Nintendo announced it would raise the price of its Switch 2 consoles to $500 starting Sept. 1. This price increase of $50 from the original price marks the first time the Switch 2 has gone up in cost since its launch last June.
"This is in response to various changes in market conditions, which are expected to extend over the medium to long term," Nintendo said in its press release Friday. "We understand that pricing changes can be challenging for customers and deeply appreciate the continued enthusiasm of our fans for Nintendo products and experiences."
When the Switch 2 launched in June last year, there was a concern that Nintendo would be forced to raise its new console's previously announced price due to the tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump in April 2025. Like many tech devices, Switch 2 components come from production plants in Vietnam and China, two countries hit hard with tariffs, but Nintendo was able to keep the console's price at $450 for the base unit.
Even though the Switch 2 didn't jump in price due to tariffs, the original Switch and accessories did see a price bump. The original Switch, Switch OLED and Switch Lite increased by 15% while accessories saw a jump of $5 or $10.
Gaming is now a luxury hobby
The core reason for the Switch 2 price increase is the same for almost all of tech right now, and it's the global memory shortage -- or as some have strated calling it, "RAMageddon." This problem began at the end of 2025 as the spike in demand for generative AI tools led to a huge demand for computers to power AI data centers. This shot up the cost of RAM, and that, in turn, meant the prices of those devices that use RAM also needed to go up in price to accommodate.
Nintendo isn't the only one feeling the pain from this memory shortage. Sony had to increase the cost of the PS5 Pro, going from $750 to $900. Microsoft made similar adjustments to its Xbox Series X/S consoles. Valve had to delay the release of its Steam Machine home PC console due to the shortage, and it's still unclear how much it will cost.
In late March and early April, RAM prices did finally slow down, and it appears the market could be trying to get back to normal pricing. However, that may take some time. RAM sticks of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of DDR5 are still several times higher than they were back in 2024.
RAM, unfortunately, isn't the only computer component that saw price spikes. It's the most talked about, but there is currently another volatile market involving SSDs. Prices for SSDs have, in most cases, doubled, for the same reason RAM prices increased. And just like how RAM is an important component for gaming devices, so are SSDs. This means the price of gaming hardware could continue to increase as demand for those components continues to grow.
