Nintendo Has The Right To Charge $80 For Switch 2 Games Because of Its Exclusives, Ex-Sony Exec Says

Expert Verified By

'That First-Party Exclusivity Mitigates that Sticker Shock.'

Story Highlight
  • The former Sony executive Shawn Layden claims that Nintendo can charge $80 for Switch 2 titles if they are exclusives.
  • He believes exclusivity justifies the new controversial price tag because you cannot play those games anywhere else.
  • The new $80 pricing has been met with a lot of criticism and controversy, showing that gamers disagree with this sentiment.

More details for Switch 2 were finally revealed in the recent Nintendo Direct. While gamers were impressed with the successor’s technical capabilities over the original, many were also upset with the exorbitant pricing for the handheld and the Mario Kart World exclusive. 

Amid the growing controversy against Nintendo, the former Sony executive has now stepped in to justify the new $80 price tag for Switch 2 games. He argues that Nintendo can set that price standard because those are its exclusives. 

Why it matters: The ex-Sony executive argues that the new $80 price tag is justified for Switch 2 games if they are exclusives because Switch consoles are the only official place where gamers can play them.

During a recent episode of the PlayerDriven podcast, Shawn Layden defends Nintendo and says gamers should not be upset with the price hike from Switch 1 to Switch 2 and the new $80 pricing standard for its games.

He believes that if you can only play Mario, Zelda, or Donkey Kong on Switch consoles because of exclusivity, then the $80 price is justified.

Wow, 80 bucks for a game? But if it’s the only place where you can play Mario, then you get your wallet out and you buy into it.

Shawn says that these exclusives being limited to Switch consoles should be enough to justify the $80 price. Nintendo recently offered a similar defense against the controversy by claiming it wants to respect the value of its releases.

Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo also believes Switch 2 games justify the massive $80 price tag. 

However, many gamers have disagreed with these justifications on social media and spoken against the $80 pricing for Switch 2 exclusives since it may compel other game developers to increase the price of their AAA games. 

Do you think the former Sony executive’s words justify Nintendo inflating the pricing of its games? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.

Was our article helpful? 👨‍💻

Thank you! Please share your positive feedback. 🔋

How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔

Gear Up For Latest News

Get exclusive gaming & tech news before it drops. Sign up today!

Join Our Community

Still having issues? Join the Tech4Gamers Forum for expert help and community support!

Latest News

Join Our Community

104,000FansLike
32,122FollowersFollow

Trending

YMTC Wants To Dethrone And Replace Samsung As The World’s No. 1 NAND Maker By 2027

China’s YMTC is targeting Samsung’s NAND memory position, aiming to become the world’s largest NAND flash memory manufacturer by 2027.

Fans Criticize Jason Voice Acting In GTA 6; Say He Feels Too Dull And Emotionless

GTA 6 fans appear to be split on Jason following the gameplay reveal, with many calling him dull and boring.

EA Motive Acknowledges Iron Man Leaks; Teases More Information For Future

Following leaks regarding EA Motive's Iron Man, the team has asked fans to look forward to more information in a while.

GTA 6 Overhauls Wanted System With Multi-Colored Stars, Heat Indicators, And Smarter Police AI

A Grand Theft Auto content creator explains that Rockstar completely overhauled the wanted system in GTA 6 after his preview experience.

Activision Visits Call of Duty Cheater’s House For Cease And Desist

Activision has released body-cam-style footage showing a Call of Duty cheat seller being served a cease-and-desist notice at home.