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

Amid the ongoing backlash to Nintendo's surprising pricing for the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World, two former Nintendo PR managers, Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang, have labeled the situation as "a true crisis moment for Nintendo." In a video on their YouTube channel, the ex-Nintendo of America PR managers criticized the company's approach to unveiling the $449.99 price for the Switch 2 and the $79.99 price tag for Mario Kart World.

Ellis emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, "I don’t want to blow things out of proportion, but this does feel like a true crisis moment for Nintendo." The high pricing isn't limited to Mario Kart World; other Nintendo Switch 2 Edition titles, such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, also carry a $79.99 price. Additionally, Nintendo has faced criticism for charging for the Switch 2 tutorial video game experience, Welcome Tour, which many fans believe should have been a complimentary pack-in. This contrasts sharply with Astro's Playroom, which comes pre-installed on every PlayStation 5 console, serving as a free tech demo for the DualSense controller.

The outrage over pricing has even affected Nintendo's Treehouse livestreams, where viewers have been flooding the chat with demands to "DROP THE PRICE." Ellis and Yang were particularly vocal about Nintendo's method of revealing the prices, highlighting the omission of pricing details in the Direct itself as a "deliberate" move that led to widespread confusion and misinformation as fans searched for pricing confirmation elsewhere.

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Yang suggested that the pricing was "intentionally omitted from the Direct for a reason," but the way it was communicated was poor, leaving fans to piece together information from various sources. Ellis added, "It just shows some disrespect to the consumer, where, ‘oh, you just saw the Direct you’re so excited, you’re just gonna throw your money at us blindly, you’re not going to even ask the question of how much it cost because you’re so excited, aren’t you?’" Yang went further, stating, "It’s a little bit degrading almost to the intelligence of the consumer."

The former NOA communications staff also pointed out Nintendo's failure to address the pricing concerns publicly or through the press, leading to rampant speculation and misinformation. Yang noted, "They are enabling the story to get out of hand, out of control," with Ellis adding, "They have lost control of this."

Ellis and Yang suggested that Nintendo may have lost its consumer mindfulness, attributing this to the retirement of former NOA boss Reggie Fils-Aimé and the tragic loss of former Nintendo head Satoru Iwata. They mentioned that Nintendo's communications team would likely recommend issuing an official statement, though the process to gain approval from current Nintendo boss Shuntaro Furukawa would be challenging and involve many stakeholders.

Furthermore, the duo noted that Nintendo is out of practice in dealing with community and press communications, especially negative feedback, since the Nintendo 3DS price debacle in 2011. Concerns were also raised about the staff at public-facing Switch 2 hands-on sessions, where fans might pose pricing questions that could be misconstrued as official responses if shared online.

While the future remains uncertain, neither Ellis nor Yang anticipate a price drop for the Switch 2 or its games before launch. For further insights, readers can explore everything announced at the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct and expert analyses on the Switch 2 price and Mario Kart World’s $80 price tag.