Donkey Kong Nation Returns HD is an enhanced model of the 2o10 Wii sport coming to Swap in 2025, and followers can’t imagine Nintendo is charging $60 for it. The worth was revealed within the new eShop itemizing and makes final yr’s Metroid Prime Remaster appear like an unimaginable deal by comparability.
Revealed within the huge June Nintendo Direct, Donkey Kong Nation Returns HD ports the platforming franchise’s 2010 revival to a contemporary platform with larger decision graphics and, based mostly on the trailer footage, some notable visible enhancements to degree backgrounds that give them extra element and depth. It additionally comes with the extra ranges added to the earlier 3DS port of the sport, in addition to a mode that scales down the issue. It’s an excellent sport in a beloved franchise that deserved a comeback. However $60?
Some Swap house owners on social media instantly scoffed on the value. Many shared screenshots of an outdated Laborious Drive parody titled “Nintendo Holds 12 Hour Assembly to Resolve if Firm Can Survive Promoting ‘Donkey Kong Nation: Tropical Freeze’ for Much less Than $60.” Followers on Reddit have been additionally flummoxed. “I don’t perceive why Nintendo will get away with this,” wrote one person. “If Ubisoft or EA pulled one of these stuff, you’d see dozens of boycott posts a day.”
You possibly can see the logic within the firm’s pondering. Because the sequel, Tropical Freeze, was priced at $60, doing the identical for Donkey Kong Nation Returns HD helps sign that it’s an analogous worth proposition, and deserves the identical premium. Then again, Tropical Freeze was a Wii U port that added extra to the earlier model. It was additionally arguably a greater sport.
You possibly can see a number of examples of Nintendo experimenting with variable pricing for its again catalog. Mario vs. Donkey Kong was a remake of a Recreation Boy Advance Recreation and it was solely $50. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp was $60 however it included visible overhauls of two video games. After which there was Metroid Prime Remastered, an immaculate re-rendering of the GameCube basic that was solely $40.
That’s the one which has individuals scratching their heads probably the most compared to Returns HD. Does Nintendo simply have much less religion within the Metroid model or did it simply need to see what would occur if it bought Metroid Prime 4: Past’s predecessor at a way more aggressive value? Paper Mario: The Thousand-Yr Door, one other remaster of a GameCube sport, was $60 in any case. Such is the ability of the mustachioed plumber, even when he’s a 2D cutout. Then once more, the Tremendous Mario 3D All-Stars, a set containing Tremendous Mario 64, Sunshine, and Galaxy, was $60 for 3 video games. Who can know the thoughts of Nintendo? Not me.
It’s onerous to get too mad on the firm for making an attempt to protect the worth of its again catalog, even when I’ll persist with my 3DS copy of the sport at that value. However what it does do is make the anomaly of Metroid Prime really feel like much more of a steal. The sport’s even on sale proper now for simply $34 on the eShop. Hopefully, some potential Metroid Prime 2 and 3 remasters preserve the development going. Perhaps they’ll even get bundled for $60 for each. A Nintendo fan can dream.