Key Notes
- Nintendo says it can secure sufficient memory and is not considering another immediate Switch 2 price change after September’s increase.
- The company plans to absorb rising production costs where possible, while retaining the option to revise prices if profitability comes under sustained pressure.
- The US hardware MSRP remains $499.99 before tax as Nintendo works toward a full-year forecast of 16.5 million Switch 2 systems.
Nintendo is holding the Switch 2’s price for now, giving holiday shoppers some breathing room after September’s increase. President Shuntaro Furukawa says the company can secure the memory it needs and is not considering another immediate pricing change, even as manufacturing costs continue to climb.
The message comes with a limit. Nintendo will try to absorb higher costs, but it is leaving itself room to raise prices again if that becomes unsustainable. For buyers, the current U.S. starting point remains $499.99 before tax.
The Last Price Increase Is Still Fresh
Furukawa’s comments were reported by Reuters after Nintendo’s November 5 results briefing. He said there had been no major change in the memory situation and that Nintendo was positioned to obtain sufficient quantities.
That reassurance follows a price rise buyers have already felt. Nintendo’s May notice set the U.S. Switch 2 MSRP at $499.99 from September 1, up from $449.99. Canada moved to C$679.99, while the European My Nintendo Store price rose to €499.99.
The tax treatment differs: Nintendo quotes the U.S. and Canadian figures before tax and the European figure including tax. These are the announced hardware prices, so a retailer’s bundle can carry a different total depending on the game or accessories included.
Keeping the current price avoids asking buyers to absorb a second increase just as the console enters another holiday shopping season. It also leaves Nintendo selling a more expensive system than the one it launched in June 2025.
Enough Chips Does Not Mean Cheaper Chips
The pressure is coming from the cost of making the hardware as well as access to components. In its November 6 translation of the briefing’s Q&A, Game*Spark reported that Furukawa described manufacturing costs as rising because of several external factors.
Nintendo’s approach is to improve production efficiency and absorb costs where it can, preserving retail prices as far as possible. If those measures no longer support a sound profit structure over the medium to long term, the company would consider a revision.
That explains how the company can be confident about sourcing memory while remaining cautious about price. Securing enough components keeps production moving; buying them at a higher cost still affects the economics of every console sold.
The same Q&A account puts inventory at ¥814.5 billion at the end of September, up from ¥539.8 billion at the previous fiscal year-end. Furukawa attributed the increase to holiday stock, more expensive materials and planned procurement, alongside the higher unit value of Switch 2 hardware. The inventory value is therefore not a simple count of consoles waiting in warehouses.
Nintendo Still Needs a Strong Holiday Season
The pricing decision lands against a slower hardware year. Nintendo’s results show 6.49 million Switch 2 systems sold into its distribution channels during April–September, down 37.4% from the comparable launch-year period. Lifetime sales reached 26.35 million.
We reported on those half-year figures yesterday. The comparison includes Switch 2’s June 2025 launch in the earlier period, when the first wave of buyers gave hardware sales an unusually strong start.
Nintendo has kept its full-year Switch 2 forecast at 16.5 million units. After the first-half result, that leaves roughly 10 million systems to sell in October–March, a window that includes the holiday rush.
Software is providing a stronger result: Switch 2 game sales rose 18.8% to 24.49 million units in the half-year. Nintendo is trying to extend that business while keeping the hardware within reach of new buyers, with its next pricing decision tied to how much of the rising production bill it can continue to carry.
