Accidental Tears Of The Kingdom Listing May Hint At Nintendo Price Hikes
The Nintendo Switch shop has once again seemingly leaked information on an upcoming title. The listing for "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" briefly had a price tag attached to it on February 8 — and it was higher than standard Nintendo prices.
Twitter user @Wario64 shared a screenshot of "Tears of the Kingdom" on the Nintendo eshop with a $69.99 price. It wasn't available for pre-order and instead displayed a generic, grayed-out button saying that the title would be released in 2023. The price was quickly removed from the page, but the short-lived listing got many fans already wondering if Nintendo will be raising prices in the way that many other publishers have. After all, the $70 price point has become more of an industry standard these days, and gamers are expecting to fork over more cash for games throughout 2023.
At the same time, "Tears of the Kingdom" was briefly up for pre-orders on major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop, as @Wario64 also shared. However, these pre-orders were set to $59.99, the price at which most Nintendo Switch games have previously released. Less than two hours later, games industry analyst Benji Sales noted that retailers had stopped taking these pre-orders, leaving many confused about what was going on — and how much "Tears of the Kingdom" will end up costing.
Fans aren't happy about Tears of the Kingdom's possible price
Of course, a price hike isn't going to make people happy. While it's not confirmed yet, some fans (including @Wario64) have speculated that this listing is a sign that future AAA Nintendo release will launch at $70. GameXplain founder Andre Segers expressed some disappointment in the price point, but said it was "not entirely unexpected." While some gamers aren't too upset and plenty more still intend to buy the game (and any accompanying amiibos, as Twitter user @rodimus_j joked), many others have shown their frustration towards the potential reveal.
Twitter user @KeeperOfWind explained that they wouldn't be buying it, arguing that it was already being developed well before other publishers started charging more for their games. Others complained that the Nintendo Switch's hardware doesn't justify the price.
One of the biggest questions people have at this point is what will happen to the preorders that were purchased at $59.99. Some are hopeful that retailers will honor the price, but others were unsure. Twitter user @JacobWisner1 shared Best Buy's policy stating that pre-order customers will always get the lower price if a change occurs.
A Nintendo Direct on February 8 may clear up some of the confusion and give an official price for "Tears of the Kingdom," so stay tuned.