Shuhei Yoshida Explains Why the Price Increase for Nintendo Switch 2 Games Was Inevitable

Shuhei Yoshida, a veteran in the gaming industry and former head of Sony’s Worldwide Studios, shared his thoughts on the increase in video game prices. He believes that, with the release of Nintendo Switch 2, the price of games will reach as high as $80 for the first time.

As many might already know, with the Switch 2’s release, there will be a general price increase compared to the first Switch. For example, Mario Kart World will cost $80 at launch, and many other Nintendo games may follow the same price tag. In addition, Microsoft has also announced price increases for their games starting this fall. Sony, however, has not made any official announcements yet, but Yoshida suggests that it might just be a matter of time before they do.

The Rising Costs of Game Production and Inflation

In an interview with PlayStation Inside, Yoshida explained that the price increase was inevitable due to rising production costs and inflation.

Yoshida said, “I think it was going to happen sooner or later, maybe not from Nintendo, but it was going to happen eventually.”

He added, “We live in contrasting times, where inflation is real and significant, but people expect games that are ever more ambitious and therefore expensive to develop to cost the same. It’s an impossible equation. Everything in video games today is more advanced and more technologically demanding than ever before, and therefore requires more resources. Each publisher or manufacturer sets the price of its games, of course, but in the end the heart of the matter lies in production costs.”