The Nintendo Switch 2 will rise to €499.99 in Europe from September, but Nintendo says even that new price does not fully cover the higher manufacturing, distribution, and component costs behind the console. President Shuntaro Furukawa apologized to customers, while making it clear that the company does not want to rely on the price tag alone. Its plan is to increase the ownership value of the Switch 2 with a robust lineup of games, which is another way of saying: if the machine is getting more expensive, it had better give players stronger reasons to buy it.

The video game industry’s price-hike season continues, and Nintendo is now the latest company to join in with the Switch 2. According to the details of the decision, the console will keep its current European price throughout the summer months, then rise to €499.99 from September 1, 2026, an increase of €30. The official explanation is familiar: international market conditions, along with higher manufacturing, distribution, and component costs. At this point, it is the kind of sentence every major company seems able to pull out whenever it reaches toward the customer’s wallet. Only the logo at the top of the page changes.

The more awkward part is that the new entry price still does not fully cover the cost increases Nintendo has faced while producing Switch 2 units. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa addressed this during the company’s latest financial results presentation, acknowledging that the new price could become a higher barrier to entry for users who have not yet moved to the new generation. “We apologize to our customers for the considerable inconvenience and disruption this will cause,” Furukawa said. He added that although the company wanted to prioritize widespread adoption of the Switch 2, it had become difficult to absorb the increased costs over an extended period. In other words, the revised price still does not cover all of the additional pressure.

In theory, that could mean Nintendo might raise the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 even further to reduce the impact of higher manufacturing, logistics, and component costs. Of course, doing so would punish users who have not yet made the jump to the company’s new generation even more severely. Furukawa instead pointed to a different approach: the company wants to increase the machine’s value through a stronger software lineup. “We will prepare a robust software portfolio to increase the Switch 2’s ownership value. We will work diligently to overcome this obstacle,” the executive said. In practical terms, Nintendo is trying to argue that a more expensive console must be justified with games, not just another round of corporate explanations. On paper, at least, that is a better plan than simply placing a larger number on the price tag.

Nintendo Anticipates That Switch 2 Sales Will Decline In Fiscal Year 2026-2027

Beyond the noise surrounding the Switch 2 price increase, Nintendo’s financial report also included a highly unusual detail: the company expects sales of its hybrid console to decline in fiscal year 2026-2027. That is not the usual pattern in the video game industry, where consoles typically improve their commercial performance from the second year onward rather than slowing down. Even with more cautious estimates than one would usually expect for a new gaming device, Nintendo still believes the Switch 2 will maintain strong commercial momentum. Furukawa said that, thanks to efforts to strengthen the supply chain, first-year sales reached an unprecedented level, while demand in the second year remains strong. According to the company, adoption of the Switch 2 is progressing smoothly, even if its own forecast now points to a more cautious year ahead.

Source: 3DJuegos