Nintendo said on Friday it will increase the retail price of the Switch 2 after forecasting weaker sales for its flagship gaming console, as rising memory chip costs continue to pressure the Japanese gaming giant, News.Az reports, citing CNBC.
The company expects to sell 16.5 million Switch 2 units in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, down from the 19.86 million units sold in the fiscal year that just ended.
Nintendo’s outlook for the current year also came in well below analyst expectations.
The company announced that the price of the Switch 2 in the United States will increase by $50, rising from $449.99 to $499.99 starting Sept. 1. In Japan, the console’s price will rise from 49,980 yen to 59,980 yen beginning May 25. Nintendo also confirmed upcoming price increases in Canada and Europe.
Nintendo said the decision was made “in light of changes in market conditions” and after reviewing “the global business outlook.”
The Switch 2 relies on memory chips that have experienced sharp price increases amid growing demand driven by the global expansion of AI data centers. Nintendo follows rival Sony, which raised prices of its PlayStation 5 by as much as $150 in March.
Nintendo shares have been under pressure since reaching a record high above 14,000 yen in August, losing nearly half their value since then as the memory shortage weighed on the company.
The company said its financial forecast for the year ending March 2027 includes an estimated impact of around 100 billion yen ($637.8 million) from rising component costs, especially memory chips, as well as “tariff measures.”
Nintendo now expects annual net sales of 2.05 trillion yen, representing an 11.4 percent decline year-on-year and falling short of analysts’ expectations of 2.46 trillion yen, according to LSEG data.
The company also forecast a 27 percent drop in net profit to 310 billion yen, below analysts’ expectations of 418.5 billion yen.
“The clock was ticking for Nintendo for months now,” Serkan Toto, CEO of Kantan Games, told CNBC. “The impact is quite dramatic, as console sales usually go up in the second year — and not down as Nintendo predicts this time.”
The Switch 2 was released last June.
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