Nintendo Raises Console Prices
Plus did Tencent copy the Horizon game?
We are back from Gen Con where we picked up lots of board games and also a cold. We apologize that the latter delayed this week’s issue. Nintendo raised the price of the original Switch. How much? Also, Sony is suing Tencent for a game that looks a lot like one of theirs. All this and more. Let’s go!
Nintendo raises the price of the Switch 1
Usually after 8 years, the price of a new console goes down. Nintendo has other plans though, as they announced last week that the price of the original Switch lineup was going up in the U.S.
Citing “market conditions” (aka tariffs), Nintendo this week raised the price of a Switch from $300 to $340, the Switch Lite from $200 to $230 and the Switch OLED from $350 to $400. Along with the rise in price of the consoles, Nintendo also announced the price of accessories including controllers, docks and even amiibos were going up.
This price increase puts the cost of the much older hardware closer to the Switch 2, which starts at $450. Nintendo says they currently have no plans to raise the price of the console which launched in June. However, they made similar claims when they raised the price of the original Switch lineup in Canada a few months ago.
This is unusual for systems of this age, as usually components get less expensive and companies are able to reduce prices. This generation has seen both Nintendo and Xbox raise the prices of aging consoles. The good news for those looking for a second-hand Switch 1 is that there might be an abundance available, as Nintendo announced they sold over six million Switch 2s worldwide.
To stop a “slavish clone”
Sony is suing gamemaker Tencent in an attempt to stop the release of its new game Light of Motiram, which Sony calls a “slavish clone” of its Horizon games.
Sony’s copyright and trademark infringement suit says Tencent wanted to collaborate with Sony on their Horizon series, but Sony declined. Reuters first reported the story, saying:
Sony said in its complaint that it declined an offer from Tencent to collaborate on a new ‘Horizon’ game last year. Tencent later announced ‘Light of Motiram,’ which Sony said features identical gameplay, story themes and artistic elements to "Horizon" as well as many other similarities.
Sony said that video game journalists have characterized ‘Light of Motiram’ as a ‘knock-off’ of ‘Horizon,’ including one who called the game ‘Horizon Zero Originality.’
The games do look surprisingly similar, but a California judge will determine if it really was stolen.
"Sony sues Tencent for allegedly ripping off 'Horizon' video games" Well alright but surely it can't be that blata— lmao
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-07-28T17:14:55.066Z
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Side Quests (more stories worth reading)
🔫 EA released a new trailer for Battlefield 6 and confirmed the game will have a battle royale mode.
💋 Itch.io began reindexing free adult content on its site and plans to “slowly” reintroduce paid content.
🆕 Octopath Traveler 0 was announced as part of Nintendo’s Partner Direct. Check out everything announced at the event.
📈 Xbox’s annual revenue reached over $23 billion for the 2025 fiscal year, an all-time high for the company. Game Pass revenue neared $5 billion.
🙂 EA says they will not raise the price of their games to $80 for now.
🕹️ Sony announced a new fight stick for the PlayStation 5, which is slated to arrive in 2026.
🤔 Take-Two has replaced the leadership behind BioShock 4, saying they are “committed to delivering a great game.”
🤝🏻 Atari is buying Thunderful Group for $5.19 million. Thunderful publishes the Steamworld games, Lost in Random, Viewfinder and more.
🚚 Board game publisher Blue Orange Games will distribute titles from IELLO in the United States.
👒 The Roblox game Grow a Garden reached nearly 22 million concurrent players in July.
👋🏽 Nvidia will end driver support for Windows 10 in October 2026.
New Releases this week:
Check out our article on 10 New Games to Play in August.
8/7: Tiny Bookshop (PC)
8/8: Mafia: The Old Country (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
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