Nintendo is reportedly facing continued pressure to raise the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 console amid rising manufacturing costs and declining share prices. This news comes via a new report from Bloomberg, which highlighted the continued decline of Nintendo Stock, which occurred despite a positive bump in March, thanks to the cozy exclusive title Pokémon Pokopia. The company, looking forward to its next financial earnings report set to release on Friday, Nintendo is facing scrutiny from shareholders over whether they will finally be made to buckle on the Switch 2’s pricing, which has remained firm since last year’s release.
The Nintendo Switch 2 launched in June of 2025 with a price of $449.99 for the base version, with another version that included day-one exclusive Mario Kart World being $499.99. In Japan, the console is being sold at 50,000 yen (around $318), with all of these price points reportedly seeing the console sell at a loss. This is especially true of that Japanese price point. Exactly how much money each console is losing isn’t clear, though one analyst told Bloomberg that even a $50-$100 price increase would mean its platform could be “less of a burden rather than truly profitable.”
Selling consoles at a loss isn’t exactly new, as the industry often saw consoles sold at a price point that loses money, opting instead to make that money back on software and accessory sales. Most platforms have started to switch away from this, with Nintendo not taking this risk on the original Switch console, owing to the failures from their previous console, the Wii U. With the Nintendo Switch 2 being a more powerful but familiar follow-up to their previous console, the company chose to return to this thinking to achieve a price point they could convince gamers to upgrade.
The Nintendo Switch 2 also entered the market amid some turbulence caused by tariffs enacted by recently reelected President Donald J. Trump. This led to a delay in preorders for the US, with many suggesting a price increase was likely. To stave this off Nintendo raised the price of almost everything else on offer, such as Switch 2 accessories and all original Switch consoles. Now, the new conflict in the Middle East has created more uncertainty in multiple world markets on top of that. Both Sony and Microsoft has increased the price of their consoles, so it is unlikely Nintendo will be able to avoid it much longer.
Nintendo recently announced plans to ramp down production of Switch 2 units, owing to a lackluster Christmas that saw international sales much lower than the company had hoped for from the studio. Most analysts have suggested that the continued refusal to raise the price of the Switch 2 is the biggest contributor to the company’s current decline in value. The Bloomberg article ends by pointing out that, given market uncertainty, there are risks no matter what they do. Should they raise the price, shareholders will be happy, but will probably upset consumers. This begs the question of how long the company can prolong what has started to feel inevitable industry-wide.
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