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

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

In a video on their YouTube channel, former Nintendo of America PR managers Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang expressed their concerns about the way Nintendo announced the $449.99 price tag for the Switch 2 and the $79.99 price for 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 game for the Nintendo Switch 2 priced at $79.99. Some Nintendo Switch 2 Edition titles, like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, also carry this price point.

Nintendo has faced criticism for charging for the Switch 2 tutorial video game experience, Welcome Tour, which fans argue should be included for free. For comparison, Astro's Playroom comes pre-installed on every PlayStation 5, serving as a complimentary tech demo for the DualSense controller.

The frustration over pricing has even impacted Nintendo's Treehouse livestreams, where viewers flood the chat with messages demanding "DROP THE PRICE."

Ellis and Yang criticized Nintendo's approach to revealing the prices of the Switch 2 and its games. They highlighted the absence of pricing information in the Direct itself, describing it as a "deliberate" omission that led to confusion and misinformation as fans searched for price confirmation elsewhere.

Nintendo Switch 2 System and Accessories Gallery

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"The Switch 2 and Mario Kart World pricing was 'intentionally omitted from the Direct for a reason,'" Yang claimed, "but handled poorly in terms of the information being scattered across different places, expecting fans and consumers to piece it all together."

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 costs because you're so excited, aren't you?'"

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

The former NOA communications staff then discussed Nintendo's failure to address the pricing concern, either through a public statement or in interviews with the press. They argued this silence has led to rampant speculation and misinformation.

"They are enabling the story to get out of hand, out of control," Yang said. "They have lost control of this," Ellis added.

Ellis and Yang suggested that Nintendo now lacks 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.

Nintendo’s communications team will be recommending the company release an official statement, Yang said, but the approval process will be challenging, involving many people before reaching current Nintendo boss Shuntaro Furukawa.

Nintendo will also be out of practice, having not engaged with its community or press in a long time, nor having to manage this level of negativity since the Nintendo 3DS price debacle of 2011.

Concerns have also arisen for staff managing demo stations at the public-facing Switch 2 hands-on sessions. Fans will have valid questions at these events, and any responses from staff could be shared online and interpreted as Nintendo's official stance.

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

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