The Mario Kart World price raised more than a few eyebrows today as it brought Nintendo, and gaming itself, into uncharted territory.
During today’s Nintendo Direct, fans got more details on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2—but while the June 5 launch date and new features drew attention, the real shocker came from one of Nintendo’s most beloved franchises.
Mario Kart World, the headline launch title for the new system, will cost $79.99 when purchased separately from the console. That’s right—$80 for a kart racer, setting a new high-water mark for Nintendo’s first-party game pricing. And physical media fans will have to cough up a whopping $90 for physical copies of the game.
Premium Pricing Creeps Higher
Until now, Nintendo had largely held the line at $59.99 for most of its first-party titles, with only The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom stepping over that mark at $69.99 in 2023. Today’s Direct changes that precedent entirely.
Not only is Mario Kart World hitting $80, but the newly announced Donkey Kong Bonanza—a 3D platformer—is also set at $69.99. That means two of Nintendo’s most family-friendly, traditionally accessible franchises are launching at premium-tier prices.
A screenshot from the trailer to Mario Kart World – YouTube, Nintendo of America
The move raises eyebrows, especially given that Mario Kart has historically been a system-seller designed to appeal to all ages. At $80 and $90, parents and longtime fans might find the cost harder to justify, even with the game’s new open-world and online features.
Bundle Still Offers Slight Relief
For those looking to offset the cost, there’s at least a modest silver lining. Nintendo is offering a $499.99 bundle that includes the base Switch 2 system ($449.99 standalone) and a copy of Mario Kart World—essentially giving buyers a $30-$40 discount versus buying both separately. The bundle comes with a digital copy of the game.
A screenshot from the trailer to Mario Kart World – YouTube, Nintendo of America
Still, the bundle may not satisfy everyone. With Mario Kart World being a launch title and one of the most anticipated games in Nintendo’s lineup, the price increase feels less like a bonus and more like a gatekeeping move.
A Shift in Nintendo’s Philosophy?
What’s most notable isn’t just the number—it’s what it may signal. If Mario Kart is now worth $80 in Nintendo’s eyes, then no franchise is off-limits for premium pricing. Gone are the days when $59.99 was the ceiling for Nintendo’s biggest hits. The Switch 2 era may be ushering in a new standard, where $70 is the norm, and $80 is reserved for tentpole games.
Princess Peach’s various outfits in a screenshot from the trailer to Mario Kart World – YouTube, Nintendo of America
It’s a bold move from a company that has long emphasized accessibility and family-friendliness. And while fans may be willing to pay the price, it does raise the question: how high is too high?
Will PlayStation Follow Nintendo’s Lead?
Nintendo isn’t operating in a vacuum, and the rest of the gaming industry is undoubtedly watching this shift very closely. Sony already nudged prices higher in 2020 when it raised many PS5 exclusives to $69.99, and Microsoft has since followed suit for some titles.
Now that Nintendo—the company most associated with broad appeal and family gaming—is normalizing $70 and even $80 pricing, it could open the door for Sony to push premium editions even further. If Mario Kart can sell at $79.99, what’s stopping PlayStation from pricing its next major exclusive at $80, $90, even $100+ with “expanded content” included?
Mario in a screenshot from the trailer to Mario Kart World – YouTube, Nintendo of America
The danger here is setting a precedent. While hardcore fans may be willing to pay more for flagship releases, rising prices across the board risk alienating casual players and families—the very groups the industry still relies on for big numbers. In a time of rising costs and subscription fatigue, pushing retail prices too high could backfire. Additionally, this could be a blow to retail locations and physical media in general as it could kick off premium prices for physical games.
In short, Nintendo’s pricing may be more than just bold—it might be a signal flare for where the entire industry is headed. And if that’s the case, $59.99 may soon feel like a relic of the past.
Are you surprised by the Mario Kart World price? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
UP NEXT: Nintendo Switch 2 Unveiled for June Launch With Mario Kart World Bundle and Major First-Party Games
It is pretty expensive and from what I heard the physical games will be $90. I don’t mind these prices as long as the content justifies it, but it rarely does. Also DLC and microtransactions are even more unacceptable
They are giving me reasons to wait and see on a Switch 2.
I hate the idea of game prices going up, but someone in my family paid $70 for the SNES version of Super Street Fighter II Turbo off the shelf back in the day. Adjusted for inflation, that’s over $160 for a single game. Prices fluctuate. As long as there’s a secondary market and Nintendo doesn’t go in for microtransactions, I’ll can tolerate this.
But I will almost never be buying games day 1 ever again, I can tell you that.
I see your point but I’m not entirely sure how valid the pure $ comparison is. For example, the manufacturing process of a SNES cartridge back then should have been significantly higher then a NSW card today. Also the NSW boxes take way less shelf space then the SNES cardboard boxes, which should reduce slotting fees drastically. How much that actually factors into price I don’t know, just seems the pure $ amount doesn’t take into account all variables at play.
Gaming was a lot more niche back then. The prices really don’t need to increase.
Here I thought Nintendo might actually survive the ongoing Video Games Industry Crash. But if they’re this desperate for cash, I doubt they will.
Nintendo always has been one of the greediest companies in existence. Just like Lego they cash in on the nostalgia of people without remorse and the price policy doesn’t depend on cost but rather on what’s the maximum the customer is barely willing to spend.
I already regret having bought the Switch, because Nintendo titles aren’t worth more than 20 Euro for me, because I kinda grew out of those games and only play them a few hours for nostalgia. But Nintendo games never see Discounts. Even 10 years old games never drop below 40 Euro. I guess with the Switch 2 they will never drop below 60 Euro now.
But the biggest deal breaker and effectivly the reason why I never will buy a Switch 2 is, because it’s basically Digital only. There are physical editions, but they seen to just be keys to download the games. So you never really own a game you can play offline without any online Services. The physical Edition as it is for the Switch 2 just combines the downsides of digital and physical games with none of the pros. So it’s completely useless.
I just hope Microsoft and Sony won’t do the same with the next console generation. Because then I would stop playing new games all together. TV streaming showed me, that the result of an all digital future is just a product, that is more expensive than actually buying the media and it’s still worse. I don’t need this in gaming and just like I’m not subscribed to any streaming service now, I will never subscribe to any gaming services or buy digital games.
Strange that, when Embracer’s CEO stated that the current pricing was “too cheap for what their games offered” (they’re the owners of Take-Two, btw), no one complained. Similarly, people didn’t complain when Ubisoft started pricing their Ultimate Editions (especially Avatar) at around the same price or more expensive. And, similarly, no one is batting an eye about GTA6 possibly coming out as $100.
It’s like “let’s pick someone we already hate and it’s normal to hate and focus on it”. Nintendo didn’t set any precedent. The precedent was already there.
P.S.: The “$90” is false on top of that. There’s already the pricing for NS2 games at Nintendo’s own site. Mario Kart World (and some other games) cost $80 max physical. Some games, like Bravely Default, will cost as low as #39.
People are on a misinformation campaign started when they saw Canada/Europe’s prices, who do put it a 90 euros.
Strange that there’s always Nintendo fanboys crawling out of the woodwork to pretend Nintendo like a cult.
Everytime the prices of games where raised, or people just talked about raising the prices there was an outrage. So it’s not like people complain about the prices now because it’s Nintendo.
Also I don’t know about the US, because I am from europe and here the physical edition of Mario Kart was listed at 90 Euro that’s 98 USD for comparison. That’s ridiculous, especially considering, that the cards only contain a key to download the game digitally. They aren’t even real physical editions. This is even more shameless then what Sony did with the PS5, where some games cost 80 Euro now, but at least there you get a physical edition, that in most cases contains a playable version of the game.
Though in my opinion even 70 Euro is too much for most games nowadays, because they just aren’t worth it anymore. So except for a few games, where I absolutely know I get my moneys worth, I buy most games on discount or even used. But Nintendo games also never get discount.
In the end it all doesn’t really matter, because people will buy it anyway and they would even buy the games, when the big players in the industry, like Nintendo, Sony or Rockstar, would price their games at 150 Euro. They probably would just buy less other games then.
For me personally the deal breaker isn’t even the price, but the fact, that there basically isn’t a real physical edition. So I wouldn’t even own the games. And that’s where I draw the line for me.
When I was a kid in the 80’s, Atari cartridges were around $40 and your parents could only afford them for Christmas or birthdays. It’s about time the market facilitated an increase.