Buy a Switch 2 Now Before Investors Convince Nintendo to Raise the Price
If you've been thinking about buying a Switch 2 handheld, you may want to pull the trigger sooner than later. Nothing is etched in stone, but according to Bloomerberg, Nintendo could end up raising the price of its popular console after the company posts its earnings at the end of this week, a move that would be intended to appease investors amid a stock slump.
Component shortages in the era of AI and other economic factors have wreaked havoc on consumer electronics, particularly those related to gaming on both PC and console. Memory and storage chips are in high demand, and the high-margin data center market has caused a modern day gold rush for component makers. It's the main reason why Micron pulled its Crucial brand from the consumer market, and it's also largely responsible for multiple rounds of console price hikes.
We've already seen Microsoft and Sony jack up prices on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, respectively. Nintendo has held out so far with the Switch 2, though it did upwardly adjust pricing on its first-generation Switch hardware and accessories.
The saving grace for the Switch 2 is that it debuted at a higher price than the Switch and Switch OLED—Nintendo launched the standalone console at $449, and $499 for a Switch 2 bundle that included Mario Kart World. The first-generation Switch launched at $299 in March 2017, while the Switch OLED with an upgraded display and twice the storage debuted for $349 in October 2021.
Even so, Nintendo is reportedly under pressure to raise the price of the Switch 2 after five consecutive months of its share price trending in the wrong direction. According to the report, investors are worried that Nintendo's current pricing is "deeply unprofitable" due to AI-driven component shortages and trade disruptions in the Middle East.
Sony has also seen its share price decline since the start of the year, though Nintendo's descent has been steeper. Investors apparently believe that Sony's price hikes have shielded it from a steeper slide, and if Nintendo agrees with that assessment, it's possible the Switch 2 will see an unwanted price adjustment.
It's also possible that Nintendo holds firm with its $449 pricing. The least likely scenario, however, is a price cut. If you've been wanting to buy a Switch 2, now is probably the safest time to pounce.
