"Switch 2 and Mario Kart World Pricing Sparks Crisis for Nintendo, Say Former PR Managers"

Amid the ongoing backlash to Nintendo's shock pricing for the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World, two former Nintendo PR managers have described the situation as "a true crisis moment for Nintendo."

Speaking on their YouTube channel, former Nintendo of America PR managers Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang criticized the way Nintendo revealed the $449.99 price of the Switch 2 and the $79.99 price of Mario Kart World. "I don’t want to blow things out of proportion, but this does feel like a true crisis moment for Nintendo," Ellis stated.

Mario Kart World isn’t the only Nintendo Switch 2 game priced at $79.99. Some Nintendo Switch 2 Edition titles, such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, also carry this price tag. Nintendo has also faced criticism for charging for the Switch 2 tutorial video game experience, Welcome Tour, which fans argue should be included for free, much like Astro's Playroom on the PlayStation 5, which serves as a complimentary tech demo for the DualSense controller.

The backlash has even affected Nintendo’s Treehouse livestreams, where viewers are flooding the chat with demands to "DROP THE PRICE."

Ellis and Yang were particularly vocal about the way Nintendo handled the price reveal. They noted the absence of pricing information in the Direct presentation as a deliberate move that led to confusion and misinformation as fans sought out pricing details elsewhere.

Nintendo Switch 2 System and Accessories Gallery

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Yang claimed that the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World pricing was "intentionally omitted from the Direct for a reason," but criticized the scattered nature of the information, which left fans to piece it together. "It just shows some disrespect to the consumer," Ellis added, suggesting that Nintendo expected fans to be so excited they wouldn’t question the cost.

"It’s a little bit degrading almost to the intelligence of the consumer," Yang remarked.

The former NOA communications staff further discussed Nintendo’s failure to address the pricing concern publicly or through media interviews, which has led to rampant speculation and misinformation. "They are enabling the story to get out of hand, out of control," Yang said, while Ellis added, "They have lost control of this."

Ellis and Yang suggested that Nintendo has lost the consumer mindfulness it once had, following the retirement of former NOA boss Reggie Fils-Aimé and the tragic loss of former Nintendo head Satoru Iwata. Yang mentioned that Nintendo’s communications team will recommend an official statement, but the approval process will be lengthy and involve many people before reaching current Nintendo boss Shuntaro Furukawa.

The pair also noted that Nintendo is out of practice in communicating with its community and press, not having faced such negativity since the Nintendo 3DS price debacle of 2011. There is now concern for staff at public-facing Switch 2 hands-on sessions, as fans may pose questions that could be misconstrued as official responses if shared online.

What happens next remains uncertain, but neither Ellis nor Yang expect a price drop for the Switch 2 or its games before launch.

For more insights, explore everything announced at the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct, and see what the experts have to say about the Switch 2 price and Mario Kart World’s $80 price tag.