Don’t Worry, Nintendo’s Thinking About Affordability With Switch 2 Pricing

Nintendo has today shared a Japanese transcript of the recent Q&A investors meeting with company president Shuntaro Furukawa and, as you might expect, a lot of the talk gravitated to Switch 2.

One question in particular broached the topic of product pricing, specifically whether Nintendo is taking inflation and exchange rates into account while it’s deciding how to list the upcoming console.

Obviously, Furukawa didn’t immediately reveal the Switch 2’s price on the spot (that would be quite the plot twist), but the Nintendo president did reassure the investor that the company is taking multiple factors into consideration including exchange rate, inflation and, interestingly, the affordable prices that people expect from Nintendo products.

What’s more, he stated that there are currently no plans for a ‘Switch 1’ price drop, so don’t expect to see big discounts any time soon.

You’ll find Furukawa’s full answer (translated via Google) below — bear in mind that Nintendo’s official translation may offer slightly different wording when it drops in the coming days:

In addition to the current inflation, we are aware that the exchange rate environment has changed significantly since the launch of Nintendo Switch in 2017. We also need to consider the affordable prices that consumers expect from Nintendo products. When considering the price of our products, we believe that it is necessary to consider these factors from multiple angles. At this time, we cannot disclose the specific price of Nintendo Switch 2, but we are considering it while taking various points into consideration.
At this time, there are no plans to change the price of Nintendo Switch hardware.

Switch 2 pricing has been on the mind a lot lately, particularly after the announcement of the beefy £699/$699 price tag on Sony’s PS5 Pro. Hearing that “affordable pricing” is being taken into consideration is, of course, a welcome (if rather predictable) note, but what does that really mean?

We asked you if $499 would be too much for a Switch 2, and around a third answered in the affirmative — it doesn’t sound very in keeping with Nintendo’s affordability values, we’ll admit, but who knows? Game industry consultancy firm Kantan Games’ Dr. Serkan Toto previously predicted that the new console would launch at $400, which might be a little more likely? Maybe?

Keep that countdown for 2nd April ticking, folks.