Nintendo rules out another Switch 2 price rise as sales fall 37.4%
The company says memory supply is stable enough to avoid further increases, even as a cartridge supplier shifts capacity toward AI data-center chips.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa told analysts on the company's latest earnings call that no further Switch 2 price increase is under consideration, following a $50 rise earlier this year that lifted the base price to $499. Nintendo's Thursday earnings report also showed Switch 2 unit sales falling 37.4 percent year over year. On the memory supply problem, Furukawa said the situation has not materially shifted and that Nintendo expects to secure enough chips. The reassurance comes as a Switch 2 cartridge supplier said it will stop producing ROM memory to focus on chips for data centers, a move tied to AI demand that is driving a broader RAM shortage. Rival consoles have also gotten pricier, with Microsoft lifting the Xbox Series S starting price from $299 to $499 and the PS5 now starting at $649.
Why it matters
For buyers, the base Switch 2 price now stands at $499 after a $50 rise, and Nintendo says no further change is being considered. The 37.4 percent drop in unit sales shows how the higher price has weighed on demand. The memory squeeze, driven by AI chip demand, remains the underlying pressure on console makers, and rivals have also raised their prices, which suggests the cost increases are industry-wide rather than specific to Nintendo.
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