Don’t have a Switch 2 yet? Were you hoping to put off the purchase until Nintendo lowered the price?
If so, it’s not your lucky day. Why? Because in response to various economic challenges, Nintendo has now raised the price of the Switch 2 in all regions.
For example, it’s now gone from $449.99 to $499.99 in the United States, and from ¥49,980 to ¥59,980 in Japan.
And it’s not just the Switch 2 itself that’s seen some price changes. No, quite a few Nintendo consoles and services have here.
Like the original Switch. In Japan, that’s seen its price raised from ¥32,978 to ¥43,980, with the Switch OLED going from ¥37,980 to ¥47,980.
Meanwhile the Switch Online Service has also seen a price increase in Japan, with the basic one going from ¥2,400 to ¥3,000, and the expansion pack going from ¥4,900 to ¥5,900.
Not as big of a deal as the Switch 2 price increase, but still infuriating to see nonetheless.
Which kinda sums up the whole situation to be honest. On the one hand, it’s understandable that the price increased here. Tariffs have hit companies like Nintendo pretty hard in the States (to the point they’re suing the government over them, and being sued by consumers in turn), and tech shortages due to the increasing focus on AI have made resources harder to come by here. The company’s been under a lot of pressure to increase prices, and their shareholders have been calling for it constantly.
At the same time though, it doesn’t exactly help garner any goodwill here. People are already struggling to afford many luxuries due to the economic situation right now, and the Switch 2 has already come under a lot of fire for being too expensive. Increasing the price can feel a lot like Nintendo kicking the consumer when they’re already down.
So, perhaps it would have been a better choice if Nintendo had tried to find some other way to cut costs rather than raising prices. Maybe selling fewer physical games and key cards for a while, having the CEO or board take a pay cut or finding some cheaper alternative to some of the parts bringing the Switch 2 price up. It’d certainly have looked better for them than “oops, the Switch 2 and many services are now more expensive in the US and Japan now!”
Still, what are your thoughts here? Are you disappointed to see the price go up? How should Nintendo have handled the current economic situation in order to prevent that?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
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