© Reuters. Nintendo (NTDOY.US) “Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” rises to $70 Other companies may follow
Zhitong Finance APP learned that Nintendo (NTDOY.US) will release the sequel “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” on May 12, “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom”. It will be the first Switch game to be priced at $70. The move matches premium pricing from Nintendo’s rivals Sony (SONY.US) and Microsoft (MSFT.US), and could trigger a race for more game makers to raise prices.
Game studios around the world have been eager to raise the price of their games as the cost of making games rises with players’ higher expectations for quality and content, but no studio or company has been willing to be the first to do so before. Nintendo’s price increase this time is likely to be welcomed by its peers.
Koei Tecmo (KOEI TECMO) Chief Financial Officer Kenjiro Asano said at an earnings briefing on January 30 that there are voices in the industry to increase game prices, especially outside Japan, but his company does not want to be the first to do so. one of the most expensive companies.
Capcom CFO Kenkichi Nomura and Japanese social gaming giant GREE SVP Yuta Maeda expressed similar sentiments when discussing the company’s most recent quarterly results. They all agree that there is a general desire in the industry to increase prices to offset increased headcount and spending to create new content.
“If there’s one game that could test Nintendo’s waters, it’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” said Serkan Toto, an industry analyst in Tokyo, on Thursday. , and it does lead to greater overall sales.”
The early The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a blockbuster for the Nintendo Switch, fueling its success. By the end of 2022, the game will have sold 29 million copies, while Nintendo has sold 123 million Switch consoles.
