Reggie Says Nintendo Skips Big Discounts Because It Ships Complete Games
Nintendo games staying expensive is not exactly breaking news to Malaysian Switch owners. Whether you are browsing the eShop, checking Shopee listings, or hunting used cartridges at a game shop, first-party Nintendo titles have a habit of holding their price like gila stubborn.
Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has now explained the thinking behind that approach, and basically, it comes down to how Nintendo sees the value of its own games.
Speaking during the NYU Game Center Lecture Series, in comments highlighted by Stealth40K, Fils-Aimé was asked about Nintendo not chasing the modern industry pattern of launching unfinished live-service games first, then patching them into shape later. His answer was that Nintendo’s internal mindset has traditionally been very different: the company wants to ship a game that is ready to play from day one, without players needing to sit through a huge launch update before they can actually enjoy it.
He connected that philosophy to Nintendo’s Kyoto roots. Kyoto has a long association with craftsmanship, and Fils-Aimé said he believes Nintendo carries a similar mentality as a company: make the best game possible, launch it as a complete product, and then price it accordingly.
That, according to him, is also why Nintendo rarely drops the official prices of its major games. He pointed to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as an example, saying Nintendo itself never discounted the game after launch. Individual retailers may have run their own deals, but the company’s own price stayed firm.
For Malaysian and SEA players, this explains something we have all felt in our wallets. Nintendo games do not behave like many PlayStation, Xbox, or PC titles, where waiting six months can mean grabbing a big discount. A Nintendo evergreen game can sit on shelves for years and still cost close to launch price, especially for physical copies. The upside is that cartridges often keep strong resale value. The downside? Kalau baru masuk Switch ecosystem, building a library can feel painful unless you are patient with second-hand deals.
But there is one interesting wrinkle here: Fils-Aimé left Nintendo in 2019, and the company’s recent output has not always perfectly matched that old “complete at launch” reputation.
GamesRadar points out that some newer Mario sports and lifestyle releases have leaned harder on post-launch content. Mario Strikers: Battle League launched with less content than the older GameCube entry from nearly two decades earlier, before receiving more additions later. Mario Golf: Super Rush and Nintendo Switch Sports also followed that update-over-time model. Even Animal Crossing: New Horizons added notable features like diving and Dream Islands after launch instead of having everything available immediately.
So the question for Nintendo fans now is not just whether the company should discount its games. It is whether every full-price Nintendo release still earns that premium from day one.
When Nintendo is at its best, the argument makes sense. Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey — these are games that stay relevant for years, especially in family setups and local multiplayer circles across Malaysia. But when a game launches thin and asks players to wait for content, the premium pricing hits differently.
Nintendo’s pricing philosophy still has power because the brand has trust. But trust is not infinite, bro. If the company wants to keep charging full price forever, the games need to feel full from the start.
Source: GamesRadar
