Rockstar Games blew up the internet this week with the second official trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI and it's led to all sorts of discussion about the current state of the industry including the future pricing of games (yes, it's come up again).

Former Rockstar animator Mike York, who previously worked on Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2, has now chimed in with comments about how the "detail" and amount of "realism" in the new GTA will justify its price point while throwing shade at the new Mario Kart World game and its pricing - suggesting Nintendo's game simply can't compete:

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Mike York: "No other game has the detail and the amount of realism that this does and will have when it’s released, so everybody complaining out there needs to just zip it, because whatever amount this game costs, $80 bucks or whatever, is going to be worth it. All these other games that come out for 70 bucks, 90 bucks, I mean look you’ve got Mario Kart for $90 - you think Mario Kart competes with a game like this as far as how much stuff they’ve got to put into a game?”

Mario Kart World will be sold at $80 when it launches alongside the Switch 2 on 5th June 2025. Nintendo has already defended this new price point - with Bill Trinen mentioning how the game more than justifies its high price tag as the "richest Mario Kart experience" to date:

Bill Trinen: "Whenever we look at a given game, we just look at what is the experience, and what's the content, and what's the value? "... this is a game that is so big and so vast and you will find so many little things in it to discover. And there's still some other secrets remaining that I think as people end up buying and playing the game, they're going to find this to be probably the richest Mario Kart experience they've ever had."

So, from a Nintendo perspective - the Japanese firm does actually believe there's more than enough in this new Mario Kart game to justify its new cost. The previous Mario Kart game has now sold more than 67 million units globally on the Switch, so if its success is anything to go by, this new open-world entry should be just fine.

Of course, the new GTA is also set to make bank - with Grand Theft Auto 5 alone shifting more than 210 million copies to date.

How are you feeling about Mario Kart World's new price? Do you think it's reasonable based on what you've seen of the game so far? How much would you be willing to pay for other next-generation experiences like GTA VI, and do you think the amount of "detail" and "realism" should play a part? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

[source youtu.be, via vg247.com, gonintendo.com]