How long will it be before we’re finally graced with a new Donkey Kong game? The answer to that question remains as elusive ever, but the tie-wearing gorilla is set to return soon nonetheless with Donkey Kong Country Returns HD releasing for the Switch in a few months’ time. When the remaster launches, however, it’s going to be a bit pricier than some would have hoped for.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD’s Switch eShop page has gone live, and other than confirming its file size of 9 GB, it also reveals that the game will be sold at a price of $59.99 when it launches in January, with pre-orders now available. Fans may have been hoping that as a remaster of a nearly decade-and-a-half-old game that has already seen one re-release in the past, it would be priced lower, but sadly, that’s not to be the case.
This is, frustratingly, standard practice for Nintendo, a company that notoriously refuses to release the vast majority of its remasters and remakes at less than full price. Last year’s Metroid Prime Remastered was an exception, launching for $40, but there are more than a few recent examples of other Nintendo remasters and remakes that have been sold at full price, including the likes of Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Super Mario RPG, and more.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD launches on January 16 for Nintendo Switch. Its development is being handled by Forever Entertainment.