Nintendo showed off a ton of new games coming to its latest console, the Switch 2, during its April 2 Direct live stream. However, the company didn’t say how much these games would cost, and early details suggest Canadians will pay a premium.
Nintendo’s U.S. website shows that the newly-announced Mario Kart World will have a US$79.99 manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP), though the company warns actual prices may vary. Meanwhile, Donkey Kong Bananza has a US$69.99 MSRP on Nintendo’s U.S. website.
The U.S. price for Mario Kart World.
Nintendo of Canada’s Mario Kart World page and Bananza page didn’t show Canadian prices at the time of writing, but extrapolating from existing pricing, there’s a solid chance that World, and other Switch 2 titles, will sport higher price tags in Canada.
For example, current titles for the original Switch, like Super Mario Party Jamboree and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, cost US$59.99 or C$79.99. US$59.99 roughly converts to C$85.80, so Nintendo’s current Canadian pricing is about what you’d expect.
The U.S. price for Donkey Kong Bananza.
But if Nintendo maintains that pricing strategy, we could see Mario Kart World and other similarly-priced Switch 2 games with price tags over $100 in Canada. US$79.99 converts to roughly C$115, and US$69.99 converts to about C$100, so if Nintendo remains consistent, I’d expect Canadian Switch 2 games priced somewhere between $100 and $115.
Building on this, Best Buy Canada currently has Metroid Prime 4 pre-orders listed for C$99.99. However, there are a few caveats here. First, Nintendo doesn’t show a price for Prime 4 on its website yet. Second, Best Buy’s price is for the original Switch version of the game, so since you need to buy an ‘Upgrade pack’ to play the game on Switch 2, the Switch 2 Edition of Prime 4 will cost more.
A report on Insider Gaming says a European ad for Mario Kart World also revealed that Nintendo might start charging $10 more for physical games. In this ad, the digital version of Mario Kart is €80, and the physical cartridge is €90. Again, none of this has been confirmed by Nintendo of Canada so it’s still unlcear if that will apply here.
Either way, it sure looks like Nintendo is tracking toward roughly $100 games in Canada. Coupled with the Switch 2’s $629.99 cost, Canadians will definitely pay a premium to get the latest from Nintendo. That said, we’re speculating based on U.S. pricing, so Nintendo might surprise us when it releases the actual Canadian pricing.
We’ve reached out to Nintendo of Canada for confirmation on exact Canadian pricing and will update this story once a response has been received.
Header image credit: Nintendo
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