As the RAM crisis continues to grow and global market volatility has an economic impact across consumer sectors, gaming fans who have been in crisis Nintendo Switch 2 Nintendo's latest hardware price increase is expected to occur sometime in 2026, according to the latest financial forecasts, so the console may want to pull the trigger. The Nintendo Switch 2 is set to celebrate its one-year anniversary on June 5, but early marketing analysis suggests the party may not be as fun for those looking to finally bring the console home in the coming months.
There's already been a lot of buzz surrounding the Nintendo Switch 2 launch price. Many felt that the price was too high for the hardware capabilities, especially when compared to competitors such as PlayStation and Xbox. But the portability of the Switch 2, which has long been locked into its own console releases, and Nintendo's strong first-party IP have largely favored the Switch 2, helping it become the fastest-selling video game console of all time. Early sales of the Switch 2 have maintained fairly steady momentum, but broader changes in the technology market and political implications for economic trends could present a difficult hurdle for the Switch 2. This is especially true if major factors force Nintendo to increase prices.
Nintendo is reportedly ramping up Switch 2 production.
Just a few months after launch, Switch 2 sales are soaring past key milestones and Nintendo is reportedly ramping up production of the console.
Will the Nintendo Switch 2 be more expensive in 2026?
Niko Partners, a trusted market data and consumer insights company, has released its 2026 business forecast. This includes some rather unfortunate expectations for the Nintendo Switch 2 in response to “the impact of tariffs, rising memory costs, and broader macroeconomic conditions.” Niko Partners acknowledged that Nintendo had previously decided to maintain the $449 entry price throughout 2025, but predicted that increased demand from AI data centers could push RAM and storage costs much higher, leaving Nintendo with little choice in the matter. Alternatively, Niko Partners believes Nintendo could discontinue the $449 console-exclusive Switch 2 and instead push a $499 bundle with a digital edition. mario kart worldHowever, this latter option may suffer from limited availability and future price increases.
Nintendo president Suntaro Furukawa addressed the issue of rising RAM costs and said there would be no immediate price increase for the Nintendo Switch 2, but avoided commenting on the long-term effects of the RAM issue. For those unfamiliar, Micron Technology, one of the top three consumer RAM manufacturers, announced that it will stop selling direct consumer RAM and SSDs in 2025 and instead focus on manufacturing and selling them for artificial intelligence data centers and enterprises. This means supply will decrease while demand remains high, driving costs even higher. For video game consoles and PCs that use this hardware, those costs will have to be borne by the companies themselves, like Nintendo, or, as Niko Partners anticipates, passed on to consumers.
Gamers have already seen price increases for the Xbox Series As of now, Nintendo Switch 2 The Switch 2 is still available at the $449 price point, and with rumors swirling that the $499 bundle will be cut, now might be the best time to buy the Switch 2 before the price hike facing consumers rears its ugly, expensive head.
- released
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June 5, 2025
- ESRB
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All // Mild Fantasy Violence, User Interaction
- developer
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nintendo
- publisher
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nintendo
