The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be released for the Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023, and while it’s promised to deliver an epic adventure across the land and skies of Hyrule, Nintendo fans aren’t too happy about the fact that it will cost $69.99, the highest that Nintendo has ever charged for a standard Switch release. Doug Bowser, who replaced Reggie Fils-Aimé as the head of Nintendo of America in 2019, has now explained why in an insider Q&A for the Associated Press, telling the publication that the price reflects the breadth of the new Zelda game, which has been described as being incredibly full and deeply immersive. Bowser claimed that this is already a fairly common pricing model, and while he was also asked about Nintendo’s future hardware plans, he has nothing to share about a Switch successor at this time.
From an AP Q&A:
Q: How did you get to a $70 price figure for the upcoming Zelda game?
A: We look at what the game has to offer. I think fans will find this is an incredibly full, deeply immersive experience. The price point reflects the type of experience that fans can expect when it comes to playing this particular game. This isn’t a price point that we’ll necessarily have on all our titles. It’s actually a fairly common pricing model either here or in Europe or other parts of the world, where the pricing may vary depending on the game itself.
Q: When is the next Switch coming out? What kinds of features or new capabilities would you like to see?
A: As we enter the seventh year for the Nintendo Switch, sales are still strong. I think we still have a very very strong lineup coming. As Mr. Furukawa (Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa) said recently, we’re entering uncharted territory with the platform. It’s exciting to see that demand is still there. So nothing to announce on any future console or device, but we are still feeling very bullish about Nintendo Switch.
I should be careful about what I personally would like to see (in a new Switch). But what I can share is that one of the reasons that even going into year seven we feel very confident that the Switch can have a strong performance over the next few years is that it is still truly that unique device that you can play in a variety of ways, at home, on the go. One of the things we look at always is how can we surprise and delight. How can we introduce new unique ways of playing. That’s always in front of our mind.