

You think so huh? ~pulls on frock coat~

Is that right? ~puts on tricorn hat~

I don't think Ralph agrees. ~"You're goddamn right I don't! - Ralph the Parrot"~

I’m not schocked by a game costing around 80$ as that’s already what a new game costs in my country.

I remember buying Final Fantasy 8 almost 30 years ago for above 90$ as a teenager.

I also kind of remember that NES and Super NES games were really expensive.

I’m not saying that I want the price of games to increase though and I think it’s weird that Nintendo is doing this when their games clearly aren’t the most expensive ones to create.

I know I won’t be buying a Switch 2and I think people should vote with their wallets.

No thanks. I'll keep playing my old games.

You see, when a good or service is priced too high, it fails to sell. Economics, bitch!

For everyone chiming in with piracy (which I support): Layden is more calling Nintendo fans "junkies" than advocating for 80$ prices. His message (even in the face of Ryan's LSG push) has always been "first party exclusivity sells consoles".

But... it's not the only place to play mario....

When I bought the switch I called it my $500 zelda machine.

I also have factorio now.

If a new mario, zelda, or factorio is available on switch 2, I'll buy one.

If I have to pay $80 for Kirby Air Ride 2, I will pay $80 for Kirby Air Ride 2. I have waited 22 years for this game, there's never been anything else like it.

Give it 3 months after launch and there will be an emulator that won't be able to play games, but already have something like a black boot screen.

Yup he's right. Nintendo can charge whatever they feel like, add dlcs and monthly sub payments and 90% of people will buy it all the same.

I bought a switch and those Zelda games during Covid. When I moved, the switch got boxed up. It’s still in the box today.

I’ll be skipping Switch #2 - $80 games reinforces the decision.

Or pirate it when the emulator inevitably happens

Needlessly absolute take. Yes, there's going to be parents, who'd rather pay extra than look into what other games they could give their kid, as well as loyal Mario fans, who will pay pretty much any price. But there's obviously also players who do weigh up their options based on price, and who will make different decisions when they have to decide between two titles, when one of them is cheaper. Especially with the additional invest for a new console and the more dire economic situation, I could see many players not buying into the Switch 2 at all.

lol.

🏴‍☠️

If I was a sociopathic ceo I would release an update for the Switch 1 that bricks it.

Haven't had the urge to buy a Nintendo game since the GameCube. Sure, the Wii was fun at parties back in the day but that's about it. I've tried the new Mario and Zelda games but they always look and feel like low effort garbage meant to snare the same crowd as "Disney adults".

I believe he may be quite surprised soon when people don’t buy it.

they kinda did this with SWSH when it first came out, all the old fans were pissed, but the constant promotions by influencers dint help.

Doug Bowser confirmed variable pricing in an interview. Not every game will be $80