Could the Switch 2 follow the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms and get its own price hike in 2026? That's the belief of multiple experts, and Nintendo isn't ruling anything out.
During the company's latest earnings briefing, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said the "recent rise in memory prices" did not have much of an impact on the Switch 2's profitability for the latest quarter, and it's not expected to for the current one, but if the costs keep going up, Nintendo might pass that along to consumers in the form of a price hike. Or it might not. Nothing has been decided as of yet.
"If this rise in component prices lasts longer than expected and runs through the next fiscal year and beyond, it may put pressure on profitability," he said. "If the situation deteriorates significantly, we will carefully assess market trends and respond. As for any future change in the price of Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, no decision has been made at this time. Any decision to change the price will be determined comprehensively, taking into consideration not only profitability, but also other factors like the platform's installed base, sales trends, and the market environment."
The growing cost of memory is "happening at a pace that exceeds our expectations," Furukawa said. Of course, Nintendo is not the only company affected by increasing memory costs, as many other technology companies are caught in the middle of it as well.
What's causing the surge in prices? Experts agree that the chips powering the many new AI technologies need a lot of memory, which is one of the factors causing this spike.
Nintendo, should it implement a Switch 2 price hike, would be asking consumers to pay more even when the company made a profit of $2.3 billion over the past nine months. And Nintendo is not the only company raking in the dough these days, as Microsoft made an overall profit of $38.5 billion for its latest quarter alone at a time when the company is raising Xbox prices, laying off developers, and cancelling games. Sony, for its part, announced that it made a profit of $6.2 billion for its latest period and announced it was raising profit projections. The PS5 got a price hike in 2025, but the company recently said another increase isn't likely, at least for the time being. The AI memory issues could even lead to the rumored PS6 not being released until possibly 2029.
For Nintendo, Furukawa said the company aims to follow its historical trends and increase profitability for the Switch 2 by way of mass production and "economies of scale." At the same time, Furukawa acknowledged the memory issues, but he didn't say definitively if this could lead to a Switch 2 price hike down the road. Nintendo's platforms have historically been sold for a profit--this is a rarity in the console space, with other companies selling units at a loss and then making up the different with more profit-rich products like games, accessories, and subscriptions.
Furukawa said, "With regard to not selling hardware at a loss, what we are focusing on is profitability on a global basis. There are various external factors, such as fluctuations in exchange rates, but looking at the global picture, we have traditionally tried to avoid situations where individual units are sold at a loss as much as possible."
The executive went on to say it's "difficult to predict the changes in the external environment" currently, but he takes the view that Nintendo should not be "excessively influenced by short-term trends."
He said the second and third years for the Switch 2 will be "very important," and if Nintendo is able to sell enough Switch 2 units, then it can "greatly expand software sales." As mentioned, game sales are understood to have better profitability margins.
Also working in Nintendo's favor is that Furukawa said the company began production on the Switch 2 "as early as possible" and has been stockpiling "a certain amount of components and products." This inventory was obtained prior to the recent surge in memory prices, presumably, so Nintendo isn't fearful of profitability issues, at least for now.
"While we currently expect some sort of impact on profitability if the increase in memory prices continues over the long term, we do not anticipate constraints in our production plans due to insufficient supply in the next fiscal year and beyond," Furukawa said.
Back in 2025 when Nintendo announced price increases for the original Switch and several other products, the company warned that a Switch 2 price hike could follow. Then industry experts predicted a Switch 2 price hike, with one person saying the Switch 2 could go up by as much as $100. Just recently, a Bloomberg report said "rampant AI demand for memory" could prompt Nintendo to consider a Switch 2 price hike.
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During the company's latest earnings briefing, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said the "recent rise in memory prices" did not have much of an impact on the Switch 2's profitability for the latest quarter, and it's not expected to for the current one, but if the costs keep going up, Nintendo might pass that along to consumers in the form of a price hike. Or it might not. Nothing has been decided as of yet.
"If this rise in component prices lasts longer than expected and runs through the next fiscal year and beyond, it may put pressure on profitability," he said. "If the situation deteriorates significantly, we will carefully assess market trends and respond. As for any future change in the price of Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, no decision has been made at this time. Any decision to change the price will be determined comprehensively, taking into consideration not only profitability, but also other factors like the platform's installed base, sales trends, and the market environment."
The growing cost of memory is "happening at a pace that exceeds our expectations," Furukawa said. Of course, Nintendo is not the only company affected by increasing memory costs, as many other technology companies are caught in the middle of it as well.
What's causing the surge in prices? Experts agree that the chips powering the many new AI technologies need a lot of memory, which is one of the factors causing this spike.
Nintendo, should it implement a Switch 2 price hike, would be asking consumers to pay more even when the company made a profit of $2.3 billion over the past nine months. And Nintendo is not the only company raking in the dough these days, as Microsoft made an overall profit of $38.5 billion for its latest quarter alone at a time when the company is raising Xbox prices, laying off developers, and cancelling games. Sony, for its part, announced that it made a profit of $6.2 billion for its latest period and announced it was raising profit projections. The PS5 got a price hike in 2025, but the company recently said another increase isn't likely, at least for the time being. The AI memory issues could even lead to the rumored PS6 not being released until possibly 2029.
For Nintendo, Furukawa said the company aims to follow its historical trends and increase profitability for the Switch 2 by way of mass production and "economies of scale." At the same time, Furukawa acknowledged the memory issues, but he didn't say definitively if this could lead to a Switch 2 price hike down the road. Nintendo's platforms have historically been sold for a profit--this is a rarity in the console space, with other companies selling units at a loss and then making up the different with more profit-rich products like games, accessories, and subscriptions.
Furukawa said, "With regard to not selling hardware at a loss, what we are focusing on is profitability on a global basis. There are various external factors, such as fluctuations in exchange rates, but looking at the global picture, we have traditionally tried to avoid situations where individual units are sold at a loss as much as possible."
The executive went on to say it's "difficult to predict the changes in the external environment" currently, but he takes the view that Nintendo should not be "excessively influenced by short-term trends."
He said the second and third years for the Switch 2 will be "very important," and if Nintendo is able to sell enough Switch 2 units, then it can "greatly expand software sales." As mentioned, game sales are understood to have better profitability margins.
Also working in Nintendo's favor is that Furukawa said the company began production on the Switch 2 "as early as possible" and has been stockpiling "a certain amount of components and products." This inventory was obtained prior to the recent surge in memory prices, presumably, so Nintendo isn't fearful of profitability issues, at least for now.
"While we currently expect some sort of impact on profitability if the increase in memory prices continues over the long term, we do not anticipate constraints in our production plans due to insufficient supply in the next fiscal year and beyond," Furukawa said.
Back in 2025 when Nintendo announced price increases for the original Switch and several other products, the company warned that a Switch 2 price hike could follow. Then industry experts predicted a Switch 2 price hike, with one person saying the Switch 2 could go up by as much as $100. Just recently, a Bloomberg report said "rampant AI demand for memory" could prompt Nintendo to consider a Switch 2 price hike.
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