Nintendo is raising the price of the Switch 2 later this year amid a global memory shortage.
Nintendo could only escape it for so long. Although they dodged a Nintendo Switch 2 price jump in response to Trump tariffs implemented last April, which did hit the original Switch line, they have now announced a $50 USD markup coming to the console on September 1, bringing the console to $500 USD. The reason this time? The global shortage of RAM.
There has been a massive spike in demand for RAM since the end of 2025, as the tech industry’s push towards generative AI has driven a need for more and more computers to power AI data centres. This then shoots up the price of RAM, which then raises the price of whatever uses RAM, which is a lot more than just game consoles, too.
Other gaming companies have had to make similar moves, such as Sony with the PlayStation line going from $750 USD to $900 USD, Xbox has done something similar with the Xbox Series X|S and might do so again, and Valve, who has been struggling to restock some of their hardware due to this shortage, with their new Steam Machine continuing to be delayed as well.
Some RAM prices are slowing rather than soaring, but many DDR5 RAM sticks are still priced way higher than they were a few years ago. Another lesser-talked-about component right now is the SSD, which is seeing a similar price jump to RAM. Until something major happens to balance out the prices of these vital tech components, we may see similar price increases further into the future.
Nintendo has said before that it is looking for ways to reduce the cost of games, so there may be reason to hope gaming will not completely turn into a luxury hobby. Want to grab a Nintendo Switch 2 before prices increase? You can find one on Nintendo’s official website.
