Spanish studio Tequila Works recently came under fire after announcing that its upcoming puzzle adventure game, Rime, will cost $10 more on Nintendo Switch than on other platforms. The studio did not elaborate the reason behind its decision, but it looks like the Switch's cartridge cost is to blame.
Sources in the industry have confirmed to Eurogamer that the Switch's cartridges are more expensive to manufacture than Blu-Ray discs. Moreover, the cartridges cost varies according to its capacity and the number of copies.
While digital download game copies shouldn't be affected by cartridge's print cost, Nintendo has a policy in place forcing publishers to maintain price parity between digital and physical copies of the game in order not to put brick-and-mortar stores at a disadvantage. Consequently, some indie developers and smaller publishers intend to forego physical release of their games altogether.
The cartridge cost difference sure puts the Switch at a disadvantage, but there is actually little Nintendo could do. After all, the Switch's portable mode is smaller than a Blu-Ray disc. On the plus side, print costs should go down eventually as production becomes more manageable.