Nintendo is making games cheaper with its new price policies

The other part of this is even more surprising. Apart from Rhythm Heaven Groove, all the above games are $10 cheaper on the eShop. (I quoted the eShop prices above.) Alone among the console shopkeepers, Nintendo has decided to pass the savings of digital distribution on to the consumer and respond to cheaper game pricing on all-digital platforms like Steam. Until now, undercutting the retailers they rely on to distribute and sell hardware has been taboo among the console platform holders. I would have thought Nintendo, which is even more reliant on retail than its rivals, and has by far the strongest physical game sales, would be the last to make this move. But it is the first.

Why has Nintendo made the change? Well, considering the rising cost of the memory chips in game cards that have brought about the sad era of the game-key card, Nintendo’s margins are probably getting squeezed on physical editions, so maybe it’s keen to push digital copies for pure profit. But it could have made physical editions $10 more expensive instead of making digital games $10 cheaper, and it didn’t.

I think Nintendo is looking at what competitors are charging, and what players are willing to pay, and has decided games need to be (a little) cheaper, and priced according to their value. Incredible. It may have only stumbled on this policy out of panicked self-interest, but that doesn’t make it unfair. Fair game pricing, in the year 2026? Who’d have thought! —Oli Welsh

eShop game of the week: The Drifter

Image: Powerhoof

Australian indie studio Powerhoof overhauls the classic 1990s point-and-click adventure game with smart controls (including mouse support on the Switch 2) and a fast-moving, meaty, mature storyline straight from a vintage VHS B-movie. “It’s a classic point-and-click adventure with mostly leisurely gameplay, but with the tone and speed of a guns-blazing action thriller,” says Adventure Game Hotspot in a 95% review. “With stunning production values, entertaining gameplay, and a brilliantly performed thought-provoking story, this is pulp sci-fi at its best.”

Nintendo Classics game of the week: Sin and Punishment

If Star Fox has inspired you to check out some other rail shooters — or if you want to lord it over the normies by playing a deep cut instead — look no further than this stylish Japan-only Nintendo 64 game by the ultimate shmup developer, Treasure (Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga). Designed to be played holding the left side of the N64 controller (though it can be swapped around), on a Switch you control character movement with the d-pad and aiming with the right stick. A true hidden gem of the N64 library.

Nintendo Music track of the week: “Decided by the Eyes (Big Blue)” from F-Zero X

Nintendo just dropped a curated Nintendo 64 Selects playlist on Nintendo Music, and one of the highlights is this classic example of racing-game metal that matches the famously fearsome pace of the sci-fi racing series F-zero. With its stabbing riff, hard-charging drums, and wailing guitars and synths, it won’t fail to get you pumped up.

This week’s most interesting releases

Star Fox

• June 25
• Switch 2
• Cinematic remake of classic arcade shooter

Citizen Sleeper and Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

• June 25
• Switch 2
• Acclaimed indie cyberpunk RPGs arrive on Switch 2

Clock Rogue

• June 25
• Switch
• A roguelike with clock-based combat that’s all about timing

Namco Legendary Mountains

• June 25
• Switch, Switch 2
• 3D Suika Game, but with Pac-Man capsule toys instead of fruit

Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains

• June 30
• Switch, Switch 2
• Use the force to ruin family game night

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