Nintendo is increasing the price of the Switch 2 starting September 1

Nintendo announced that it will raise the price of its console Switch 2 Consoles are down to $500 starting September 1. This $50 price increase over the original price marks the first time the cost of the Switch 2 has increased since its launch last June.

“This comes in response to various changes in market conditions, which are expected to extend over the medium to long term,” Nintendo said in its statement. press release Friday. “We realize that pricing changes can be challenging for customers and we deeply appreciate our fans’ continued enthusiasm for Nintendo products and experiences.”

When the Switch 2 launched in June last year, there was concern that Nintendo would do just that You are forced to raise the previously announced price for the new console Due to tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump in April 2025. Like many tech devices, Switch 2 components come from production plants in Vietnam and China, both countries have been hit hard by the tariffs, but Nintendo has managed to keep the price of the console at $450 for the base unit.

Although the price of the Switch 2 did not increase due to the tariffs, the price of the original Switch and its accessories saw a rise. The original Switch, Switch OLED, and Switch Lite have been increased By 15%, while accessories saw a jump of $5 or $10.

Gaming has now become a luxury pastime

The primary reason for the Switch 2 price increase is the same for almost all tech companies right now, which is the global memory shortage — or as some have called it, “Ramageddon“This problem began at the end of 2025 as a spike in demand for generative AI tools created a huge demand for computers to run AI data centers. This drove up the cost of RAM, which in turn meant that the prices of those machines using RAM also needed to rise in price to accommodate it.

Nintendo isn’t the only one feeling the pain of memory shortages. Sony had to do it PS5 Pro cost increaseranging from $750 to $900. Made by Microsoft Similar modifications on Xbox Series keyboards. The valve had to do that Delaying the release of its Steam Machine The home computer console is due for shortage, and it’s still unclear how much it will cost.

In late March and early April, RAM prices are finally slowing downIt appears that the market may try to return to normal prices. However, this may take some time. 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB DDR5 RAM modules are still several times higher than they were in 2024.

Unfortunately, RAM isn’t the only computer component that’s seen a price hike. It’s the most talked about, but it’s there Another volatile market includes solid-state drives. SSD drives prices, in most cases, DoubledFor the same reason, RAM prices have increased. Just as RAM is an important component of gaming hardware, so is solid state drives (SSDs). This means that gaming hardware prices may continue to rise as demand for these components continues to grow.