Nintendo President Says Switch 2 Price Hike Possible as Memory Costs Rise

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa told investors in the investor Q&A published with Nintendo’s February financials that the company has not made a decision to raise the Switch 2 price now, but a future increase is possible if memory costs keep rising. Furukawa warned, “However, if this rise in component prices lasts longer than expected and runs through the next fiscal year and beyond, it may put pressure on profitability,” and added, “If the situation deteriorates significantly, we will carefully assess market trends and respond.”

The immediate pressure Furukawa referenced is concrete: the Counterpoint Memory Price Tracker shows memory prices surged 90% in Q1 alone, a spike widely attributed to AI data centers buying large quantities of RAM chips. Industry coverage has even labeled the squeeze “RAMmageddon,” a phrase used in Bloomberg-sourced reporting summarized by NintendoLife, and VideoGamesChronicle noted the surge is mainly linked to AI companies hoovering up inventory.

That cost pressure arrives after a strong Switch 2 launch. Nintendo released the console worldwide on June 5, 2025 at a $449.99 retail price, and outlets reported the hardware “broke records in the days after its release.” Competitors have already moved on price: Polygon noted Microsoft raised Xbox prices twice in 2025 and that Sony updated PS5 pricing last year, and Bloomberg-sourced reporting cited by NintendoLife said “people familiar with its plans” believe Nintendo is contemplating a 2026 price change. Niko Partners has predicted Nintendo might be forced to follow competitors and raise hardware prices.

Furukawa framed any pricing decision as multidimensional rather than a knee-jerk response to one line item in the bill of materials. As rendered in a machine translation reported by VideoGamesChronicle, he said, “Price changes will be determined comprehensively, taking into account not only profitability but also the adoption of the platform, sales trends and market conditions.” NintendoLife also recalled a January Kyoto Shimbun exchange in which Furukawa declined hypotheticals, saying, “I cannot comment on hypotheticals.”

The company’s customers are already vocal. A Facebook post by Naquan Davis on February 5 at 12:21 AM, summarizing media reports, drew 21 reactions and 57 comments; Cesar Perez wrote, “Another Wii U in our hands,” and Cory Wilson warned that higher prices could hurt sales, writing, “They don't seem to be selling as well as they were. They will sell even less and the system may flop if they raise the price,” each comment showing two reactions in the thread.

For now Nintendo’s line is steady: no decision to change Switch 2’s $449.99 price, but the company will re-evaluate if the Counterpoint-style memory spike drags into the next fiscal year. As Furukawa put it, “If the situation deteriorates significantly, we will carefully assess market trends and respond.”