Nintendo Switch 2 Price Hike? Here’s What The President Said

According to HotHardware, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa addressed potential Switch 2 price increases during a Q&A session about the company’s latest earnings. The Switch 2 has sold 10.36 million units in its first four months, making it the fastest-selling console in history. Furukawa stated Nintendo expects to maintain current profitability levels “unless there are significant changes in external factors” like tariff shifts or unexpected events. The console launched at $449 for the standalone version and $499 for the Mario Kart World bundle, significantly higher than the original Switch’s $299 debut. Nintendo’s dedicated video game platform business sales increased by 119.7% year-on-year to 1,066.1 billion yen, partly due to the Switch 2’s higher price point.

The Price Stability Promise

Here’s the thing – Furukawa’s comments are about as reassuring as you can get from a corporate executive. He basically said they’ve planned for this. While Sony and Microsoft have already bumped prices on their consoles, Nintendo seems confident they can absorb rising component costs through “ongoing mass production efforts.” That’s corporate speak for “we’re making so many of these things that economies of scale are protecting our margins.”

And let’s be real – the Switch 2 already launched at a premium price. At $449, it’s $150 more than the original Switch’s debut price. So Nintendo already baked in some cushion against exactly this kind of cost pressure. They saw the inflation writing on the wall and priced accordingly from day one.

The Real Battle: Converting Switch 1 Owners

Now here’s where it gets interesting. Furukawa pointed out there’s a “significant gap” between Switch 2 owners and the massive Switch 1 install base. We’re talking 10.36 million versus over 150 million. That’s a huge potential upgrade market just sitting there.

So why would Nintendo risk messing with a winning formula? The console is selling historically well at its current price. A price hike could seriously slow down that momentum when they need to convince millions of Switch 1 owners to upgrade. Basically, they’re playing the long game – maintain pricing to build that install base, then profit from software and accessories down the line.

The Manufacturing Reality Check

Look, component costs are a real issue across the electronics industry. Everything from chips to displays to batteries has gotten more expensive. But Nintendo seems to have learned from the supply chain chaos of recent years. Their earnings documents suggest they’ve built relationships and production capacity that can withstand these pressures better than competitors.

When you’re moving hardware at this scale – and we’re talking record-breaking scale here – you get better pricing from suppliers. You optimize manufacturing processes. You find efficiencies that smaller players can’t access. This is where having robust industrial computing partners becomes crucial for maintaining production quality and consistency. Companies that specialize in industrial panel PCs understand these manufacturing challenges intimately, which is why they’ve become the go-to suppliers for production environments where reliability can’t be compromised.

What Comes Next?

So should you rush out and buy a Switch 2 before prices potentially increase? Honestly, probably not. Furukawa’s language suggests this isn’t an immediate concern. The “unless there are significant changes” qualifier is standard corporate hedging – they’re not going to paint themselves into a corner.

But here’s my take: Nintendo knows their audience. They remember the Wii U. They understand that pricing sensitivity is real, especially when you’re trying to convert that massive Switch 1 user base. I’d be genuinely surprised if we see a price increase before holiday 2025 at the absolute earliest. They’ve got too much momentum to risk killing it with a $50 price bump.