If you were hoping the Switch 2 might follow in the footsteps of its predecessor with a price to undercut the competition, it’s time to lower your expectations. Speaking with top game industry analysts, Bloomberg’s Takashi Mochizuki found that virtually all of them expect the Switch 2 to cost at least $400 when it launches this year.
Serkan Toto of Kantan Games, Yijia Zhai of UBS, and Robin Zhu of Bernstein expect Nintendo to hike the price by at least $100 over the original Switch.
However, they don’t believe that a higher price point will impact sales. Conversely, the Switch 2 is well-positioned to have the biggest game console launch of all time. Zhu thinks that Nintendo will have 6 to 8 million units available on day one and points to June as the likely release month. For the sake of comparison, the original Switch sold 2.7 million units in its first month and is now battling with the PS2 for the title of best-selling console ever.
That said, not every analyst sees $400 as the upper range for the Switch 2 price.
“The original Switch’s Nvidia chip is estimated to cost $80 per unit, while the Switch 2’s chip is likely to be in the $130-$150 range,” Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda told Bloomberg. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Nintendo goes ahead with $499.”
That could put the Switch 2 in direct competition with the PS5 and Xbox Series X, both of which can be had for under $500, depending on sales and the model you pick. Even with the Switch’s momentum, I find it hard to believe Nintendo would risk launching any underpowered hardware at the same price as its higher-spec competition.
There have also been some interesting leaks lately regarding the Switch 2’s price. For example, Costco in Canada recently had a mysterious placeholder listing for a Nintendo Switch priced at $499 CAD (which would translate to around $399 USD).
We should find out the final price at the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct on April 2, 2025.
