Switch 2 - Price Increase This Year!?

There’s been a lot of speculation lately about whether Nintendo might raise the price of the Switch 2 this year. Looking at current component trends, I think the chances of that happening are very high.

The biggest reason is RAM.

Memory prices have been climbing again, and analysts expect those costs to remain elevated for the foreseeable future. Modern consoles rely heavily on high-bandwidth memory, and when those prices move, hardware manufacturers feel it immediately. Nintendo historically tries to protect its hardware margins much more aggressively than Sony or Microsoft, so if component costs rise, Nintendo is may be forced to adjust pricing rather than absorb the loss.

Because of that, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the baseline Switch 2 move to $500 sometime this year. Another possibility is that Nintendo phases out the $450 base model and keeps the $500 MSRP the same while removing Mario Kart World as the free pack-in.

Either way, Nintendo might consider looking at a lower cost model soon.

A Switch 2 Lite feels almost inevitable at some point, and that would likely become the entry-level option. I could easily see that landing around $399.99, giving Nintendo a clear two-tier structure: a premium hybrid model at the top and a cheaper handheld-focused version for the mass market.

None of this would be unprecedented. Nintendo has adjusted hardware pricing and configurations multiple times across previous generations when component costs shifted.

If RAM prices continue trending upward, a Switch 2 price increase this year wouldn’t be surprising to me at all.