With the Switch successor’s long-awaited reveal planned for sometime before the clock strikes midnight on 31st March 2025, the current Switch is getting another holiday season to itself.
As part of Nintendo’s six-month financial results presentation, company president Shuntaro Furukawa revealed that the upcoming console will be backwards compatible with Switch software, so anyone who’s picked up a Switch in the last seven-and-a-half years — or anybody who goes for a bundle this holiday season — can rest easy in the knowledge that they’ll still have access to their library (and their backlogs) on the new system.
However, with Switch sales inevitably slowing down in the console’s eighth year, some people are expecting/hoping Nintendo will give it a price cut for one final push and a shot at, maybe, breaking PS2’s all-time console record, which stands at ∼155 million units versus Switch’s 146 million at the time of writing.
The standard Switch launched in 2017 for $299.99 / £279.99 and can currently be picked up for $299.99 / £259.99 — with a game included if you go for a bundle — so throughout the system’s lifespan there’s been a £20 reduction in the UK and diddly-squat in the US. There’s also the cheaper ($200) Switch Lite and the premium ($350) Switch OLED, so plenty of models to discount should Nintendo wish to.
To discuss the possibility, we’ve rounded up Nintendo Life staff to get their takes on Switch price cut potential.
Ollie Reynolds, staff writer
Now that we’re in November, in retail terms we’re far beyond ‘approaching’ the holiday season; it’s here, whether we want it or not. This is arguably the last major opportunity for Nintendo to shift a significant number of Switch consoles.
I can’t foresee a price drop until the ‘Switch 2’ actually launches in 2025 (well, hopefully). Nintendo will likely keep the current Switch lineup available for a couple of years or so at a lower price than its more powerful sibling, but until then, I don’t expect any permanent discounts.
Nintendo has set itself a sales target of 12.5 million Switch consoles this fiscal year. I think this is ambitious, but still doable. And that’s the thing – if it’s doable, why make any changes now?
Alana Hagues, deputy editor
I don’t think this will be an unpopular opinion, but given how close we are to the holidays, I really cannot see Nintendo cutting the Switch’s price this year.
The only slim chance we have is a Black Friday cut, but even then, it’s more likely to just be another bundle for the OLED or the Lite or something similar. Those always do well, so why stop? Maybe we’ll get an Echoes of Wisdom bundle or Tears of the Kingdom one.
If you really want a regular Switch (or an OLED), but at a lower price, I think the reveal of the Switch 2 is when it’ll happen. Sales for the Switch, while slowing, are still going at a pretty amazing rate for a nearly eight-year-old console. I don’t know whether Nintendo will hit its revised target, but I don’t think it can be disappointed with how the console is still selling over 50k units a week in Japan alone.
Jim Norman, staff writer
For the first half of this year, I was so optimistic about a 2024 ‘Switch 2’ announcement that a holiday price cut for the ‘Switch 1’ felt like a no-brainer. Yet here we are in mid-November with the chances of a 2024 announcement being slim, and I can’t help but agree with my learned pals above.
Sure, Nintendo could slim the price for what we’re assuming (heck, what we’re praying) will be the final year of ‘Switch as our flagship system’ sales, but why bother? System sales are slowing, but they ain’t dead yet — far from it. If this is the final holiday to squeeze the most out of the Switch, there’s no way Nintendo will miss out on the guaranteed big(ger) bucks.
I’ll keep in line with everyone else and bank on a price cut shortly after the ‘Switch 2’ reveal. Let’s pencil it in for, what? 2027?
Gavin Lane, editor
I don’t see a price cut coming until Switch 2 arrives, and perhaps not even then.
when you’re still forecasting annual sales of 12.5m, the incentive to slash the MSRP isn’t there
Firstly, I’m not convinced Nintendo gives a single monkey about Sony’s PS2 record — certainly not enough to sacrifice per-unit profit to chase it. All the while people are buying bundles with a pot-sweetening download code (which costs Nintendo nothing, materially), there’s no business benefit to selling more systems for less profit per unit. When the next console is out and massively popular and supply is plentiful, sure, maybe you cut the price of old inventory clogging the retail pipeline. But when you’re still forecasting annual sales of 12.5m, the incentive to slash the MSRP isn’t there, especially if — shock, horror — you consider the possibility of Switch 2 launching in the second half of 2025. We’re all desperate, yet there exists a world where Switch 2 could launch a year from now. Oof.
From a brand perspective, cutting prices also sends the wrong message. I’ve spoken before about how Sony’s ludicrously expensive PS5 Pro highlights the pricing difficulties manufacturers are facing. Nintendo won’t have any trouble undercutting Sony’s $700 price tag, but $400-$500 is totally plausible for Switch 2 — not desirable, but possible given the current climate.
So, with new hardware incoming, maintaining the impression of Nintendo consoles as high-value consumer items is much more valuable than shifting more units with a smaller cut. The Switch OLED is still a lovely bit of kit, and if Switch 2 doesn’t launch with an OLED screen, the old model will remain a very attractive, cheaper option with a massive library. Throw in another game download and an NSO subscription and just keep going — that’ll be Nintendo’s strategy.
So, there we are — Team NL isn’t convinced we’ll see a Switch price cut until the successor pulls up to the bumper. What do you think? Let us know in the poll below.
