Nintendo originally announced Donkey Kong Country Returns for Switch during their big Nintendo Direct presentation last June. For many, it was a somewhat anticlimactic announcement, since most people that follow Nintendo understand that the Switch is in its twilight months and the Switch 2 will be announced and unveiled very soon. As a result, Nintendo’s first-party lineup has mostly consisted of remakes and ports until Switch 2 is finally released. That’s standard operating practice for Nintendo at the tail end of a console’s life cycle. That’s not the problem.
It’s also not a problem to most Switch owners that Donkey Kong Country Returns is a 15 year-old Wii game. Nintendo has released a lot of older games on the Switch to the delight of Nintendo enthusiasts.
What has raised many eyebrows is how much Nintendo is charging for Donkey Kong Country Returns: as a full $60 Switch game. The same price as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – games that have sold tens of millions of copies on the Switch and were brand new when they released.
Let’s do a quick recap of the history of Donkey Kong Country Returns. When I say it’s not a new game, I mean it’s not even close to being new. This is a game that’s been around the block. In fact, the Switch will be its fourth port and the fifth platform it’s appeared on.
- First release: November 21, 2010 on the Wii. Cost: $50
- Second release: May 24, 2013 on the 3DS with extra content and difficulty options. Cost $40
- Third release: January 21, 2015 on the Wii U with no new content added. Cost: $20
- Fourth release: July 4, 2019 on the Nvidia Shield in China with no new content added. Cost: Unknown
- Fifth release: January 16, 2025 for Nintendo Switch with all the 3DS content included. Cost: $60
So doing a quick comparison, it seems that the 3DS port was the definitive version of Donkey Kong Country Returns leading up to its release on Switch. It was a $40 full price game and had more content and options than any of the other versions. The Switch version is a straight port of the 3DS version. Meaning, it will have the exact same content and options. Yet it costs a $20 more. Your next question might be: what is Nintendo offering in value for the $20 price increase?
Answer: Nothing. Zero.
Then what is Nintendo’s justification for the price increase? They don’t have one. They’re hoping you either don’t know, don’t remember, or don’t care that this particular Donkey Kong Country game has been on several past Nintendo platforms, and that its price structure has been a roller coaster, as has been illustrated.
They’re also hoping you’re indifferent to the fact that the quality and polish of this Switch port of DKC Returns isn’t exactly blowing people away. It’s missing visual effects from the original Wii version from 15 years ago, and it visually looks very much like an old game. Compare it to Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, or other remasters Nintendo has put on the Switch, and tell me which one looks better. Nintendo is putting in minimal effort and expecting maximum return.
They tried charging $50 for Miitopia on Switch, an RPG in which you use your Miis as characters. I played the demo on 3DS years ago and it was incredibly bland, but on 3DS, it was only a $40 game. On Switch, it’s $50. Not only is it not a very good game, but Nintendo overcharged for it. Thankfully, it came and went on Switch without hardly a word.
Meanwhile, Metroid Prime Remastered for Switch had something like ten different development houses work on it. The result was maybe the most visually impressive game Nintendo has ever had their name attached to. They took what was arguably Nintendo’s greatest single-player game and made it even better. It was obvious and apparent how much care and attention to detail it received. How much did Nintendo charge for Metroid Prime Remastered? Forty dollars – twenty dollars cheaper than the mediocre port of Donkey Kong Country Returns.
Nintendo’s pricing structure for 3DS games on Switch lacks consistency, as does the quality and polish of the games themselves. They’re putting in token effort while charging for whatever they think they can get away with, and hoping the casual and younger gamers won’t know any better. Not only is it opportunistic and lazy, it’s disrespectful to their older fans who do know better and are paying attention.
Everything I’ve said in this piece could also be applied to Luigi’s Mansion 2 for Switch. It’s the same dynamic: a 3DS game ported to Switch with no new content and and minimal effort put into the visuals and presentation. To make it worse, Luigi’s Mansion 2, otherwise known on 3DS as Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, is mediocre and probably the least-good Luigi’s Mansion game in the series. Yet Nintendo is charging $60 for it on Switch and hoping potential buyers don’t know or don’t care about the same $20 price increase. Don’t fall for it. If you want to know my full thoughts on Luigi’s Mansion 2, my review for it is here. Suffice it to say that the most I would pay for it on Switch would be $20-$25.
I’m not going to tell you to not buy Donkey Kong Country Returns on Switch, but I am going to urge you not buy it for $60. The only exception is for hardcore Donkey Kong Country fans who have never played Returns before and must have it day one. For everyone else: expect and demand more from Nintendo because they’re capable of more – much more. Don’t accept price increases from them for shoddy, lazy 3DS-to-Switch ports. It only encourages them to keep doing it. Vote with your wallet.
However, don’t misunderstand: unlike what I just said about Luigi’s Mansion 2, this isn’t a critique of Donkey Kong Country Returns as a game. It’s a fine platformer that should be bought and played for years to come. However, if Nintendo wants to charge more for it than they did when it was originally released on Wii in 2010, they need to offer equal value to justify the price increase, especially when you compare it to other remasters/remakes they’ve brought to Switch like Metroid Prime Remastered and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door – two great games that had much more care and attention invested into them.
Thanks for reading.
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