A reader argues that complaints about the price of Mario Kart World are misplaced, given how Call Of Duty and EA Sports FC are the same price.
In the lead up to this week, there were a lot of people talking about how it’s hard to predict Nintendo, but in the end I think it went pretty much as expected… except in a few specific areas. In many ways you could say the Nintendo Direct was a success: the console was reasonably priced, it’s coming out soon, and most of the games looked great.
But the subject that’s been dominating discussion ever since is the cost of said games, particularly Mario Kart World. In the UK it’s £74.99 for the physical version and £66.99 for digital, which is… unexpected.
As has been pointed out, the digital price is still lower than EA Sports FC and Call Of Duty, and other yearly sports games like NBA 2K, but because Nintendo games are usually cheaper than the norm there has been outrage over the prices – as if Mario Kart isn’t going to be infinitely better value for money.
Given these yearly sequels only have a shelf life of 12 months, before they’re immediately replaced with another game that also costs £70, it seems madness that anyone would resent Nintendo charging the same for Mario Kart, which you’ll only have one of per generation.
Don’t get me wrong, I wish it wasn’t that expensive. I wish all games were cheaper. But then I also wish I was a millionaire and better at football, but that’s life.
If you accept that Call Of Duty and co. are worth £70 (and millions of people do because, as usual, it was the best-selling game of last year) then why is Mario Kart not? It’s undoubtedly a better game and there won’t be another one along for the best part of the decade, so Nintendo will be putting everything into it – especially as it’s a console launch game.
Sadly, I think half the problem is that it has cartoon graphics and is dismissed as a kids’ game, even though it’s actually the best-selling traditional video game of all time, behind GTA 5. If Mario Kart World had photorealistic graphics, and grimdark main characters, I suspect most of the complaints would never happen.
Unfortunately though, gamers have allowed themselves to be manipulated over the years, so it’s only the ‘serious’ games that are worth full price and anything that’s just meant to be fun is looked down on. You see a similar thing where many casual gamers dismiss indie games or scoff at the idea of them being sold at anything but the very lowest prices.
Anything that’s not just a bland, photorealistic game is considered something approaching worthless and gamers have become more and more entitled about what they think should be given to them for free. I looked it up and a cinema ticket in 1992 cost around £3. Guess how much a new SNES game cost at the same time? Anything up to £50 and sometimes more.
Video game prices have barely increased at all in over three decades and yet apparently charging the same for EA Sports FC and Mario Kart World is outrageous. And before you argue that these other games see a reduction in price over time, but Nintendo games don’t, bear in mind that most people still buy the next one within 12 months and Call Of Duty games rarely do go down in price, actually.
I have not heard one single reason for why Mario Kart World is not worth £70-ish. If you’re happy to pay that for NBA 2K25 but not the sequel to Mario Kart 8 – one of the best and most successful games of all time – I don’t know what to say.
But ah, say the haters, that price isn’t even all of it, because they’re bound to have DLC on top as well. Well a) predicting Nintendo never works, b) you don’t have to buy the DLC, and c) the DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is widely regarded as amongst the best value ever made. So what exactly is the problem?
If games cost more to make then it stands to reason that publishers are going to charge more for them. If you want to campaign against that I’m with you, especially when it’s a provably bad game, but that’s not the case here. It just feels that the wrong example is being made and I don’t feel it’s Nintendo’s fault at all.
By reader Onibee
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