Does ‘Mario Kart World’ justify the $80 price?

On Thursday morning, Nintendo kicked off the week’s Post-Hump Day portion. Mario Kart World. It was good to get fun new details about the flagship launch title for Switch 2, but Direct didn’t really answer the biggest questions about the minds of many gamers. Mario Kart World Does it cost $80?

The price is at a glance unsettling, even considering it’s going to be $70 for even more recent big titles compared to the standard video game price of $60, which has been stable for around 15 years. When the $80 price was first revealed, gamers immediately raised questions. Since then, Nintendo’s party line has been about telling gamers Just wait for it directly. The meaning is that fans will understand the price increase when they make the game work.

With the livestream over, I don’t think Nintendo has revealed anything to explain it. (And I actually played it Mario Kart World. )

But after giving it some thought and scribbing Nintendo for its nickel and reduced customers, I realized that I might not even need to justify the price. And the ongoing tariff disruption has led Nintendo to probably have a bigger problem. After all, you can’t pre-order the US Switch 2.

Mario Kart WorldThe price may have nothing to do with the game itself

In an interview with media after Big Switch 2 Direct two weeks ago, Nintendo employees generally took that position Mario Kart WorldPrices make sense because there is a lot of content in the game. Thursday Mario Cart– Central Direct shed some light on this, and certainly the game I’ll do it It seems there are a lot of cool new things.

There is a huge open world filled with hundreds of optional challenges to explore with friends. It also has unlockable costumes, numerous new tracks, both local and online multiplayer modes, and even enhancements to social features such as webcam support. That’s obvious Mario Kart World It’s a massive game where you can find dozens of hours (or hundreds) of fun. Technically, from that perspective, it’s easy to argue that it’s worth $80 even if you don’t actually enjoy spending $80 on a video game (Nintendo clearly believes).

But there’s a lot more to come here. Big one: Video games prices have remained flat for a long time, even if other high-tech products become more expensive. In general, prices rise over time. It sucks, and no one likes it, but it’s life. Previously, I could get a week’s worth of food at Taco Bell for $20, but now I can’t. In fact, it’s a strange thing that gaming companies have been keeping their $60 price tag for a long time.

I argue that gamers have made quite a lot of deals on big budget games over the past decade. When you see it, it’s even easier to discuss How much does it cost to make a big video game? 4K era.

Unfortunately, the gaming company is like that. far We’re not too close to budgets than film studios, so the best information we have comes from data breaches. One such violation of 2023 revealed it Marvel’s Spiderman 2 PS5 cost 300 million dollars Develop. It also takes much longer to create a blockbuster game than before and increases labor costs.

My face when I think about real-world economics.
Credit: Nintendo

It is also worth pointing out that PlayStation (among many other video game companies) has layoffs in its internal studios since its leak was announced. Nintendo Reduce the contractor’s position From last year’s testing division, the company has no extensive history of making large layoffs for its full-time employees. Much of this is definitely the cause. Friendly employee rights Although Japan compares to the US, it is important to note that Nintendo has been actively working on layoffs in the past.

For example, former CEO Satori Iwata has once Cut his salary in half To ensure that you don’t lose your job. And if the cost of treating employees fairly is a slightly more expensive video game on the Switch 2, I’m fine with that.

Mario Kart Worlds The $80 price may be a harbinger of what’s going on…

I spent quite a bit of time explaining why Mario Kart World It probably costs just as much, but it doesn’t really affect the hits on your wallet. That’s Many Money that grinds out the gorgeous good like a video game, especially in a stressful economic situation. Fans may wonder why this game is And just this gameIt’s especially expensive as some families struggle to buy basics like groceries and rent.

That’s where the ultimate and most infuriating real-world factors come out. It’s your wages. In the US, wages have not kept up to inflation or productivity over the past decades. 2022, Economic Policy Research Institute The federal minimum wage, at $7.25 an hour, has been found to be less valuable than any point in nearly 70 years. EPI too Found in 2015 That hourly worker productivity has risen by 74% over the past 40 years, while hourly worker wages have risen by only 9% over the same time frame. That contrasts with 30 years after World War II, when wages and productivity rose at almost 1:1 levels.

In short, things cost more, but you aren’t necessarily paid more.

It’s more of a political issue than anything, and the potential solutions to it have far surpassed my wage performance. But for the past two weeks, I’ve been thinking for $80 Mario Kart World It’s unreasonable to accept it passively.

You are allowed to be troubled by a $80 (I’m still AM) video game, but it’s not the last game to be priced at this level. Also, switch gamers will ultimately vote in their wallets when deciding whether the price is justified or not.

This story is an opinion article and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mashable or its publisher Ziff Davis.