Nintendo’s wildly successful Switch 2 is about to cost more in the US.
The company said in its latest earnings release that it is raising the console’s US price by $50 to $500, with higher memory costs and tariff measures now baked into its outlook. That is not the kind of news anyone wants to hear after a console has already become a hit, but it also shows how much the hardware market has changed.
Nintendo shipped 2.49 million Switch 2 units in the quarter and 19.86 million over the last fiscal year, which is a monster start. The company is now forecasting 16.5 million Switch 2 sales for the next full fiscal year, a number that sounds healthy but is lower than some analysts expected after that launch momentum.
The price bump lands at an awkward time. Switch 2 still has the advantage of Nintendo’s first-party games and a broad family audience, but younger players and parents are also the exact crowd that feels a $50 increase fast. A $500 Switch 2 is entering a different psychological lane than the original Switch ever occupied.
Software is doing its part. Nintendo said Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza and Pokemon Legends: Z-A helped push software sales higher, while the Super Mario Galaxy movie has already crossed $800 million globally. That gives Nintendo plenty of cushion, but it does not make the hardware math any friendlier for buyers.
For now, the Switch 2 is still selling from a position of strength. The question is whether Nintendo can keep that momentum once its console stops feeling like the cheaper alternative in the room.
