Because of money-hungry investors, the Japanese company has also collapsed onto the sword of late-stage capitalism. This console will also become more expensive over time, even though the exact opposite should be happening.
The reason? The usual, exhausting references to market conditions and international business developments. In Japan, prices will rise from May 25, while elsewhere they will go up from September 1. In Japan, the Japanese-language-only Switch 2 will cost 59,980 yen instead of 49,980 yen, which represents a 20% price increase. The international version, which offers multiple languages and can be ordered from the My Nintendo Store, will not become more expensive.
The Nintendo Switch will cost 43,980 yen instead of 32,978 yen (a 33.36% increase!), the Nintendo Switch Lite will cost 29,980 yen instead of 21,978 yen (a 36.4% increase), and the Nintendo Switch OLED will cost 47,980 yen instead of 37,980 yen (a 26.32% increase). In North America, the Nintendo Switch 2 will cost $500 instead of $450 (an 11.1% increase), in Canada it will cost $680 instead of $630 (a 7.93% increase), and in Europe it will cost €500 instead of €470 (a 6.38% increase). As a side note, if the Hungarian forint remains stronger and the euro stays around HUF 360, prices may work out somewhat more favourably for us. No price increase was mentioned for the first-generation Nintendo Switch models in Western markets.
Nintendo Switch Online will also become more expensive in Japan, though no possible price increase has yet been mentioned for other regions. The one-month subscription will cost 400 yen instead of 306 yen (+30.71%), the three-month subscription will cost 1,000 yen instead of 815 yen (+22.69%), and the 12-month subscription will cost 3,000 yen instead of 2,400 yen (+25%). The annual family subscription will cost 5,800 yen instead of 4,500 yen (+28.88%). The 12-month Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack will cost 5,900 yen instead of 4,900 yen (+20.4%), while the family subscription will cost 9,900 yen instead of 8,900 yen (+11.23%).
So here too, we have reached the shameful situation where the older a console gets, the more expensive it becomes. Raising the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 barely more than ONE year after launch? It is probably better not to comment on that.
