There Nintendo Switch 2 is already the most expensive console in the history of Nintendoand yet, a former executive warns that the bill could still climb. Guest on the Kit and Krysta Podcast, a former sales manager, identified only as Sean, believes that an increase in the price of the machine is only a matter of time.
His comments come as Nintendo announced a new pricing policy: from May 2026, first party Switch 2 games will be cheaper in digital form than in physical version, starting with Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. Good news in appearance, which could above all pave the way for an increase in the price of the console itself.
Nintendo Switch 2: a former executive announces an inevitable price increase
Sean, former sales lead at Nintendo of America, doesn’t beat around the bush. Interviewed in the Kit and Krysta Podcast, quoted by Insider Gaming, he declares: “Unfortunately, I think eventually the hardware price is going to have to go up. I think that there’s things that they can and seem to be doing to try and mitigate that, but I also look at this move on software, if I’m reading it correctly, as a way to make a hardware price increase a little bit more palatable”.
He welcomes the drop in the price of digital games, which he describes as a pro-consumer gesture, while recalling that it is the digital prices which are falling more than the boxed versions which are exploding. According to him, this software strategy also serves as psychological compensation to accept a future increase in the price of the software. Switch2.
More expensive Switch 2: what is really behind the decline in digital games?
When it launches in June 2025, the Nintendo Switch 2 was priced around €470 in France for the console alone, and around €510 in a pack with Mario Kart Worldcompared to nearly €330 for the first Switch. On the first party games side, some titles are already going up to €80 in physics, when the standard was around €60 on the previous generation.
In this context, the decision to lower the recommended price of digital versions from May 2026 looks like a calculated turn. Dematerialized costs less to produce and distribute, which allows Nintendo to improve its margins while giving players the impression of saving money. Sean clearly sees this as a way to keep the “overall rating” acceptable if the price of the hardware increases.
Should you buy the Nintendo Switch 2 before a possible price increase?
The economic signals do not favor maintaining prices. LPDDR5X memory, used by modern consoles, has seen its costs rise by more than 40%, particularly under pressure from AI uses. Nintendo already cites general inflation and the price of new technologies to justify the current positioning of the Switch2.
Competition also shows the way. Sony has decided to significantly increase its consoles during the generation: the PlayStation 5 Pro must for example take 150 dollars, or around 140 €, with a final price which climbs to almost 900 € in Europe. It’s difficult, in this context, to imagine Nintendo going back.
Concretely, an increase could occur through a direct increase in the recommended price or through the gradual disappearance of the “bare” console in favor of more expensive bundles. For French players, where the Nintendo Switch 2 already represents a good part of a minimum wage salary and is subject to 20% VAT, the current window of one-off promotions around €420 to €430 could well be the best time to decide before 2026.