Despite buying a Nintendo Switch at launch way back in 2017, most of its exclusive library passed me by. I played a little Super Mario Odyssey here and some Pokemon Shield there, but the console’s poor performance, middling battery life, and endless Joy-Con drift ultimately pushed me away.
Now, having repeated history and picked up aSwitch 2, I’ve been enjoying going back and playing some of the games of yesteryear I missed out on because they were too pooey to play. I’m still not quite vibing with Tears of the Kingdom, but Super Mario Wonder, 3D World, and Echoes of Wisdom all feel brand new again. Sadly, one game I won’t be able to check out isSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Don’t get me wrong, I want to play it. I’ve never played a Smash game before, and I’m one of the rare few who enjoyed Multiversus enough to throw some money at it, so I’m eager to see how the big dog of the genre does it. But I’m not prepared to pay almost £100 for a seven-year-old game.
Let’s Smash The Maths
To get a digital copy of the complete Smash Bros. Ultimate experience, you need to buy:
This means to get everything in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, you’re paying a whopping £151.06.
The problem here isn’t the DLC itself. Compared to a lot of other games, Smash Bros. does a good job of not nickel-and-diming its players. The Mii fighter cosmetics are borderline, but they’re aesthetic – the main additions are substantial characters with their own stages, music, and movelists.
The issue is that this game is seven years old. It launched not long after the original Switch in 2017, and the final DLC character – Kingdom Hearts’ Sora – was added way back in October 2021. It’s peak Nintendo arrogance to think a title it hasn’t supported in almost four years is still worth full price, and then almost another £100 in DLC on top of that.
Nintendo also very rarely releases its modern games as complete editions. There isn’t a way to buy Smash Bros. and all its DLC in one single transaction – you have to go and take every hit to your wallet one after the other in what is averyexpensive proposal for new players like me.
The fact Super Mario 3D World got a version that bundled in Bowser’s Fury was a big enough deal that Nintendo changed the name of the game to reflect it.
Why Is Nintendo Special?
Every other publisher understands that, over time, games reduce in price. That’s the trade-off: at launch, you pay a premium so you can play it sooner than someone who waits. Even games riddled in microtransactions follow this: Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which launched in February this year, can already be found for over £10 cheaper than Smash Bros Ultimate. By the end of the year, you’ll likely be able to find it for half the price.
But it’s common knowledge that Nintendo never reduces the price of its games. It might have a temporary discount here and there, but Mario Odyssey still costs £50, Breath of the Wild £60, and Splatoon 2 – a game so old that Nintendo doesn’t even support its successor any more – is £50. We all use this as justification to buy Nintendo’s games at launch instead of waiting for the price to fall, but it never seems to be the stain against Nintendo it should be.
Look at Activision. It is also notorious for its poor discounts on games, with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – the original, not the remake – still going on sale for £20 every once in a blue moon. And if you went on /r/GameDeals or read its Steam forums, you’d have people decrying the price, calling it greedy. Why does Nintendo not get the same when it tries to sell Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for £50?
Nintendo Is Missing A Trick
Aside from my general disdain for Nintendo’s aloof attitude, it just seems like a silly idea not capitalising on the Switch 2’s launch with a way to hop onto Smash Bros Ultimate in a more convenient way. For a game that commanded the conversation throughout its predecessor’s life, Smash Bros. has been completely absent from the Switch 2 in favour of games like Mario Kart World and updates to Tears of the Kingdom and other original Switch exclusives.
Nintendo could’ve even made it a Switch 2 exclusive if it had to, but a way for people new to the Switch ecosystem to pick up one of its biggest games and have a complete, playable experience from the off would have been a home run. £60 for a seven-year-old game is a lot, but £60 for a game with all its updates, DLC, and refreshed for the new hardware I’ve just bought is a lot more reasonable.
As it is, I just won’t play Smash Bros. I’ve got enough to be getting on with that doesn’t involve dropping all that cash on a game old enough to be in school, and I’m sure we’ll eventually get a new Smash Bros. that I can get in at the ground floor for. Once again, Nintendo’s insistence on doing things its own way results in a bone-headed decision that puts me off buying one of its products. Also, water is wet.
