The pressure on Nintendo is building. A Bloomberg report published today reveals that the company’s share price has been sliding for months, and investors are increasingly pointing at one specific problem: the Switch 2 is being sold below cost.
The console launched last June at $449.99 in the US. In Japan, a region-locked version goes for 50,000 yen — roughly $318 at current exchange rates. Both prices reportedly result in Nintendo taking a loss on each unit sold. One analyst quoted by Bloomberg put it bluntly: even a $50–$100 price increase would make the hardware “less of a burden rather than truly profitable.”
Nintendo’s earnings call this Friday is expected to bring the issue to a head.
What makes this unusual is that Nintendo actually moved away from the loss-leader model after the Wii U nearly broke the company. The original Switch was priced to make money from day one — a deliberate choice. Apparently, that strategy got quietly reversed for Switch 2, with Nintendo prioritising adoption over margins to avoid repeating the slow start that plagued the Wii U’s successor.
It’s partly working. The console has sold 17 million units in its first year, and Japan in particular has been strong. But holiday sales in Western markets came in softer than analysts expected, and the share price hasn’t recovered from the post-launch peak.
The problem for Nintendo is that raising the price now carries real risk. Switch 2 is still in the early phase of its lifecycle — 17 million users sounds like a lot until you remember the original Switch ended up at 155 million. A price bump that calms shareholders could easily spook the broader consumer base right as the platform is trying to grow.
Nintendo isn’t alone in this position. Sony raised PS5 prices last year, and Microsoft followed with Xbox Series consoles shortly after, citing component costs and US tariffs. The macroeconomic environment hasn’t improved since — if anything, ongoing instability in global supply chains gives Nintendo reasonable cover to act.
Still, Nintendo has so far held the line on the console itself, even while bumping prices on Switch 2 accessories and physical games. The Friday earnings call won’t necessarily bring an announcement, but it will almost certainly bring the question.