Nintendo Joins Xbox and PlayStation in Raising Console Prices as Memory Shortage Deepens
NintendoNTDOY raised the Switch 2 price from $449 to $499, effective Sept. 1, 2026, making it the last major console maker to raise prices amid a global memory and storage component shortage.
The increase puts Nintendo in the same corner as its rivals, both of which have already hiked twice. MicrosoftMSFT moved first, lifting the Xbox Series S from $299 to $399 and the Series X from $499 to $649.
SonySONY matched the pattern, pushing the PS5 digital edition from $399 to $599, while the standard PS5 went from $499 to $649 as well.
Both companies have since reported sharp sales declines tied to the increases.
Microsoft's Xbox hardware revenue fell 33% in its most recent quarter. Sony's PS5 unit sales collapsed 46% year-over-year, dropping from 2.8M units in 2025 to 1.5M this year.
Circana executive director and games analyst Mat Piscatella told Yahoo Finance that sales velocity had slowed at both Xbox and PS5 following their respective price hikes.
Bad Timing for Nintendo
Console prices typically fall over time, not rise, helping manufacturers build out their user base past the early adopter window.
Nintendo resisted longer than rivals but now faces the same trade-off at a more vulnerable moment in its product cycle.
Serkan Toto, CEO of games consultancy Kantan Games, put the problem plainly: "It's not even a year since launch."
Toto added that the increase was "a wrench … thrown into their wheels" at a moment when Nintendo was still building the Switch 2's install base.
The Switch 2 had been tracking toward becoming one of Nintendo's bestselling consoles before the announcement.
Nintendo had previously raised the original Switch price by $50 to shield Switch 2 early sales from cannibalization, and that move had worked. The current increase carries more risk given how early it arrives in the new console's lifecycle.
The shortage stems from AI-driven demand for memory and storage chips, which has strained supply across consumer electronics.
Analysts estimate the disruption could last through 2030. That timeline puts next-generation Xbox and PlayStation hardware at risk too, since both debuted in 2020 and their successors are already in development.
For Nintendo, the pressure lands at the moment the Switch 2 needs momentum most.