Niko Partners, a world-renowned game market research company, pointed out in its latest 2026 industry forecast report that Nintendo's new generation console Switch 2 may soon face a global price increase. The report analyzed that Nintendo's strategy of maintaining current selling prices may not be sustainable due to multiple pressures such as tariffs, soaring memory costs, and the macroeconomic environment.
Analysis of the report believes that although Nintendo effectively controlled costs in the early stage by strategically stockpiling components in advance and maintaining high production capacity, the recent surge in memory prices has exceeded the company's control, and it may eventually be forced to transfer costs to consumers. The report even speculates that Nintendo may stop selling the console separately and instead focus on bundled packages to increase the average selling price, which may make the entry price of Switch 2 touch $500 or higher.
This potential price increase will put Nintendo in a dilemma: Switch 2 has not been released for more than a year, and its recent sales momentum has been weak. Its sales performance in the first holiday season was not even as good as that of the previous generation Switch. The price increase at this time will undoubtedly further affect the market performance of this hybrid console.
The report pointed out that Nintendo is not alone in facing difficulties. The entire consumer electronics hardware industry is in a difficult situation: Sony may also increase the price of PS5; high memory costs will also determine the success of Valve's Steam Machine, which enters the living room console market for the second time; even the release process of the next generation console may be delayed as a whole due to this "memory crisis", bringing a major setback to the gaming industry. The report concludes by advising players: "If you're considering buying a Switch 2, you'd better do it now."