Fans of indie puzzle games might be surprised to learn that the little-known title Membrane has been “reduced” to $ 250 on Nintendo eShop.
In what appears to be an odd business decision or bizarre storefront issue, a 2D puzzle game called Membrane was raised from just $ 10 to $ 250 on the Nintendo eShop. Not much is known about the esoteric indie title, which makes this decision even more questionable.
Black Friday is fast approaching and video game companies and online storefronts are starting to promote massive price cuts for fan-favorite titles. PlayStation recently unveiled its Black Friday discounts, lowering the cost of top-selling contemporary titles like Ratchet & Clank: Rift apart, Return, and Death loop. Nintendo is also generous with its markdowns, offering popular exclusives and third-party games for a fraction of their original cost. Players can also purchase some must-have gear from Nintendo cheaply during this discount season, like the Nintendo Switch and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle is currently on sale for just $ 299.
With so many exciting offers from game companies across the spectrum, some may find it odd that the little-known indie puzzle game Mebrane actually saw a massive price increase on Nintendo’s eShop, according to Kotaku. The 2018 version can normally be purchased for just $ 10, but has now been grossed up to $ 250, making it one of the more expensive non-bundled items on the eShop. Unlike other critically acclaimed independent films like Devolver Digital’s recent Encryption, discussion around Membrane was mostly muted in the three years since its release, which makes this price increase even stranger. At the time of writing, Membrane is still listed as $ 250 on the eShop.
The most obvious explanation for this strange list of products is a simple problem or human error while uploading the sale to the online store; someone might have intended to list the price at $ 2.50 or even $ 0.25 and just made a mistake with the placement of the decimal point. However, given MembraneThe lack of visibility from the mainstream of gamers, could very well be a devious marketing tactic by developer Perfect Hat to bring more attention to the game, perhaps even signaling a new take on the small studio. Although this is somewhat implausible and looks like something infamous Abandoned conspiracy marketing, this story certainly shed light on the puzzle-platformer, and might even inspire some gamers to give it a go (once it’s downsized to a more reasonable price, of course).
Fortunately, frugal players have plenty of options outside of this weird single instance; Nintendo fans can pick up bona fide hits like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for less at select retailers, and the offerings from Microsoft, Sony, and Steam don’t look too bad either. With that in mind, anyone who isn’t interested in dropping $ 250 on Membrane should still be satisfied on Black Friday.
Source: Kotaku
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