I'm diving headfirst into the shark tank here, but i mostly* think these game price raises are expected and not particularly problematic*.
Big ticket Wii games generally sold for $50.
For the Wii U, that went up to $60. $10 increase.
For the Switch 1, that mostly stayed at $60, but some rare ones were $70. $0-$10 increase.
For the Switch 2, it seems** to mostly be $70, but some rare ones will be $80. $10 increase across the board.
**This is not confirmed, but I would be very surprised if their main ticket DK platformer was $10 cheaper than other main titles, so that's why I'm making the prediction I am now. My commentary could change if this read is wrong.
These prices adjusted for current U.S. inflation, upon release of the relevant consoles:
Wii: 50 -> ~80
Wii U: 60 -> ~83
Switch 1: 60-70 -> ~80-90
Switch 2: 70-80
These figures are presented in a way that is slightly unfavorable to my argument. I only have U.S. inflation data up to February of this year, when inflation is higher than that now, and it will be higher still when the console actually releases. On the other hand, though, I'm using U.S. data, and the situation in other countries may differ.
This price change seems very in line with past behavior. If adjusting for inflation, a bit more lenient if anything. Additionally, games remain very cheap relative to their cost to produce, and relative to the enjoyment you can extract from them.
I think a lot of the backlash is people not wanting to pay more, which like, fair enough. We seldom want to pay more. The increased price of the console, which does seem aberrantly high, may figure into that too. But trying to remove my personal paying preferences from the mix, talking about the game prices in isolation and not the console price, I don't think the backlash is entirely reasonable.
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*There are two things about these price raises that I think are + may become a big deal.
First, for people like Samirsin outside the primary market who are paying much more markup, I understand your backlash a lot more. My post is only for people in primary markets. (And even then, there may be something about PAL region / Japan I don't know.)
Second, the increased price for some physical games worries me. We should remember that, as far as I know, it is only some physical games, only in Europe, to have the price raise. However, alongside it obviously being unfortunate for our European friends, it could also bode ominously for future hindered access to physical games.
I'm not sure how much I want to get into a protracted debate about this. I think my argument has credibility and that someone oughta put it out there for a fuller picture on the question, but I've gotten into some pretty predictable and unpleasant argument loops around topics like this before. If I see a disagreeing post that makes a good point, I'll try to at least react to it.