Nintendo drops 8% after Switch 2 price hikes

Nintendo shares fell 8% in Tokyo on May 11 after the company raised Switch 2 prices in Japan and other markets.

Investors worried that its outlook and game lineup may not be strong enough to support the new console.

The Japanese-language Switch 2 Japan model will cost 59,980 yen (US$380), up 10,000 yen (US$64), from May 25.

Prices in markets including the US will rise from September 1 as electronics makers face higher memory chip costs.

Nintendo reported strong hardware sales for the year ended March, but its forecast for this year missed market expectations.

Lower game shipment guidance could signal weak confidence in the company’s pipeline, said Morningstar analyst Kazunori Ito.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Investor worries have grown as rumours and leaks say the next flagship 3D Mario game may slip to 2027, almost 10 years after Super Mario Odyssey arrived in 2017 1.
The same leak says Nintendo EPD Tokyo, Nintendo’s internal game development division in Tokyo, is working on Donkey Kong Bananza, with a Switch 2 release planned for July 2025 1.
For the 2026 holiday season, Nintendo may lean on a full remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to help sell Switch 2 hardware and games 1.
The rumoured plan leans on older series, including a new Star Fox game, instead of a new proven system seller. That would test whether older Nintendo intellectual property (IP), meaning company-owned entertainment franchises, can carry a premium-priced console 1.

One estimate puts the Switch 2 at US$450 for the console alone or US$500 with a Mario Kart bundle. That would place Nintendo closer to Sony’s PlayStation 5 home game console, a spot it has long avoided 2.
That price would also sit far above the original Switch launch price of US$299 2.
If that number holds, Nintendo may find out whether brand loyalty can support higher margins or whether it must give up some profit to defend market share.