It’s official, Nintendo has confirmed a global price hike for the Switch 2, and depending on where you live, you could be paying anywhere from $30 to $70 more starting later this year. The increase is attributed to “changes in market conditions,” which likely refer to the rising hardware costs, and Japan is already feeling the impact. Here’s a full breakdown of the new prices by region.
Nintendo Switch 2 New Prices by Region
The Switch 2 is going up in price | Credits: Nintendo
The price revisions vary significantly depending on your region, as well as the timelines for when they come into effect. Following is a table of price changes by region:
RegionOld PriceNew Price DifferenceUnited States$449.99$499.99+$50Canada$629.99$679.99+$50Europe€469.99€499.99+€30Japan¥49,980¥59,980+¥10,000
All three of the Western markets will see their increases go live on September 1, 2026, giving buyers a window of roughly four months to purchase at the current price. However, for Japan, the price increase goes into effect from May 25. Japan is also the only market where the older Switch generation has also been affected, with the Switch OLED, the standard Switch, and Switch Lite all seeing an increase of approximately ¥10,000 each.
Moreover, Nintendo Switch Online memberships are also getting pricier in Japan, as with effect from July 1, 2026, the 12-month family plan will start costing ¥5,800 instead of the previous ¥4,500.
Why Is Nintendo Raising the Price of Switch 2?
AI is the reason Switch 2 prices are rising | Credits: Nintendo
As mentioned before, Nintendo has officially cited changes in market conditions and “global business outlook” as the official reasoning behind the hike. However, if one were to speculate, the clear-cut reason boils down to the memory crisis that has been hitting the entire tech and gaming industry hard.
RAM and NAND storage costs have surged significantly over the past year, all thanks to AI data centers consuming these components in an unbelievable amount of volume, leaving console manufacturers and the average consumer like us with much higher costs. If we were to compare, Nintendo actually held firm against this crisis for longer than most, as Sony and Microsoft both raised prices of their hardware earlier.
To apologise, Nintendo’s president, Shuntaro Furukawa, while acknowledging the price hike, delivered the following statement:
We sincerely apologize for the impact these price revisions may have on our customers and other stakeholders, and we deeply appreciate your understanding.
Will there possibly be another Switch 2 price rise in the future? It’s not announced yet, and we hope it never comes. Drop your thoughts about the price rise in the comments below, and let us know if you will be grabbing a unit of the hit handheld console for yourself before the prices go up.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
