Disclosure time: I am a bit of a Mario Kart fiend. For whatever reason, ever since that first game popped up on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, I’ve been nigh addicted to that silly kart racer… even when it honestly wasn’t the best of its genre, much less the only one of its genre.
Let’s be honest, Diddy Kong Racing was doing a lot of what Mario Kart is just getting to doing, but for whatever reason, that game never resonated with me quite like the OG. I’ve put roughly 200 hours into every freakin’ title except 7 (and that was only because I didn’t have the 3DS at that time). I’m reasonably certain I will do the same with Mario Kart World.
So for me… is it worth $80? Sure. Do I like that sticker price? Not really. But I’ll grin and bear it because I’m going to get my money’s worth.
Now I don’t begrudge anyone who looks at that same title, shrugs, and says, “That’s not worth $80.” That’s actually entirely fair. If you’re not someone who is going to put 200 hours into it (and I’d wager a ton of people won’t), that’s not a price tag that’s going to compel a purchase. That’s okay. That’s a lot of money to spend on one game.
But what does grind my gears are the dramatics that a lot of gamers are exhibiting over this price point. You’d think this was some sort of daytime soap opera and they just discovered their fiancée has slept with their rival on the eve of their wedding from the reactions they are vomiting on the web. You’d think these gamers are on the brink of homelessness and starvation with the way they are wailing about how they “can’t afford” these unreasonable prices.
Dry your crocodile tears, build a bridge, and get over it. “Why isn’t this $70? $80 is simply too much! I can’t afford that!” Fuck off. If ten bucks is the breaking point for your budget, then I’m gonna be perfectly blunt and tell you that you shouldn’t be buying Mario Kart World at any price point. You shouldn’t be buying it at $70. Hell, you shouldn’t be buying it at $50 (which is the price point that you’d get it in the Nintendo Switch 2 bundle).
If your financial situation is that tenuous that $10 is simply a bridge too fucking far, then you need to back away and not buy anything at all. If you simply can’t afford it at $80, then you can’t afford it at $70. Likewise, if you can afford it at $70, then you can find that extra Hamilton in your budget. You don’t have to like it (like I don’t particularly), but you can do it. Don’t pretend you can’t. Don’t pretend like you’re going to have to subsist on beans and rice for three months because you put that extra cash down on a video game.
Drop the sob stories. Drop the drama. There is a perfectly acceptable to reason to reject that price point, one that doesn’t require you to make yourself look like a damn fool.
“It’s not worth $80.” There ya go. That’s all ya need… and that’s all that Nintendo is going to listen to at the end of the day anyway.
TKO Creations 