No Plans to Increase Switch Price, For Now
In its latest earnings briefing, Nintendo continues to say it has no plans to raise prices on its popular Switch console, though it also doesn’t rule out the possibility that it might have to increase prices in the future.
Inflation! Maybe you’ve heard of it? If not, it’s bad! Currently, the entire globe is facing a massive wave of economic inflation leading to some companies, like Sony and Meta, raising prices on previously released hardware like the PlayStation 5 and the Meta Quest 2 VR headset. Even Xbox boss Phil Spencer has suggested that following the holidays, Microsoft may have to raise prices on consoles or Game Pass. However, Nintendo is not following suit, though it continues to “monitor” the situation.
As reported by Bloomberg’s Takashi Mochizuki, yesterday during Nintendo’s latest earnings briefing, the company responded to a question about possible price increases and said “it won’t take such actions at this moment” but then added that it will “continue monitoring [the] situation” and will “carefully consider” if it does need to change course and increase Switch prices.
Kotaku has reached out to Nintendo for comment about any future price increases.
Back in August, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa offered a similar answer when asked about inflation and if it would force the manufacturer to raise the cost of its popular hybrid console, saying that the company was “not considering” a price increase. Furukawa further explained that Nintendo didn’t want to price people out of buying its console and wanted to keep up the “momentum” of its console business.
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Around that same time, Microsoft also said prices on its consoles would remain the same around the world. But now, a few months later, that seems less likely following Spencer’s October comments that at “some point” Microsoft will have to raise the prices on “certain things.”
For now, it’s unlikely Nintendo will increase the price of its Switch consoles right before the holidays, as that could hurt its ability to sell as many consoles as usual. But following Christmas and New Year, don’t be surprised if the cost of an Xbox or Switch rises alongside everything else.