I don't know why people are surprised by Nintendo doing something like this. They pioneered releasing two of the same game at full price (Pokémon).
If anything, the different color editions made trading among friends more interesting. I don't know anyone that actually bought both color editions of the same generation game.
The iPhone, the car, the clothing, etc., are all functionally identical and frequently, but not always, cost the same amount. Pokemon is different in that the two versions of each game contain all the creatures, but artificially exclude some from being caught in each title, which is absolutely a dark pattern.
> I don't know anyone that actually bought both color editions of the same generation game.
I'm not sure when they started the practice, but the most recent revision of Pokemon includes a SKU that includes both colors.
This is to get you to trade with your friends! The same thing is true for the three starter Pokémon – the only way to log all three is to trade with other players.
How would you even trade with yourself?
I was as big a Pokémon freak as anyone, lived in an extremely rural area, and still managed to complete the Pokédex without duplicate/paired games by trading with friends. (And nobody had to complete the Pokédex anyway! The games had a complete storyline without it.)
On the other hand, players of FTP games are encouraged to make micropayments, which make those games "easier."
Enough do that Nintendo offers a SKU for buying both versions simultaneously: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/pokemon-scarlet-and-...