Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze On Switch Costs More Than Wii U Version At Launch

We’re used to hearing about companies like EA and Activision ripping off consumers, but despite their squeaky clean image, Nintendo is just as guilty. That’s because the Switch version of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze will be slapped with a $59.99 price tag, despite the fact that it only cost $49.99 when it was originally released on the Wii U back in 2014. To add insult to injury, the only significant changes in the Switch version will be a new character and the addition of an easy mode.

In other words, Nintendo is re-releasing a four-year-old game at a more expensive price than the amount it originally cost. Does that make sense to you? And to be clear, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a side-scroller here, so we’re not talking about an open-world game like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which offers hundreds upon hundreds of hours of gameplay and would be worthy of a full AAA price tag no matter how many times it gets re-released (although to be fair, Tropical Freeze is said to offer around twelve hours of gameplay, significantly more than most other side-scrollers). The overpriced re-release is an obvious attempt to overcharge the consumer by cashing in on the name recognition of a popular IP.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was developed by Metroid veterans Retro Studios, and will receive both a digital and physical release on the Switch on May 4. And let’s be honest, it’s not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just a shame to see Nintendo embracing the business practices more commonly associated with the likes of EA. Next they’ll be adding banana-shaped loot boxes.

What do you think of this news? Does it put you off picking up Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze? Sound off in the comments below, and check out our list of the best exclusive games for the Nintendo Switch.