Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order price may not be going up after all
One analyst thinks that Nintendo will stick with its current Switch 2 price tag
Update: See our in-depth Nintendo Switch 2 review, which is live after a week of thoroughly testing the new console. Check out our full Switch 2 news stories, too.
Update: With the US tariffs now paused, we’re watching Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders like a hawk. Be sure to subscribe to The Shortcut to get notifications.
🤔 According to one analysis group, Nintendo may not raise the price of the Switch 2 beyond its current $449.99 tag
🧐 David Cole, of DFC Intelligence, believes Nintendo made the decision with the looming threat of tariffs in the USA already in mind
📈 He also predicts a potential 20 percent price increase in two years, with a lower projected sales volume
📆 The console is still scheduled to launch on June 5, regardless of the delays to pre-orders
It's been a wild week since the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct announcement, with news of delayed pre-orders while Nintendo works out how to deal with the tariff situation in the USA.
It had been previously reported that the Nintendo Switch 2’s price of $449.99, already some $150 higher than the original Switch, didn’t factor in tariffs, according to Nintendo of America boss Doug Bowser, leading some folks to expect the price to rise after President Trump's tariff decision.
However, there is some hope to hold onto, as one analysis firm has said it expects Nintendo to stick with the $449.99 launch price, as opposed to hiking it up any further. Analyst David Cole, the founder of DFC Intelligence, has spoken to Eurogamer and stated that – despite Bowser’s statement – he thinks that the pricing decision from Nintendo was made with the looming threat of tariffs in the USA.
It may not be all plain sailing, though.
Cole's firm's guidance has suggested that US tariffs could lead to a 20 percent price increase on the console over the next two years. This caused DFC Intelligence to lower their sales projections on the Switch 2 from 17 million units to 15 million, as buyers may hold off until the price falls back to a more reasonable level.
With this in mind, 15 million units would still help the Switch 2 on its way to becoming the fastest-selling console to date, with even quicker sales than the original Switch. Cole went on to say that he thinks the console, as it matures, may have the potential to capture an even larger market share than the original.
More sales essentially means more interest, and it could take the Switch 2 from being quite a niche or standalone style of system into a form factor that key rivals Sony and Microsoft would have to take notice of, according to Cole.
Microsoft is reportedly set to release an Xbox handheld in partnership with Asus, while Sony is rumored to be working on a PSP 2.
In spite of the delayed pre-orders, the Switch 2's release date remains unchanged – June 5 2025.
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.