Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, which is due out on the Nintendo Switch on May 4, has been taken off of the Wii U eShop. Those Wii U owners who were hoping to get the game on the cheap (as opposed to Tropical Freeze’s ridiculous $60 price point) will be sorely disappointed. Tropical Freeze is a great game, no doubt, but $60? No way. For a port. And Funky Kong. People will still buy it, of course, especially those who haven’t played the game before. Still, there’s no excuse. At least with Hyrule Warriors, they’re including all the previous DLC, which at least helps justify the price. There is no such justification for Tropical Freeze’s price.
That being said, not all ports are bad. While Nintendo may be going overboard right now, that doesn’t mean that ports are bad. Xenoblade X desperate needs a port, and even the mastermind behind the game, Tetsuya Takahashi, has pushed for one. Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD deserve one, perhaps as part of a Zelda HD Collection. There were many great games for the Wii U, but there’s no need to port them all. There are a select few that deserve it.
That’s beside the point though. The reason Nintendo is pulling Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze from the Wii U eShop is to ensure people buy it on the Switch. It’s not a bad business deal, but it screws over Wii U owners who became interested in the game while seeing the trailers for the Switch version.