Avoid Purchasing Pokémon Pokopia on Amazon
The Nintendo Switch 2’s Pokémon Pokopiala launched last week at a steep price of $69.99 for the physical edition, and it’s been a massive hit. Boxed copies of this life sim, which blends elements of Animal Crossing and Viva Piñata, have sold out on Nintendo’s official store. In response to the surge in demand, Amazon has raised the price to $79.99, which is quite frustrating. It’s worth noting that this is a game-key card, meaning there’s no actual game cartridge included in the box.
Amazon’s pricing can be quite confusing, making it difficult to determine the fair price for an item and who you’re actually buying it from. Even when items are listed as sold by the official seller, a closer look often reveals they’re shipped by third parties, leaving consumers unsure about where to direct their frustration regarding inflated prices. Regardless of the reason, this newly released game is now marked up to a premium price on one of the largest online retailers.
The situation becomes even more absurd when you realize that the boxed copies don’t even contain the game. This marks Nintendo’s first use of game-key cards, a method previously used by third-party developers, likely due to the rumored high costs of their 64 GB cartridges. These cards include a digital code that allows your Switch 2 to download the game from the same online store where you could purchase the digital version. Many players still prefer the boxed versions, not only for the physical item to display on their shelf but also because the physical card can be shared more easily between devices. The previous advantage of being able to play a game long after Nintendo shuts down the store is irrelevant in this case.
Digital versions of the game are readily available and can be purchased directly from your console for the original price of $70. It’s infuriating to think that the digital version is priced the same despite not having the costs associated with a physical box, cartridge, shipping, storage, and the retailer’s cut. You can also find the digital version on Amazon for $70, but there’s no logical reason to do so. Typically, when physical copies are scarce, scalpers drive up the prices, but in this instance, it seems Amazon has bypassed that step entirely.
While we usually advocate for physical editions over digital due to the benefits of owning a tangible item, the ridiculousness of the game-key cards in this case makes opting for the digital version a more sensible choice, especially when the alternative is getting overcharged by the retailer.
