Amidst the ongoing backlash against Nintendo's pricing strategy for the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World, two former Nintendo PR managers, Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang, have labeled the situation as a "true crisis moment for Nintendo." In a video on their YouTube channel, they expressed strong criticism over the $449.99 price tag for the Switch 2 and the $79.99 price for Mario Kart World.

Ellis remarked, “I don’t want to blow things out of proportion, but this does feel like a true crisis moment for Nintendo.” The controversy extends beyond Mario Kart World, as other Switch 2 titles like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom also carry a $79.99 price. Additionally, Nintendo has faced criticism for charging for the Switch 2 tutorial game, Welcome Tour, which many fans believe should be a free pack-in, similar to Astro's Playroom on the PlayStation 5.

The public's frustration has even infiltrated Nintendo’s Treehouse livestreams, where viewers are flooding the chat with demands to "DROP THE PRICE." Ellis and Yang were particularly vocal about Nintendo's approach to revealing the prices, pointing out the omission of pricing information during the Direct presentation. Yang suggested that the pricing was "intentionally omitted from the Direct for a reason," but criticized the scattered release of information that left consumers piecing together details on their own.

Ellis further commented on the perceived disrespect toward consumers, saying, “It just shows some disrespect to the consumer, where, ‘oh, you just saw the Direct you’re so excited, you’re just gonna throw your money at us blindly, you’re not going to even ask the question of how much it cost because you’re so excited, aren’t you?’” Yang added that this approach felt "a little bit degrading almost to the intelligence of the consumer."

The former PR managers highlighted Nintendo's failure to address the pricing concerns publicly or through media interviews, leading to rampant speculation and misinformation. Yang noted, "They are enabling the story to get out of hand, out of control," with Ellis adding, "They have lost control of this."

Ellis and Yang suggested that Nintendo's consumer mindfulness has waned since the retirement of Reggie Fils-Aimé and the passing of Satoru Iwata. They anticipate that Nintendo's communications team will push for an official statement, although the approval process will be challenging and involve many stakeholders before reaching current Nintendo boss Shuntaro Furukawa.

Moreover, Nintendo's lack of recent engagement with its community and press has left them out of practice in handling such negativity, reminiscent of the 2011 Nintendo 3DS price debacle. Concerns also arise about staff at public demo stations for the Switch 2, where any response to pricing questions could be misconstrued as an official statement.

Looking ahead, neither Ellis nor Yang expect a price reduction for the Switch 2 or its games before launch. For more information, explore everything announced at the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct and expert analyses on the pricing of the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World.

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