Nintendo Switch 2 now costs as much as the PS5 did at launch

Nintendo has bad news for Switch 2 users. The company has officially confirmed that the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 is going up across several regions, and unfortunately for buyers, the increase is not exactly minor. In the US, the console currently sells for $449.99, but starting September 1, 2026, that price will jump to $499.99. That is a straight $50 increase for a console that is still very much in its early lifecycle. More importantly, the new price puts the Switch 2 right alongside the PlayStation 5‘s original launch price, which is a pretty wild.

Other regions are also seeing similar increases. In Canada, the Nintendo Switch 2 will go from $629.99 to $679.99. European buyers are also being hit with a price revision, with the console moving from €469.99 to €499.99. Meanwhile, in Japan, Nintendo is increasing prices by 10,000 yen, and, interestingly, even older Switch hardware is not escaping the adjustment there — that means the original Nintendo Switch is also getting more expensive.

Price hikes on gaming hardware are always difficult to swallow, especially because consoles usually become cheaper over time. Traditionally, companies cut prices midway through a console generation to attract new buyers and maintain momentum. Nintendo is doing the complete opposite here, and it’s not the only console maker or even electronics company doing so, which says a lot about the current state of the electronics market.

To its credit, Nintendo did not try to bury the announcement under vague corporate language. The company openly acknowledged that the changes may impact customers and apologized for the increase. That does not make the extra cost hurt any less, but it does make the decision feel a little less tone-deaf.

At the same time, the move is not entirely surprising. The broader tech industry has been dealing with rising manufacturing costs, supply chain instability, and increased competition for components such as RAM and storage. The ongoing AI boom has only intensified that pressure. Those costs eventually trickle down to consumer gadgets, whether it is smartphones, GPUs, or now gaming consoles.

Still, this puts Nintendo in an awkward spot. The Nintendo Switch 2 was already positioned as a premium upgrade over the original Switch, and now it officially sits at the $500 mark in the US.