Nintendo’s aware that game development is getting unsustainably expensive with some AAA games costing upwards of $200 million to make, but it has a plan in place to make sure things don’t get out of control in the Switch 2 era.
In a recent investor Q&A, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa was probed about whether “the improved performance of Nintendo Switch 2 will lead to higher development costs, which in turn could result in higher software prices” as seen with the controversial $80 price tag attached to Mario Kart World. Furukawa’s solution? Make smaller, cheaper games alongside its mammoth hits.
“Recent game software development has become larger in scale and longer in duration, resulting in higher development costs,” the president admits. “The game business has always been a high-risk business, and we recognize that rising development costs are increasing that risk. Our development teams are devising various ways to maintain our traditional approach to creating games amidst the increasing scale and length of development.”
One of those ways is to “develop game software with shorter development periods that still offer consumers a sense of novelty.” You can already see the strategy play out with Welcome Tour ($10) and Drag & Drive ($20), not to mention that games like Donkey Kong Bananza still cost $70, which is slightly less eye-watering. Nintendo is essentially being flexible with its game prices.
“We see this as one potential solution to the concern about rising development costs and software prices, and we will explore it from various angles within the company,” Furukawa adds.
