Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are getting Switch ports on Friday, February 27. The 22-year-old Game Boy Advance remakes are widely considered the “definitive” editions of the original games thanks to quality-of-life changes and added areas and quest lines. The games aren’t readily available right now, so you’d think this announcement would have been met with universal excitement. But that wasn’t the case, as the $20 ports were deemed too expensive by some. Nevertheless, the games are topping the eShop charts already.
I gotta admit, I do find the pearl clutching about the $20 price tag a bit surprising, but in my experience, it’s impossible to have discussions about video game pricing because everyone’s perception of what a dollar is worth is so different. As the Peak devs explained, video game pricing is all weird, vibes-based psychology that some companies have figured out and others just kind of ignore.
$20 is what you might pay for a nice meal that you’ll eat and then forget about, and here it gets you a 30+-hour game. But hey, I don’t know your economic situation, so I can’t speak to what $20 in your bank account means. I’m not here to judge anyone’s perception of money, I’m more concerned about how these conversations don’t seem to take that economic disparity into account.
i lowkey dgaf them pokemon game ports cost 20 dollars i have a job why should i care
— lil (@adifying) February 20, 2026
lol https://t.co/L4e7BSIGOL
— TAHK0 ☕️ (@TAHK0) February 21, 2026
How are both sides of this argument so fucking annoying https://t.co/moOgMlk9tT
— Lost Levels Fan (@LostLevelsFan) February 21, 2026
whispers: *i actually think $20 for firered is pretty reasonable* 😬
— Bob Wulff (@BobWulff) February 20, 2026
This is literally all you are getting with Pokémon Fire Red and Pokémon Leaf Green.
No changes, no online support.
This is easily emulated on extremely low powered machines.
$20 for a 20 year old Rom and Emulator is a wild price, buy what you want but don’t defend it please. pic.twitter.com/l3OfqiUz00
— Protomario (@Protomario) February 22, 2026
People would have complained if FireRed and LeafGreen was put on NSO because they would have wanted to buy it separately.
Even if they were $5, people still would have complained.
Free or nothing
— Johniibo (@johniibo) February 22, 2026
Pokemon Fire Red costs 13 Costco hot dogs.
Hard decisions man.
— Pory (@pory_leeks) February 23, 2026
I remember once talking to someone about the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition remasters, and they flatly said the collection’s $60 price point placed it out of their budget…but $50? That could be the sweet spot. A mere $10 could be the difference between them playing some of their favorite games again on modern hardware and not doing so.
FireRed and LeafGreen were $40 when they launched in 2004, but now if they’re anything short of free on Nintendo Switch Online, it’s the type of greed they talk about in the Bible. The irreconcilable way conflicting people talk about video game prices is born from those economic discrepancies, not everyone makes the same money, but also some people will just view any old game that costs money as a ripoff. It’s an unwinnable, unsolvable problem because everyone’s economic background is different, influenced by factors beyond their control, and is all based in a society that is wringing every cent out of all of us at any given moment. But that truth won’t stop the arguments from continuing, with anyone willing to pay $20 for an old game being deemed a shill and anyone unwilling being called poor. Whatever the case, many people are clearly willing to pay $20 to go back to Kanto again.
