Having previously released Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on the Wii U, Nintendo has chosen to port the 2010 game Donkey Kong Country Returns to the Switch. While the fact that Nintendo isn't releasing a brand-new Donkey Kong game is already a little upsetting, some fans are more perplexed by the $60 price tag attached to this HD port.This was found via the Nintendo Switch eShop and is both unexpected and predictable. One the one hand, Donkey Kong Country Returns is well over a decade old, and for a small portion of Nintendo's asking price, you can get a used copy of either the Wii original or the 3DS port. Furthermore, this port does not have any brand-new material other than the levels that were added to the 3DS version. Even though I believe Donkey Kong Country Returns is an excellent 2D platformer that is worth playing, you cannot even play it in online cooperative mode. At $60, I doubt I could suggest it.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD priced at $60 byu/TheMawguisnotatoy innintendo
When you consider that the Metroid Prime remaster from the previous year, which provided a far more apparent graphical glow-up, is just $40, it becomes even more startling. Still, Nintendo has done this quite a few times before. HD ports and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward SwordDream Land: Kirby's Comeback sold for $60 at retail in addition to the current HD Luigi's Mansion 2. It's not like this has prevented supporters from voicing grievances.Many people are shocked by the asking price on a Nintendo subreddit, and some even argue that it wouldn't be so awful if it came with Tropical Freeze. It has also been noted that comparable HD re-releases, like Activision's remasters of the original Crash Bandicoot games, were significantly more reasonably priced. The N. Sane Trilogy was a $40 game that had three games in one. A remaster of Beyond Good & Evil was just released by Ubisoft, and it costs only $20. One Reddit member said, "I just don't buy Nintendo anymore because of reasons like these." "Although I adore the classics, I won't spend $60 on a game that essentially has new graphics."Others have attempted, in a different thread, to support or at least explain Nintendo's choice. For example, they have cited the fact that Donkey Kong is more well known and has sold better than Metroid. Not to mention that DK has been receiving more attention recently from Nintendo, as seen by his inclusion in the Super Mario Bros. film and his own extension at the Super Nintendo World theme park.Since a significant chunk of Nintendo's audience missed the original, the game may as well be brand-new for them, as one Reddit user poignantly notes: "There's more and more kids every year aging up and becoming the exact target demo for some of these games." Nintendo really shouldn't be devaluing their classic titles. Although I did say that copies of the Wii and 3DS versions are available online, younger audiences are not likely to actively seek for used copies of those consoles or have an old Wii or 3DS laying around.I don't think that the unwillingness of certain fans to purchase Donkey Kong Country Returns HD at full price will have a significant negative impact on the game's sales. Thanks in part to its consistently high-quality first-party releases, Nintendo has managed to build a devoted following on Switch that, apart from those who never had the chance to play the original, would gladly shell out over $60 for whatever the firm releases.