Inside: Nintendo Switch 2 Price Rises Amid AI Supply Crunch

The AI boom is having unprecedented effects on the gaming industry, with reports showing that Sony and Nintendo are struggling with the rising memory chip prices. 

This difficulty is translating into an unfortunate price hike for Nintendo Switch 2, which will rise from US$449.99 up fifty dollars to US$499.99 in the US. 

In European countries, the current price of €469.99 will shoot up to €499.99. The new prices will be effective as of September 2026. 

“This is in response to various changes in market conditions, which are expected to extend over the medium to long term,” Nintendo says.

“We understand that pricing changes can be challenging for customers and deeply appreciate the continued enthusiasm of our fans for Nintendo products and experiences.”

Sony had already hiked its PlayStation prices by US$100 earlier in March. 

The AI price surge

These increases arrive with the backdrop in which prices of memory chips have doubled in the first quarter. 

Looking ahead to the future, it is forecasted to further climb 63% in the Q1 2026 from AI data centre demand. 

While producers are investing heavily to expand capacity, new fabrication lines take time to come online, meaning tight supply conditions are expected to persist.

This has had knock-on effects beyond AI, spilling into consumer electronics such as smartphones, laptops and gaming hardware.

The pressure is affecting hardware economics across consoles and forcing both companies to reassess pricing, margins and future supply expectations.

Nintendo’s President, Shuntaro Furukawa notes that along with higher component costs, factors like higher exchange has also contributed to price hike. 

In the earnings call, Shuntaro said that he expects that with price hikes, the profitability may be roughly the same as last financial year.  

Sony cost pressures and price hikes

Sony had earlier announced substantial price increases for the PlayStation 5 consoles and the PlayStation Portal.

Isabelle Tomatis, Vice President of Global Marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment addresses the decision in a PlayStation blog post: “With continued pressures in the global economic landscape, we’ve made the decision to increase the prices of PS5, PS5 Pro and PlayStation Portal remote player globally.

“We know that price changes impact our community and after careful evaluation, we found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide.”

Sony has locked in sufficient memory supply for the current financial year, but CEO Hiroki Totoki warns during an earnings briefing that prices are likely to remain elevated into the following year.

He also mentions that the company is exploring opportunities to cut costs in areas other than memory.

PS5 hardware sales depend on how much memory Sony is able to obtain at “reasonable prices”, with hardware profitability expected to remain broadly in line with the previous year.

Sony has the cushioned advantage of the much awaited GTA VI set to be released later in the year. 

The trend of hardware becoming more expensive over time is a stark departure from past console generations, where prices typically dropped as the product aged.