Late last year, we reported the news that the Nintendo Switch was getting a price hike, something that did not make folks happy in this lean economic era. But we were told that the Switch 2 would stay at the same price, at least for the time being. Well, that sadly only lasted about six months. Via Polygon, we’ve now learned that the Switch 2 is getting a price increase of $50, to $499.99. The price hike will go into effect on Sept. 1. In Europe, the price goes up by €30 to €499.99. And in Canada, the price will increase by CA$50 to CA$679.99.
It appears that Japanese Switch users will be hurt in their wallets the most. Starting on May 25, the cost of all models of the original Nintendo Switch and the Switch 2 will both increase. Also, the price of Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions will increase significantly as well. Nintendo said price increases were occurring “in light of changes in market conditions, and after considering the global business outlook.” A global shortage of computer memory has driven up prices for RAM and storage, which many are saying is another reason. Nothing is getting cheaper these days, and Nintendo is not immune to this.
We don’t expect any of this to really put a dent in Nintendo’s sales, however. The company has apparently sold a whopping 19 million Switch 2 consoles so far. And in its second year, Switch 2 would still be ahead of the original Switch when it comes to sales at the same point during its release timeline. This is the case even with a lower projection of 16.5 million units. In a statement, a Nintendo representative said: “We sincerely apologize for the impact these price revisions may have on our customers and other stakeholders, and we deeply appreciate your understanding.” We’ll see if their apology is good enough that people will shell out more money without complaining too much online. We kind of doubt it.