Nintendo announces that physical games will cost more money than digital

Nintendo has announced that it will soon start charging different prices for it's physical and digital Switch 2 games.

Starting with the release of Yoshi and and the Mysterious Book, Nintendo have said that physical copies of the game will cost more money than the digital download version.

"Beginning in May 2026, and starting with pre-orders for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, new Nintendo published digital titles exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 will have an MSRP that is different from physical versions." say Nintendo in their annoucement.

MRSP - or Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price - means the price of an item set by its maker.

On Nintendo's website the digital pre-order price of the game is: £49.99, and the physical price is listed as: £58.99 - a £9 difference.

Nintendo has said that the games will "offer the same experiences whether in packaged or digital format".

"This change simply reflects the different costs associated with producing and distributing each format and offers players more choice in how they can buy and play Nintendo games." they said in a press statement.

Nintendo has said that these changes will only apply to Nintendo-made games, and that shops are still free to set their own prices.

"As always, retail partners set their own prices for physical and digital games, and pricing for each title may vary."

Nintendo have not said whether Switch 1 games or previously released Switch 2 games, like Pokémon Pokopia, will be affected by these new changes.

Other gaming companies like Sony have recently been trialling things like dynamic pricing - where the price of something changes depending on how popular it is - for games in their PSN store.