GoKawiilNintendo made an unprecedented move Wednesday by changing up its pricing scheme for its digital and physical Switch 2 games. Starting in May, it's going to cost more to buy a physical game instead of a digital copy, and the current memory shortage could be the culprit.
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, set to release on May 21, will be the first Nintendo Switch 2 game that will have two separate MSRPs, Nintendo said in a statement on Wednesday. The digital version will cost $60 while the physical copy will retail for $70 at Nintendo's online store, and Switch 2 exclusive games that follow will have a similar pricing scheme to the digital format, costing less than the physical.
Nintendo did not give a reason as to why the prices will be different. It did say that its games "offer the same experiences whether in packaged or digital format, and this change simply reflects the different costs associated with producing and distributing each format and offers players more choice in how they can buy and play Nintendo games."
It's unclear how retailers will respond to this change. Nintendo says retailers can set the prices as they see fit for either version.
Which Switch 2 game will have the new pricing scheme?
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book will be out on May 21.
What will be the price difference between physical and digital?
As of right now, physical copies will cost $10 more. It's unclear whether this will be the same across the board for different games, but it will be the norm for Nintendo's Switch 2 exclusive games.
Why did Nintendo make this change?
The most likely reason is that the storage for the games themselves was costing Nintendo too much money. In its statement, Nintendo says the change "reflects the different costs associated with producing and distributing each format." Nintendo already broke pricing norms for games with Mario Kart World and its retail price of $80, the highest price for a new game.
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