Yeah this is truly crazy. But so is literally everything Nintendo is doing when it comes to price ever since the Switch 2 launched.
DLC is supposed to be EXTRA content made after the game release to bring people back to the game with new reasons to play. Sometimes it's paid, and when it is it should offer substantial new content. And sometimes it's just free new content.
Sometimes these things are abused. Like when DLC costs $20-$30 without offering a ton or when they release multiple overpriced small DLCs like say with Smash Bros Ultimate. Or when games are released unfinished and the free updates later on are an apology that they couldn't get those parts of the game ready for the release and still released the game unfinished anyway.
This is the first time I know of that a company literally made the paid DLC alongside the game itself, and are simply releasing it for a lot more money instead of just including it with the game. The whole point of DLC is that it is EXTRA content made after the game, which is why it isn't part of the game itself.
Nintendo / Game Freak is just making it blatantly clear in this instance that the DLC could have come with the game but they are following Nintendo's new super-greed strategy and charging $30 for it. They could have hidden this fact by announcing the DLC a few months after the game released and put out the DLC say like next summer. But I guess at least they are being honest and upfront that they are just abusing their customers.
The one thing we can say about Nintendo is 2025 is that they made the very conscious decision to start screwing over their customers on price in every way imaginable. Affordable Nintendo is dead in 2025, the new Nintendo is all about overcharging for everything, and outdoing everyone else in the industry in this regard.
Legit thread BraLoD. Although I wouldn't say this is being downplayed, at least not by everyone. I mean sure a lot of people on here, after initial Switch 2 pricing outrage, fell completely in line and started acting like Nintendo's new pricing strategy is totally fine and normal and nobody could possibly complain about it. But there's still plenty of us being honest about how insane this all is. As a Nintendo gamer who has long appreciated that Nintendo steered away from the expensive price war that Sony and Microsoft embarked on, and instead focused on great affordable experiences, I am deeply disappointed in the direction Nintendo has gone this year, especially considering they are extremely profitable so none of these crazy prices are at all needed for business reasons. Nintendo may keep offering great games, but they have abandoned their fans in a very real way this year.
Last edited by Slownenberg - on 14 September 2025
