On Thursday, June 5, 2025, Nintendo’s Switch 2 game console was exhibited at the Bic Camera electronics store in Tokyo. Nintendo fans from Tokyo to Manhattan waited in line for hours to be among the first to get their hands on the Switch 2, supporting the biggest global debut of the gadget since the iPhone’s launch last year.
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Nintendo The Japanese gaming giant will be raising the retail price of the Switch 2 as it expects sales of its flagship console to decline as it suffers a memory chip shortage.
The company announced Friday that it expects to sell 16.5 million Switch 2 units in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027. This is down from the 19.86 million units sold in the most recently ended financial year.
On the other hand, the company’s forecasts for this fiscal year were significantly lower than analysts’ expectations.
Nintendo has announced that the price of the Switch 2 in the United States will increase by $50 from $449.99 to $499.99 starting September 1st. In Japan, the price will increase from 49,980 yen to 59,980 yen starting in May. 25. Nintendo also stated that the price of the Switch 2 will increase in Canada and Europe.
Nintendo said the console price increase “takes into account changing market conditions” and is the result of what the company considers its “global business outlook.”
The Switch 2 console uses memory chips and has seen unprecedented price increases due to the expansion of AI data centers worldwide. Nintendo was forced to follow its rivals and raise the prices of its game consoles. sonyannounced a price increase of up to $150 for its flagship PlayStation 5 in March.
Nintendo shares have been under pressure since hitting a record high of more than 14,000 yen in August, falling nearly 50% from that high due to memory shortages.
Nintendo announced on Friday that its earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027 specifically reflects an impact of approximately 100 billion yen ($637.8 million) from soaring prices for components such as memory and “tariff measures.”
The company’s outlook was below analysts’ expectations. Nintendo currently expects net sales for this year to be 2.05 trillion yen, which is an 11.4% year-on-year decline and lower than the 2.46 trillion yen expected by analysts at LSEG. Net profit is also expected to fall 27% to 310 billion yen, lower than analysts’ expectations of 418.5 billion yen.
“Time has been ticking for Nintendo in recent months,” Kantan Games CEO Serkan Toto told CNBC. “The impact will be quite dramatic, as console sales typically increase in the second year. This time they will not decline as Nintendo predicts.”
Switch 2 was released in June last year.
Despite the headwinds, Nintendo continues to find success with its famous brand. According to Box Office Mojo, Universal and Illumination’s “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” released this year has grossed nearly $900 million worldwide.
The Switch 2 game “Pokémon Pokopia” was an unexpected hit, receiving positive feedback from users and becoming one of the best-selling games for the console so far.
Nintendo is planning new games in the “Splatoon” and “Star Fox” series this year. There are two major Pokemon games scheduled to be released next year.
“For Nintendo, it’s absolutely important right now to release their blockbuster games as quickly as possible in order to increase sales,” Toto said.
Nintendo reported first-quarter sales of 407.2 billion yen, lower than the 430.6 billion yen expected by analysts compiled by LSEG. However, net income was 65.2 billion yen, exceeding analysts’ expectations of 63.28 billion yen.
