Despite the clear popularity of the Nintendo Switch 2, the higher $450 starting price has been a sticking point for many, and it may get worse.
After Nintendo's most recent earning's call, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa highlighted the company's priorities moving forward in a press conference reported by Yahoo Japan. He said that prices may rise depending on what happens with President Trump's tariffs.
In other words, pre-ordering a Switch 2 is likely your best chance to lock in the current price.
What Nintendo is saying about Switch 2 price going up
Furukawa said that Nintendo's goal is make the Switch 2 very popular. "The launch of Switch 2 and the early spread of the hardware are our top priorities," he said. With that will come an increase in marketing expenses, which Nintendo expects to make by selling more software (games).
Regarding the tariffs, President Furukawa said, "Our basic policy is to recognize tariffs as a cost when determining sales prices in any country or region and to incorporate them into the price."
He added that the company would consider a variety of factors, not just tariffs, when making pricing adjustments, but it sounds like if Trump's tariffs remain as is, pricing may go up.
Demand could go down in US over tariffs
Nintendo apparently believes that tariffs and increased pricing could decrease demand in the United States. The company is also concerned that rising costs for "daily necessities" and food will impact people's budget for games, which will be even more of a luxury.
With than in mind, Furukawa reiterated that selling games will be of utmost import to the company after "popularizing" the console.
This is something Nintendo may be able to achieve thanks to an overhauled Mario Kart World and the intriguing Donkey Kong Bananza.
Currently, Nintendo wants to sell at least 15 million Switch 2 consoles this year, the same number it sold of the original Switch when it launched in 2017.
A strong start
As we've seen with pre-orders, Nintendo has managed to make the Switch 2 fairly popular. In its home country of Japan, there have been over 2 million preorders. So much so that Nintendo has said that not every one will get a console on the June 5 release date.
In his statement, Furukawa claimed that Nintendo has "strengthened our production system. We will make efforts to deliver it as soon as possible after the release date."
Price increases have become an unfortunate trend for gaming this year. Xbox just announced price increases for the Series S and Series X, and the PlayStation 5 is more or less more expensive than it was at launch. And that's before we get to the games which are hitting an unfortunate $70 and $80 standard.
Maybe, buying a Switch 2 now will save you money down the line. In our Switch 2 hands-on, we found the it to be a nice upgrade that's as fun as the original.
More from Tom's Guide
- Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders live: Nintendo Store invites go out today and latest updates
- I wasn’t going to buy a Nintendo Switch 2, but Donkey Kong Bananza is making me reconsider
- I played the Nintendo Switch 2 for two hours — here's what I like and what I don't
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