Nintendo says no plans for Switch price cut, president on game prices
According to Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa, there are currently no plans for a Switch price cut. That news was shared during a financial results Q&A session this week.
Furukawa was also asked to weigh in on game prices. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom costs $70 – the highest price for a Nintendo game yet. However, Furukawa said “this does not indicate a general increase in the price of our software” and reiterated that “the appropriate price of a product on a case-by-case basis.”
Furukawa stated:
With regard to hardware, prices for certain materials have fallen but overall costs remain high. We must also continue to account for the impact of factors such as inflation and foreign exchange rates. Production was highly impacted during the previous fiscal year (ended March 31, 2023), so we are ensuring our parts procurement occurs far enough in advance to ensure stable production. Even if raw material prices decrease, it will take time for this to be reflected in manufacturing costs. Currently, there are no plans to reduce the price of our hardware during this fiscal year. On the other hand, while we also have no plans to raise prices, the yen continues to be weak, and procurement costs remain high, so we will continue to monitor the situation carefully.
Regarding the price of software, the MSRP (manufacturerʼs suggested retail price) of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is ten dollars higher in the U.S. than its predecessor, but this does not indicate a general increase in the price of our software. Our approach is to determine the appropriate price of a product on a case-by-case basis. It is true that development costs are on the rise due to the enhanced breadth of content and the requirement of more advanced technology to support online play, so the pricing for our new titles going forward is something that we will continue to consider thoroughly.
