Nintendo Co. Switch 2 game consoles at a Bic Camera Inc. electronics store in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, June 5, 2025. Nintendo Co. fans from Tokyo to Manhattan stood in line for hours to be among the first to get a Switch 2, fueling one of the biggest global gadget debuts since the iPhone launches of yesteryear.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Nintendo will hike the retail price of the Switch 2 after forecasting a decline in sales for its flagship console as the memory chip crunch hits the Japanese gaming giant.
The company said on Friday it expects to sell 16.5 million units of the Switch 2 in its fiscal year ended Mar. 31, 2027. That is a decline from the 19.86 million units sold in the fiscal year just ended.
Meanwhile, the company’s forecasts for the current year were far below analyst estimates.
Nintendo said the price of the Switch 2 in the U.S. will rise by $50 from $449.99 to $499.99, from Sept. 1. In Japan, Nintendo will hike the price from 49,980 yen to 59,980 yen, effective May. 25. Nintendo also said prices for the Switch 2 will increase in Canada and Europe.
Nintendo said the rise in console prices is “In light of changes in market conditions” and after the company considered “the global business outlook.”
Switch 2 consoles use memory chips that have seen unprecedented price rises driven by the global AI data center buildout. Nintendo has been forced to raise console prices following rival Sony, which announced price increases of up to $150 on its flagship PlayStation 5 in March.
Nintendo shares have been under pressure since hitting a record high above 14,000 yen in August, falling nearly 50% since that peak as the memory crunch has impacted the company.
On Friday, Nintendo said its financial forecast for the year ended March 2027 reflects an approximately 100 billion yen ($637.8 million) impact due to rising component prices, particularly for memory, and “tariff measures.”
The company’s outlook was shy of analyst expectations. Nintendo now forecasts net sales for the year of 2.05 trillion yen, an 11.4% year-on-year decline and missing LSEG analyst expectations of 2.46 trillion yen. The company said it also expects a 27% decline in net profit to 310 billion yen, below analyst expectations of 418.5 billion yen.
“The clock was ticking for Nintendo for months now,” Serkan Toto, CEO of Kantan Games, told CNBC. “The impact is quite dramatic, as console sales usually go up in the second year — and not down as Nintendo predicts this time.”
The Switch 2 was released last June.
Despite the headwinds, Nintendo continues to find success with its well-known brands. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie”, released this year from Universal and Illumination, has grossed nearly $900 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo.
The Switch 2 game “Pokémon Pokopia,” has turned into a surprise hit, receiving positive reviews from users and becoming one of the console’s best-selling games so far.
Nintendo has a new game in its “Splatoon” and “Starfox” franchises slated for this year. There are two major Pokémon games scheduled for release next year.
“It is now absolutely critical for Nintendo to release blockbuster first-party games as fast as possible in order to drive sales,” Toto said.
Nintendo’s reported revenue of 407.2 billion yen for the first quarter was below analyst estimates compiled by LSEG of 430.6 billion yen. But net profit came in at 65.2 billion, ahead of analyst expectations of 63.28 billion yen.
