Nintendo said Friday that the Switch 2 will soon cost $50 more, a move that lands less than a year after the console went on sale and after it sold close to 20 million units. The price is rising in Japan starting May 25, while the changes take effect in the US, Canada and Europe on September 1.
The increase marks a sharp turn for a device that had helped Nintendo stay the last holdout in a console market battered by tariffs and a global memory shortage. Nintendo has already raised the price of the original Switch, a few accessories and the Alarmo alarm clock, and the new move follows a week in which the company also announced a lush remake of Star Fox 64. The company has also moved close to 15 million copies of launch software, underscoring how quickly the Switch 2 has become central to its business.
For consumers, the timing is the point. Console makers have been pushing prices higher for months: Microsoft raised the prices of the Xbox and several accessories last spring, and the cost of a PS5 has climbed multiple times over the last year. Nintendo’s increase, detailed in Nintendo Switch 2 Price Increase to $500 as Profit Pressure Mounts, suggests the company is no longer insulated from the same pressures that have already reached its rivals.
That leaves Nintendo with a simple test. It can keep leaning on strong demand for the Switch 2, or it can risk asking shoppers to absorb another jump only months after buying into the system. The announcement makes clear which side of the ledger is winning for now.
