Nintendo’s Switch 2 will cost $50 more in the US, rising to $499.99 starting September 1. The price increase reflects one of the gaming industry’s most serious supply chain crises: memory chip shortages due to exploding AI data center demand.
The company attributed the increase to “changing market conditions” and its “global business outlook,” a careful euphemism for the cost pressures ravaging its balance sheet. Memory chip costs have increased far beyond anyone’s predictions, forcing Nintendo to face losses it can no longer hide.
Nintendo’s financial forecasts reveal the true magnitude of the problem. The company estimates that memory price spikes and tariff measures will cost it about 100 billion yen, about $638 million, in the fiscal year ending March 2027. That staggering figure doesn’t include lost sales from upset customers.
Notably, Nintendo has lowered its projection for Switch 2 units for the fiscal year to 16.5 million, down 17% from the previous 19.86 million units.
Estimated net sales will be 2.05 trillion yen, an 11.4% decline from last year’s revenue. However, analysts had estimated 2.46 trillion yen for the firm. Profit is expected to fall 27% to 310 billion yen, compared with the figure analysts expected of 418.5 billion yen.
Kanton Games CEO Serkan Toto, speaking to CNBC, said, “The clock has been ticking for Nintendo for several months; the impact is really significant because typically, sales increase in their second year and do not decrease as Nintendo had predicted.”
Nintendo’s entertainment franchises are still very powerful. The film Super Mario Galaxy has grossed approximately $900 million at the box office. Pokémon Pokopia was a surprise hit on the Switch 2. Upcoming games in the Splatoon series, Star Fox, and Pokemon in the year 2026 will be the best chance for Nintendo to exceed the price point.
