Nintendo to start charging different prices for first-party digital and physical games

Nintendo just announced that it will soon start charging different prices for first-party Switch 2 games based on . This might actually be a good thing for those who like to download their games instead of going to a physical store to pick up a copy, as digital titles get a nice discount.

It starts with the release of which will cost $60 on the eShop but $70 at retail locations. Before that, most first-party games cost $70 no matter how you purchased them. I prefer to download games, for convenience, and I paid the same for both And .

However, this is a new blow for consumers who prefer physical media. They don’t have any discounts and many Switch 2 cartridges don’t even contain the game these days. Boxes, which allow the user to download the title to the console but are then essentially clipboards.

This isn’t the first time Nintendo has participated in this type of dual pricing structure. The digital version of Donkey Kong Bananza in certain regions of the world, notably in the United Kingdom.

Is this another sign that making and shipping real things is becoming prohibitive? There are some because of AI and , not to mention here in the United States. It’s hard there.