Topic: Am i wrong for thinking that Nintendo is in one of its best eras right now?

@rallydefault MK8D is the superior game, MKW doesn't even come close IMO. Maybe it's my problem, for thinking MK8D set the gold standard (as in it's a perfect game for me) on what a kart racing game should be. Mario Kart World should’ve been everything 8 Deluxe was and then some, and its not.

But anyways, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I will say, it does feel great to be talking video games on here again, so thanks for that.

@Lony85
No prob. Yea, I think MK World’s gameplay is the best the series has ever had. The items, the feel of the karts, the wall riding and jumping and stuff. It feels awesome to play.

The tracks are weaker than usual, though. I don’t mind the highways too much unless I’m playing a long session online and getting lots of them, but even the tracks themselves aren’t as fun as some of the previous games.

I really liked the open world, too. I almost have all the switches and stuff. Very relaxing with some cool areas.

Based take. Especially given that pricing can change over time due to sales, bundles etc. And even if it doesn't the prices vary by region and the attitudes towards pricing can change over time. Especially during generational transitions and especially in the current market

It's even more dumb for Mario Kart World given it's part of the more popular launch SKU. I didn't pay $110AU for it, the full RRP, technically I paid $70AU for it because I was getting the Switch 2 anyways. And $70AU is like.... standard tier Switch game RRP so..... it really wasn't that expensive at all for me, and honestly most people who have it at this point

Some people just want to be angry I guess. Something, something, interconnected communities and fly-ins creating friction or whatever

I don't have a Switch 2 yet but certainly Mario Kart World is currently the number 1 title I want when I get a Switch 2 but many people are saying Crossworlds is better or MK8D is better etc. I absolutely adored Mario Kart 8 on wii u but I still preferred Sonic Racing Transformed on that console but Sonic Racing Transformed was a better game on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. They all outperformed the wii u and had a higher resolution. There was nothing wrong with the wii u version it was still a great playable version just that it played a little better on other formats due to those consoles being more powerful and better controls.

Also I don't subscribe to online services on consoles and so for me Mario Kart World will be purely a single player game which will limit its appeal even more. I play all my online gaming on pc where its free and android too for lighter games. I just don't go down the route of paying for online access with consoles. This can add up to a lot of money over a few years. I buy consoles for single player experiences only except the wii u does have a free third party online service nowadays.

However despite some negative reviews from what I can see of Mario Kart World it looks fantastic and looks like it will really work for me but maybe won't have the long term playability of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe which is pretty much my go to game for portable gaming on my Switch Lite. I absolutely love that game on the go but annoyed there is no version of Sonic Racing Transformed for the original Switch as such a fantastic game and the Switch could really do justice to that game.

I think the people that are angry at the price, more than anything, they just expected more from the amount of money the game is sold for. I like Mario Kart World, it's a decent game, but I would have enjoyed it way more if the open world was actually something that was cool to explore. Or if the tracks were better or something like that. I don't think that's so outrageous to expect.

Based on what we got, I think the game should have been a bit cheaper. It would still not be in my top-something for game of the year if it was, but it would have been fair.

I think price could be taken into account whenever someone reviews a game, and they think that matters. Many people (myself included) decide what to buy based on price. Example: I had to decide between Hades 2 and Bananza just two weeks ago. I often read a review, or online discourse, to help me decide whether a game is worth my money. So I'm glad some reviewers implement grades in their scoring.

I don't think a reviewer or anyone is required to take money into account, and it's also nice to have people grade games on different sets of merits. But I also don't think there is something inherently wrong with it doing that.

All of that being said, I don't really agree with much of the outrage about Nintendo raising their prices for this generation. Price hikes are never fun, but I don't think this one deserved all the attention it got. Gaming is expensive, but so are many things in live.

I guess you weren't here during the Nintendo 64, GameCube and Wii U years? People were so much more salty in those generations.

I really like where Nintendo is now. They always have 1 or 2 games announced I'm looking forward to, and mos their choices make sense to me too. I think their output is relatively good compared to what other publishers do with more studios. And, except for the Pokemon games, a lot of care is put in every game.

It's good now, better than where it was in the years before it. But it's not like 1994, 1998, 2007 or 2017 either. Good times.

I agree with @Herculean that there is nothing wrong with factoring in price into a review score as long as it is clear. Review scores are fundamentally always just a comparative snapshot of a game's subjective worth/worthiness at a particular time. Price may change over time but so do other factors — graphics of a game are often rated compared to other graphics that exist in video games, a Pokemon remake is often rated compared to previous Pokemon games rather than in a vacuum. If I was in the 80s I would probably rate Super Mario Bros 1 10/10 but as someone who exists now I just don't think the platforming controls are as polished compared to other (Mario) games so I would rate it lower.

That said, it is dumb if people rate only or mostly for price like all the 1/10 review bombing which was done on mario kart world which say things like (randomly picking one) 'An overpriced piece of unfinished software tied to a $500 brick." I think professional reviews are much better and if they choose to rate on price make it a relatively minor factor; ironically I can think of more professional reviews of the dirt cheap Welcome Tour who appeared to take price into account (negatively) than for Mario Kart.

Generally, goodness per dollar is as fine of a thing to rate on as anything else — I appreciate reviews which say things like 'would be worth a buy on sale but not for full price', although I'm glad not all reviews do that.

The huge problem with Mario Kart World imo was the lack of single player content. If you are going to create the first 80 USD / € game ever, then make sure to at least make it an enticing proposition for all kinds of gamers, not only those that like the multiplayer aspect. If i had a small single player campaign of about 20 hours to sink my teeth into, the 80 price tag would be much more tolerable.

Its perfectly reasonable for people to judge whether a game provides enough value to be worth its price. Indeed, that's something everyone should do with every purchase. The problem with the discourse around prices is two fold:

1. People insisting that their own personal valuation is the only possible valuation, and that anyone else who values the game more ( or less, theoretically, but in practice its always about more ) is "wrong" in some way.

2. People treating the matter in a highly extreme binary, where a marginal increase in price has a nigh infinite impact on their opinion- a mere $10 difference takes a game instantly from "perfectly fine" to "unacceptable greed only bought by sheep".

Or basically, people need to get more used to nuance and preferences other than their own.

I think there is a key difference between a game's quality and game's value. A game with great game design can be overpriced, but that doesn't change the quality of the game's design and overall fun. Likewise, none of the eSlop games sold for $0.99 should be considered better than pricier titles on account of being cheaper.

Fundamentally, everyone has different budgets and everyone knows what they expect for said budget. Game reviewers cannot anticipate how much buying power individual members of their audience have, but they can more or less speak on how well crafted a gaming experience is. From there, the individual can determine if a game they want is worth getting at MSRP, on sale, or at all.

Yea, “quality” and “value” are very different words, at least in English.

Perfect example to me is the Link's Awakening remake. One of my favorite games I played on Switch, unquestionably, and unsurprisingly since DX is peak 2D Zelda (and peak Gameboy game).

Still glad I waited until I could find it for 40 dollars, even though its better than most 60 dollar games, that doesn't mean it should be a 60 dollar game. And I maintain it feels like the dungeon mode was added to justify the 60 dollar price tag rather than naturally adding an extra mode to a remake.

I'm undecided how much better I would feel about it as a full priced game if BOTW and Hyrule Warriors: DE weren't on the same system by that point, for the same price. Because having some of the most overly content filled Nintendo games of all time, in the same series, already on the same system, at the same time as they did the same for a remake of a gameboy game, does make that stand out more.

A 10 $ difference is a huge increase for most people, it is a 14% increase, compared to 70 $. And for Nintendo fans, the difference is not only 10 $, it is actually 20 $, as the standard Switch game price was 60 $. I am not arguing whether the price increase is justified or not, but it is definitely a noteworthy increase for the majority of gamers, in a period where everything gaming related is getting more epxensive, and AAA gaming has become more of a luxury than ever.

Here in the UK I've seen so many Switch 2 titles get heavily discounted. Yes most are on game key cards but not all. It really feels like here at least if you want to charge big money then it has to be an exceptional title. I'm personally not even sure Nintendo's games have maintained their price point. I look at the hotukdeals website and have seen so many Switch 2 games get big discounts. This might be that Nintendo has put the suggested selling price up but has actually got a lower trade price than before for such a price so there is more margin to discount. I'm not sure but its clear some Switch 2 titles are dying on the shelves and need heavy discounting to move. It feels like Nintendo will have to fine tune pricing in the UK and Europe. Maybe we won't get Japanese pricing but I think it will start to go a bit lower if they want to move good volumes of software. You would think game key cards would enable them to price games much lower anyway. What Nintendo wants to charge and what the market will bear with regard pricing are not always the same thing. I personally think value will improve on Switch 2 at least in Europe because I think it has to but we won't really know for sure until we see the numbers of Switch 2 that move at Christmas. However what if the console sells well but people only buy a low amount of software i.e. a very low attachment ratio. That is also a problem for Nintendo if there is slim margins on hardware but big margins on software.

This is exactly the kind of thought process that makes zero sense to me. Absolutely zero. And boy am I glad for that because it seems like such a detraction from just enjoying a dang game.

I agree that the LA Remake was one of my favorite games on Switch, but honestly I can't even remember what I bought it for. I can't remember what I bought most of my games for beyond this year lol.

Because despite what some of you are saying, I really don't think 10-20 bucks makes a huge difference to most people. I'm sorry, but I really think it doesn't. If it did, people wouldn't be grabbing 5-dollar coffees every morning. Ordering food with delivery services that tack on 10 dollars in fees. Subbing to services like Netflix and stuff for 10 bucks a month and barely using them.

Companies have figured out that 10-20 bucks is a nothingburger to most people. People spend 10-20 bucks on stupid stuff on a weekly basis without batting an eye, so taking it on to games they might buy once or twice a year isn't that crazy of a proposition. It's not the poverty-maker that some of you are depicting it to be lol

@BonzoBanana Nintendo did this stupid thing where in the UK (and some other regions), they made the RRP for physical more expensive than digital. For example £59 digital, £67 physical for games like DK Bananza/Age of Imprisonment/Kirby Air Riders.

Fortunately retailers are fighting back and so now we're already at the point where Age of Imprisonment and Air Riders are £57 physical with the launch still weeks away.

@rallydefault If $10 was nothing, people would have actually bought Welcome Tour 😆 I think most people would have at least tried it if it was free/part of NSO.

"Am i wrong for thinking that Nintendo is in one of its best eras right now?"

Yes, you are.

I find the price ultimately doesn't matter so much if I really want it, and the end result is even more satisfaction knowing I saved my hard-earned money for something of value.

I recall in the Gamecube era, before the Wii launched I was buying games 4 for £20 from Gamestation. I ended up with around 55 GC games but barely played some of them in the end. Many were not my cup of tea but were cheap and had decent reviews (i.e Viewtiful Joe)

Same issue on Steam when there is a sale - you get suckered into buying games because they were cheap and ultimately are less likely to enjoy or play them. When I was a child/teenager with limited funds, I got instantly so much more value from games because the ability to purchase them was more limited.

TL;DR - value comes not from the monetary unit assigned to a product, but from the satisfaction it gives you overall.