Nintendo announces price increases across the board, set to come into effect from September in western regions

Noctosphere · May 8, 2026

As if it wasn't already overpriced zzz

pofehof · May 8, 2026

IC_ said:
It's a bit weird to see that even Nintendo had to resort to raising prices. It used to seem normal, that the price of new hardware would be lowered after some time, rather than increased...

Didn't they raise prices of the regular Switch in North America right after the Switch 2 came out due to tariffs? With the memory shortage due to the AI boom, this was expected.

RedBlueGreen said:
They don't have to do this. Standard practice before this generation was to underprice and take a loss on hardware. From what I've heard they're already struggling to sell, this is just going to make it worse.

Going off the recent earnings report, Switch 2 has sold 19.86 million units within 9 months of release. I wouldn't say they are struggling, though sales might slow down after this.

The Real Jdbye · May 8, 2026

The price increase in Japan makes sense with how weak the Yen is, since a lot of the manufacturing probably happens outside of Japan.

I'm getting really tired of these price increases though. As if stuff isn't already expensive enough.

Renos44 · May 8, 2026

RedBlueGreen said:
They don't have to do this. Standard practice before this generation was to underprice and take a loss on hardware. From what I've heard they're already struggling to sell, this is just going to make it worse.

Nintendo has never sold hardware at a loss thats a Sony and Microsoft tactic. I'd say current economics forced their hand in the pricing. We got tariffs, Ram and SSD pr8ices through the roof, Shipping prices went up due to war. In general were in a recession.

No hardware manufacturer is getting out of this without raising prices unless your a logistics god and a had a huge inventory of stuff ready to go before 2026 and have yet to run out.

x65943 · May 8, 2026

On the one hand,

On the other hand, at least they gave everyone a fair warning. If you guys want to buy one before prices go up - you have plenty of time

InsaneNutter · May 8, 2026

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.

Ericzander · May 8, 2026

Glad that I picked mine up last month. It felt (and still feels) like such an impulse buy but this price increase was inevitable.

I'll give Nintendo credit though. They held up the longest, their price increase wasn't nearly as ridiculous as Sony or Microsoft, and they gave plenty of warning.

But this isn't the end. I'd be surprised if there wasn't another increase prior to Pokemon Wind and Waves but I hope I'm wrong.

Okay, now that I've given Nintendo credit can they please just start putting their games on sale?

k66 · May 8, 2026

Korean memory manufacturers have made a lot of money.
Game console manufacturers: I also want to get a share.

thekarter104 · May 8, 2026

RedBlueGreen said:
They don't have to do this. Standard practice before this generation was to underprice and take a loss on hardware. From what I've heard they're already struggling to sell, this is just going to make it worse.

Ofcourse it's struggling to sell. It basically has no games

MeowthBlep · May 8, 2026

used steam deck

codezer0 · May 8, 2026

Just makes it even less appealing than it already was.

BeanMKW · May 8, 2026

emmauss said:
You do know the price change will only take effect 3 months after the release of Star Fox?

Most people in this thread are just here to hate on nintendo. Like some guy said this was scummy because ram came down 20% while SSDs are still super high. Then there's the other group complaining about exclusives. How many of these people do you bet own a Series X? Yknow, the thing that barely has any exclusives? Hell even the PS5 had a ton of games on PC or cross gen. People just hate this company.

kingaz · May 8, 2026

RedBlueGreen said:
They don't have to do this. Standard practice before this generation was to underprice and take a loss on hardware. From what I've heard they're already struggling to sell, this is just going to make it worse.

Last I checked, Nintendo has always sold its hardware for profit.

Also, Switch 2 has not been struggling to sell.

Post automatically merged: May 8, 2026

Jayro said:
RAM prices could be fully back to normal by the time these price hikes kick in, and that's just a scam at that point.

Oh you sweet summer child...

scoobydude51 · May 8, 2026

over 25% increase for the OLED in Japan?!?! yeah this will not end well for their own home country.

yet having the Switch be $500 is still cheaper than other systems currently. i would have be extremely concerned i they raised it from $440 to $550 or even $650.

Kioku · May 8, 2026

The Catboy said:
Man, supporting AI is just destroying the tech world around it. I really wonder how the slop producers sleep knowing just how much they’ve fucked everyone else?

Safe and sound with their money earned from gaming the system.

MikaDubbz · May 8, 2026

Thank you orange man with your beautiful 'concepts of plans' and oh so genius tariffs that have in no way backfired against the American people and negatively hurt the global economy. Oh what a glorious and brilliant leader we have.

Eddypikachu · May 8, 2026

Guess I'm just never getting a switch 2 then. Oh well. Not like there's any good games coming out for it

MikaDubbz · May 8, 2026

Eddypikachu said:
Guess I'm just never getting a switch 2 then. Oh well. Not like there's any good games coming out for it

Kamiyama · May 8, 2026

In Finland, Switch 2 with Mario Kart is currently 599,90e. With price increase it would be at least 649,90e, but knowing Finnish marketing scheme, new price would be more likely 679,90e. What a time to be a gamer.

Well, I was already sick of watching my gf playing new Pokemon games on Switch. Because of low, stuttering FPS and motion sickness that caused it to me, not her. So, I got a deal for Switch 2 and bought it now before the price increases and she could play her games with a better performance and maybe I can finally actually finish all Xenoblades and Zeldas I have.

Mixtape · May 8, 2026

Lots of people here are talking about how the price hike in the US will hurt sales, but I'd also like to chime in and say that the *lack* of a price hike for the Switch 1 probably won't help with moving Switch 2s.

I've got coworkers in their early 40s with kids ranging from ages 5 to 9. They want to get their kids a more modern console than their old hand-me-downs, and they're eyeing the Switch 2. With the state of pricing and the depth of the Switch 1's library though, they have a hard time justifying a +$110 cost increase, let alone +$160 or possibly even more if they buy used or refurbished. Obviously their kids won't get access to new titles, but neither them nor the kids really care. There's plenty to play on the Switch 1. These aren't your "gamer household" types, but rather the target demo of your Just Dances, Mario Parties, and Wii Sports of the world.

It's unfortunate, because I want modern gaming to be an accessible hobby for families (within reason, of course). The state of the world just isn't conducive to that right now though.

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