The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be US $69.99

After retailers seemingly leaked a price increase for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo has officially confirmed the game will be its first title priced at an elevated US $69.99 (AU $101). A collector’s edition will be priced higher, at US $129.99 (AU $187.54) – and will include an art book, steel case, poster, and badges.

As many will note, this is the first instance of Nintendo charging more than its typical US $59.99 price in the United States, which has been the norm since the Nintendo Switch launched in 2017. An exact reason for the rise has not been specified, but it’s easy to assume inflation is to blame.

Recently, Nintendo reported an overall decline in operating profit for Q1-Q3 FY23, as a result of global economic shifts. A major decline in hardware sales contributed to this loss – although software sales continued steadily with smash hits like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet selling 20.61 million copies in the reported period.

Read: Nintendo will raise staff salaries by 10%, despite annual decline

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is likely to hit similar heights – and may even eclipse these total sales when it launches on 12 May 2023. That said, players will need to reckon with the increased price point that threatens the wider appeal of the game.

Weirdly enough, the newly-dated Pikmin 4 was also recently updated on the US version of the Nintendo eShop – and this game is still priced as a regular title, at US $59.99. That suggests Nintendo may be specially pricing Tears of the Kingdom, knowing players will likely purchase it regardless of the increased cost.

While it is a reflection of global circumstances – realistically, inflation means games need to turn a higher profit to actually make money – it is a rather strange choice, particularly given preorders have already been offered at the standard price in some global regions.

As of writing, it’s unknown how this decision will impact local retailers.

In Australia, Tears of the Kingdom is priced at AU $79, with Amazon offering the cheapest copies for AU $74.99. EB Games has preorders at the elevated AU $89.95 price point, but this is fairly standard for the retailer. It doesn’t appear the whopping US $10 increase has been completely passed on – however, there is a slight bump in these preorder prices.

It’s unclear if Nintendo will be further pursuing its newly-established, higher price point for future game releases, given the status of Pikmin 4, but as economic fluctuations continue, change may be here to stay.

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