Nintendo Officially Addresses Switch 2 Price Hike Concerns

5 hours ago 11

Published Nov 5, 2026, 12:27 PM EST

Elijah is a freelance news writer at Polygon. He was an associate editor at The A.V. Club and Paste, and has been featured in outlets like Game Informer, Fanbyte, Unwinnable, and more. He loves media in all forms, from fighting games and horror flicks to slow cinema and visual novels. He's from the Greater Boston area.

Nintendo's president said the company has acquired sufficient RAM for now

A docked Switch 2 and 2 Joy-Con in the magnetic grip

The video game console market is in a rough spot, and hardware prices have ballooned thanks to an ongoing RAM shortage. The PlayStation 5 currently costs $150 more than when it launched on Nov. 12, 2020. The Xbox Series X is up $300, bringing its official price to $799.99.

Even the Nintendo Switch 2, which was released and priced after the ongoing chip crisis had already begun, got a $50 price bump on Sept. 1, 2026. Thankfully, there’s finally a bit of good news when it comes to game console prices. In a statement to Reuters, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said that the company can secure enough memory to avoid another price hike.

What else did the Reuters report reveal about Nintendo’s recent performance?

Nintendo's sales fell, and operating profit declined 16% to 73.9 billion yen (roughly $468 million) in the last financial quarter, which was below analyst estimates. While Nintendo isn’t planning to raise the cost of the Switch 2 past its $449.99 price point, it may look to make more money off players by increasing Switch Online subscription costs. Reuters reported that Nintendo investors are concerned about the memory crunch and a shortage of big Switch 2 releases. Despite this, Nintendo didn’t change its full-year profit forecast or its expectation of selling 16.5 million Switch 2 units.

One of Nintendo’s biggest games of the year, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, just launched to stellar reviews. “The Zelda game should sell well and give Nintendo a solid quarter, but the company will not release blockbuster titles until the next fiscal year,” analyst Serkan Toto said.

Nintendo isn't the only company struggling to sell consoles. In July 2026, game console sales fell by a whopping 29% from the same month the previous year. Part of that decline can be attributed to price increases.

Nintendo’s next big first-party game will be Metroid Ravenous, which releases on Jan. 28, 2027. Other Switch 2 exclusives currently slated for 2027 include Xenoblade Genesis, The Duskbloods, Pokémon Waves and Winds, Onyx: The Dark Grip, and Kirby and the World Beyond. Two of Nintendo's biggest games from 2026, Pokémon Pokopia and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, will also be getting DLC expansions next year.