Nintendo raises Switch 2 price to $499.99

Nintendo raised the U.S. suggested retail price of its standard Switch 2 system to $499.99 as of Sept. 1, according to a company news post and current store listings. The increase moves the base model up from $449.99, ending the launch-era price less than two years after the console’s debut. Nintendo has not, in the materials reviewed, published a detailed cost breakdown for the increase. But the company paired the higher base price with new bundles built around Mario Kart World and Nintendo Switch Sports Resort. ### Where does the new $499.99 price show up? Nintendo said in an Aug. 25 U.S. news post that “the suggested retail price of a standard Nintendo Switch 2 system will be $499.99 as of Sept. 1.” The same post introduced two bundles that use that higher base price as the starting point for their advertised savings. (nintendo.com) Nintendo’s current U.S. Switch 2 pages continue to present the system as the company’s flagship hybrid console, with features including a 7.9-inch 1080p screen, 4K docked output support on compatible TVs, GameChat, magnetic Joy-Con 2 controllers and 256GB of internal storage. Those feature pages do not explain the price increase, but they confirm Nintendo is still positioning the hardware as its main current-generation platform. (nintendo.com) ### What exactly is in the new bundles? Nintendo priced the Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle at $549.99 and said it includes the console, a full game download and a 3-Month Nintendo Switch Online Individual Membership. The company said that package is scheduled for late September and represents savings of $37.98 against buying each item separately at suggested retail price. (nintendo.com) On Oct. 22, Nintendo said, it will release the Switch 2 + Nintendo Switch Sports Resort Bundle for $529.99. That package also includes the console, a full game download and a 3-Month Nintendo Switch Online Individual Membership, with Nintendo listing savings of $27.98. (nintendo.com) Nintendo’s store also shows a separate “Choose Your Game Bundle” format that lets buyers pair the system with one of several digital titles, including Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza and Pokémon Pokopia. That listing says buyers can save up to $29.99, showing Nintendo is leaning more heavily on bundle pricing as the standalone system gets more expensive. (nintendo.com) ### Did Nintendo publicly blame memory costs? Nintendo’s official U.S. materials reviewed for this story say the standard system price became $499.99 on Sept. 1, but they do not spell out a component-level reason in those pages. Reports circulating this week have tied the increase to higher LPDDR5X memory costs and broader pressure in the memory market, though that attribution was not stated in the Nintendo pages reviewed here. (nintendo.com) IDC said in a December 2025 market analysis that DRAM prices had surged as AI data-center demand outstripped supply and that manufacturers were shifting capacity toward higher-margin memory used in AI servers. IDC said that shift had restricted supply for consumer electronics and driven up prices across the market, offering broader industry context for why device makers could face higher component costs in 2026. (nintendo.com) ### What does this change for U.S. buyers right now? The Sept. 1 change means U.S. buyers now face a $50 higher entry price for the standard Switch 2 than they did before the increase. Nintendo’s bundle math suggests the company is trying to keep game-and-subscription packages attractive even after raising the hardware’s base sticker price. (idc.com) Nintendo said pre-orders for the Switch 2 + Nintendo Switch Sports Resort Bundle will be available soon through Nintendo Store, Nintendo eShop and participating retailers. The next concrete dates on the calendar are late September for the Mario Kart World bundle and Oct. 22 for the Switch Sports Resort bundle. (nintendo.com)