Nintendo Switch 2 Price Hike Confirmed: Handheld Console to Hit $499 in September
Our recent advice to purchase a Switch 2 before investors convince Nintendo to hike the price has proven prophetic, as the cost is officially going up in September. Alongside its latest earnings release, Nintendo announced plans to raise the price of the Switch 2 to $499.99 in the United States effective September 1, 2026. It also revealed price adjustments to several other territories and products.
Here is the revised pricing structure for the Switch 2 by territory...
- United States: $449.99 to $499.99
- Canada: $629.99 to $679.99
- Japan: ¥49,980 to ¥59,980
- Europe: €469.99 to €499.99
The updated pricing will go into effect on September 1 in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and on May 26 in Japan.
Nintendo blamed the upward price adjustment on "changes in market conditions, and after considering the global business outlook." While not specifically stated, we can infer that those market conditions have to so with skyrocketing memory and storage prices amid a wave of AI-driven sales in the data center.
The new pricing on the Switch 2 in the U.S. puts the standalone console at the same price as the launch bundle that came with Mario Kart World, a bundle that has since been discontinued.
In its earnings report, Nintendo said sales of the Switch 2 were more concentrated in the launch year than previous hardware releases. Taking that into account as well as the upcoming price adjustment, Nintendo expects sales for its fiscal 2027 to decline year-on-year, though the silver lining for the company is that it also anticipates a "solid level of adoption" for the Switch 2 despite software sales.
As things stand, Nintendo has sold 19.86 million Switch 2 consoles. That's already more than the Wii U's lifetime sales (13.56 million), though it has a long way to go to catch up to the original Switch family, which is Nintendo's best-selling console of all time with 155.92 million sales (and counting).
Unfortunately, it's not just the Switch 2 that is going up in price. Nintendo announced price hikes for several other products, though for now they're all concentrated in Japan. Here's a look...
- Switch OLED: ¥37,980 to ¥47,980
- Switch: ¥32,978 to ¥43,980
- Switch Lite: ¥21,978 to ¥29,980
- Switch Online, Individual (1 month): ¥306 to ¥400
- Switch Online, Individual (3 months): ¥815 to ¥1,000
- Switch Online, Individual (12 months): ¥2,400 to ¥3,000
- Switch Online, Family (12 months): ¥4,500 to ¥5,800
- Switch Online + Expansion Pack, Individual (12 months): ¥4,900 to ¥5,900
- Switch Online + Expansion Pack, Family (12 months): ¥8,900 to ¥9,900
"We sincerely apologize for the impact these price revisions may have on our customers and other stakeholders, and we deeply appreciate your understanding," Nintendo states in its price adjustment notice.
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