After much speculation, Nintendo has finally followed their competitors in announcing price increases for their hardware.

You can find a breakdown of what's changing below:

Nintendo Switch 2

• United States: $449.99 ➜ $499.99 (11% increase)
• Canada: $629.99 ➜ $679.99 (7% increase)
• Europe: €469.99 ➜ €499.99 (6% increase)

Nintendo Switch 2 Japanese-Language System

• Japan: ¥49,980 ➜ ¥59,980 (20% increase)

Nintendo Switch OLED

• Japan: ¥37,980 ➜ ¥47,980 (26% increase)

Nintendo Switch

• Japan: ¥32,978 ➜ ¥43,980 (33% increase)

Nintendo Switch Lite

• Japan: ¥21,978 ➜ ¥29,980 (36% increase)

Of note here is the fact that it's only the Switch 2 going up in price outside of Japan for the moment, with Nintendo's home turf getting hit harder both in the products that are affected and the amount they're going up. The price of Nintendo Switch Online will also be going up for Japanese users to better align with other regions, as well as the playing cards Nintendo continue to make and sell in the region.

These price changes will come into effect at different times based on both the region and the products in question. The Nintendo Switch 2 price increase for western regions is set to happen from the 1st of September, with the changes for the Japanese consoles and playing cards coming into play later this month. Japanese Nintendo Switch Online price increases will begin in July.

It should also be mentioned that this is likely not the last we've heard on the topic, with the press release mentioning price increases to follow for South Korean Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions, as well as price revisions for other regions not specifically touched on. You can find the full press release linked below.

Source

 

[Retrovkit]

It's nice that people have a heads-up in case they want to get the system at the old price. That being said, $499 without a game seems dangerously close to pricing out low-income families. If only Welcome Tour was a free download. Then you could buy Switch 2 before the price hike, save up for a game or two and try to have fun with Welcome Tour in the meantime. But people have paid for the game already so there's no way it's going free now.

 

[SaudiCraft]

I think Nintendo's hardware is overpriced no matter how you slice it.
You cannot convince me that this hardware is more expensive than launch PS5 that had cutting edge.

 

[Retrojunkies]

Price increase for shit inferior hardware.... which let's recall them taking America to court, to sue them over the tarrifs.

Which that cost already handed down to the consumer, so if they did get it back, would it be returned to the consumer.

Ha ha like fuck, they instead increase the price even further.

And claim in return they'll promise to give customers excellent games..... aka the same recycled shit.

Wow we have yet again another recycle of star fox 64....

 

[retrospect]

Is the price going to increase before or after the hardware update (with replaceable battery)?

 

[chrisrlink]

we need bills in legislation to regulate the sale of ram for AI so prices can come down hopefully midterms or 2028 the US will do....something about it

 

[Renos44]

I think Nintendo's hardware is overpriced no matter how you slice it.
You cannot convince me that this hardware is more expensive than launch PS5 that had cutting edge.

TO be honest no console has been cutting edge since the PS3 and the CELL. The ps5 pro also wouldn't need to exist if Sony didn't cheap out on the base ps5's design,

But I mean if we break down the switch 2 box into parts.

Custom NVIDIA APU and knowing NVIDIA their prob charging up the ass for it. But its able to trade blows with the series S and effectively has the same feature set as the ps5 and Xbox S|X
12gb LPDDR5X ram
256gb High speed UFS storage
1080p "HDR capable" touch screen
Built in speakers and mics
built in battery.

Includes a HDMI 2.1 dock with its own fan.

The joycon pair are already some of the most expensive controllers. Each one has its own CPU, gryo, accelerometer, haptics transceiver etc.
Joycon grip and straps

 

[DiscostewSM]

I think Nintendo's hardware is overpriced no matter how you slice it.
You cannot convince me that this hardware is more expensive than launch PS5 that had cutting edge.

Well of course no one can convince you. You're focused purely on the raw power of a console that is tethered to the wall, has aggressive power consumption, and is huge by comparison. Not the actual tech inside. And besides, the circumstances of all this pricing due to AI, tariffs, war...... had this not been the case when it came to the launch of the Switch 2, chances are the price would have been lower than the initial $450. But it's $450 now, and will be $500 in September, just as it is $650 for the PS5 right now.

 

[Phearoz]

Boy I'm getting depressed a lot lately - all of the things I like are getting far more expensive and my wage isn't moving. I don't know man...

 

[Marc_LFD]

Is the price going to increase before or after the hardware update (with replaceable battery)?

You'd think a newer model would have a lower price, but you know since M$ and Sony are doing, Nintendo's also like "Well, we'll increase too!".

The Switch 2 is definitely a nice upgrade from Switch 1, well, except for the screen quality. OLED NS1 looks beautiful while the LCD NS2 is just okay.

 

[RedBlueGreen]

The Japanese language Switch 2 is the equivalent of £281 after the price increase, £104 cheaper than the Switch 2 currently is here in the UK with no price increase!

If the Switch 2 is ever hacked and can be region changed that would be a worthwhile import, even paying import tax on top.

It's funny how they prove they can make it cheaper by doing this, but won't consider it for other markets.

I know plenty of people that would consider the Switch 2 at a cheaper price (let's say around the Japanese Switch 2 price but in USD) because they're only playing games released in the region.

 

[DiscostewSM]

It's funny how they prove they can make it cheaper by doing this, but won't consider it for other markets.

I know plenty of people that would consider the Switch 2 at a cheaper price (let's say around the Japanese Switch 2 price but in USD) because they're only playing games released in the region.

Just because they are selling the region-locked unit for far cheaper doesn't mean they aren't taking a significant loss on it. Japan is VERY important to them. It's estimated that they are taking a loss of ~$160 after currency conversion.

 

[littlemisskittn]

Nintendo has been long pressured by investors to raise Switch 2 prices, and they finally gave it in. It wasn't Nintendo's fault on this one.

Most of these "investors" are just private equity and venture capitalists at this point. They can go fuck themselves.

 

[SDA]

Most of these "investors" are just private equity and venture capitalists at this point. They can go fuck themselves.

Yes, exactly.

 

[littlemisskittn]

Yes, exactly.

ANY time that "private equity" and "venture capital" is involved, it's ALWAYS bad.

 

[Bladexdsl]

The switch 2 feels like a wii U move by Nintendo.

that's exactly what it is but try convincing them blind fanboys of that

 

[SylverReZ]

Go after the people spending money on AI datacenters and RAM prices going up. It's not Nintendo's problem, their hardware is often overpriced.

 

[BlusterBong]

Most of these "investors" are just private equity and venture capitalists at this point. They can go fuck themselves.

ANY time that "private equity" and "venture capital" is involved, it's ALWAYS bad.

You mean the ones that try to hide themselves from the general public because then people can see what the multi-million companies listen to, and also invest into private companies that don't have to tell us who invests into them and can "do whatever?"

In other words, the sky is blue.

 

[DiscostewSM]

The switch 2 feels like a wii U move by Nintendo.

that's exactly what it is but try convincing them blind fanboys of that

It's funny how people with a bias become completely imbecilic with their claims. Rather hard to explain how the Switch 2 is like a Wii U move when Wii U went in a completely different direction from its predecessor, while Switch 2 more or less followed the same path as Switch 1, but is stronger in a way folks wanted it to be.

 

[Renos44]

It's funny how people with a bias become completely imbecilic with their claims. Rather hard to explain how the Switch 2 is like a Wii U move when Wii U went in a completely different direction from its predecessor, while Switch 2 more or less followed the same path as Switch 1, but is stronger in a way folks wanted it to be.

People despite having all the resources. Still don't understand why the Wii U failed as hard as it did. Which can be summed up as
Huge marketing failure,
Nintendo not knowing which audience to go after.
The system itself is a pain to dev for and almost no 3rd party support
The gamepad as the main gimmick didn't work.

 

[NewLoveMachine]

People despite having all the resources. Still don't understand why the Wii U failed as hard as it did. Which can be summed up as
Huge marketing failure,
Nintendo not knowing which audience to go after.
The system itself is a pain to dev for and almost no 3rd party support
The gamepad as the main gimmick didn't work.

I knew the Wii U marketing bombed the moment I told a friend I'd bring it over to their place and was told "Oh cool, just bring the gamepad, I already have a Wii set up here". The naming created more trouble than the Xbox One X/S vs the Xbox Series X/S. I'm not sure if people simply forgot but the Wii U marketing really was abysmal, the 3rd party dried up incredibly fast too. Last year I saw a Wii U at a thrift shop where the gamepad and console were being sold as 2 different items, I hope no one got suckered into buying a paperweight.

Great console if modified though, seriously it pays for itself real quick.