The Legend of Zelda 586c5h Tears of the Kingdom Price Hike Opens Door for More Expensive Games

The sequel to Breath of the Wild is the first Nintendo switch exclusive to cost $70. 4k3e1r

By Takashi Mochizuki, Yuki Furukawa, Bloomberg | Updated: 9 February 2023 12:25 IST

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Price Hike Opens Door for More Expensive Games

Photo Credit: Nintendo 6o6r1n

Nintendo had sold 29 million copies of the Breath of the Wild instalment at the end of 2022

Highlights

Nintendo sold 123 million Switch consoles by the end of 2022
Game studios across the world have been desperate to hike prices
Nintendo hopes that $10 price increase would cancel out lost purchases

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Nintendo's Zelda sequel will be pricier than the company's other Switch games, clearing the way for more game makers to also lift their prices.

The Microsoft, may presage wider increases as it helps normalise the greater upfront cost.

Game studios across the world, including Zelda is likely to be welcomed by its peers.

“The mood is there, especially outside Japan, to raise software prices,” Koei Tecmo Chief Financial Officer Kenjiro Asano said at a January 30 earnings briefing. But his company didn't “want to be one of the first to raise the price,” he added.

Capcom CFO Kenkichi Nomura and Gree Senior Vice President Yuta Maeda expressed similar sentiments when discussing their most recent quarterly results. Both see a widely-shared desire within the industry to raise prices in order to offset increased headcount and spending to create new content.

A Nintendo spokesman confirmed the new Zelda game will be the most expensive first-party title from the company, other than deluxe editions with extras thrown in. The company will continue to set prices appropriate for each game, he said.

“If there is one game that allows Nintendo to test the waters, it's this one,” Tokyo-based industry analyst Serkan Toto said on Thursday. “The $10 price increase will not only cancel out lost purchases from s who skip the game but indeed lead to larger sales overall.”

The earlier Breath of the Wild instalment in the Zelda franchise was the Switch's signature launch title and helped the console succeed. Nintendo had sold 29 million copies of the game and 123 million Switch consoles at the end of 2022.

From Elden Ring to BGMI's ban, 2022 gave us a lot in the gaming space. We discuss it all on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom 5f4xo

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Genre Action-Adventure

Platform Nintendo Switch

Modes Single-player

Series The Legend of Zelda

PEGI Rating 7+

More Nintendo Games

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