Nintendo Sets New Standard: Digital Games Cheaper Than Physical Copies Starting May
Nintendo announced an innovation that will not only make game pricing fairer, but could also become a new industry standard.
Cartridges more expensive than 'digital'
The American division of Nintendo will introduce a new system starting May 1, according to which digital versions of the Japanese company's own games (third-party studio projects have not yet been announced) will be cheaper than physical copies. At the same time, prices for physical editions will not increase.
For instance, the new game Yoshi and the Mysterious Book in digital format will be sold for $60, while on cartridge its price will be $70. The same situation will occur with other exclusives for the Switch 2 consoles.
Lower costs — lower prices
The company notes that in this way prices will be as fair as possible in relation to the costs required for the release of a game in different formats. The release of digital versions requires practically no additional costs, unlike physical ones, which need to be produced, packaged, stored in a warehouse, and delivered to stores.
However, Nintendo has left retail sellers the opportunity to set their own game prices.
It should be noted that a similar approach is already being used in the UK market and is likely to spread not only to the US but also to other regions in the near future.