The sticker shock of Nintendo’s $449.99 Switch 2 pricing hasn’t subsided yet. It could get worse if Nintendo decides to raise prices further in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. However, the high prices of Nintendo’s new consoles can have unexpected results for that old console.
The original Nintendo Switch sold 150 million units, making it the third best-selling console ever. According to Sony, there are over 154 million units and over 160 million PlayStation 2s. My assumption was that the switch could claim second place from the DS, but the best console crown of all time would probably eliminate it. Right now, I don’t really know.
Let’s take a look at mathematics. Nintendo predicted it would sell 11 million switches in the most recent fiscal year. This represents a very sudden 30% decline from previous year’s sales. I thought this would get worse once the Switch 2 was sold.
Anyway, it’s only natural that the Switch will be sold enough to ultimately outperform the DS. As Nintendo predicted, if 1.5 million switches were sold in the first quarter of 2025, there would already be up to 152 million sales. But that means Nintendo will have to sell an additional 8 million units to surpass the PS2 rear Switch 2 will be released on June 5th. It was probably difficult to imagine an aging console that would require steady sales for two years and maintain such momentum.
That doesn’t seem that difficult to imagine now. Consider the pricing tier for what Nintendo likes to call the “Nintendo Switch Family Family of Console.” The Switch Lite is $199.99. The switch costs $299.99. The OLED switch costs $349.99. And now we know that the Switch 2 will cost $449.99 (at least).
Only the current premium product, OLED Switch, appears to have no place in its lineup anymore. All other models have significantly different price ranges and value propositions. The Switch 2 price range is high enough to fit into a completely different class, competing with the new waves of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and PC handhelds.
Think about it too, if you’re buying a Nintendo Switch Console it’s not Game lover. They are family, parents, casual gamers. The family angle is particularly appropriate. At $449.99, the Switch 2 has no idea about my first gaming console. But new gamers are born every year, their sixth, seventh and eighth birthdays, and all of those Christmases still roll, whether they have a new Nintendo console at a reasonable price to meet that need. The parents of those kids will probably choose the switch of the older models, and when their little ones have one of the eight years worth of digging into one of the deepest back catalogs in gaming history, it is not a concern for the fact that there will be a new game coming out. (Trust me about this – I’m one of those parents.)
Also, even after the Switch 2 was announced, none of these price ranges may have changed. Nintendo didn’t lower the price of the switch at all during its lifespan, and the same is likely to apply to Switch 2. So it’s reasonable to think that the $199.99 Switch Lite might look like an attractive proposition for new gamers in two years.
In this scenario, software is the biggest challenge for Nintendo to win more Switch sales. Consoles need new games to survive, and Switch release schedules are somewhat exhausted when Nintendo’s in-house studios move to new hardware and third-party publishers make excuses that don’t worry about weaker technical specifications anymore.
However, the Switch has two major system seller releases for the 2025 holiday season. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and The Legend of Pokemon: ZA. Nintendo has announced two 2026 games for the console. A friend’s life: Living your dreams and Rhythm heaven’s grooveIt still indicates that you are ready to continue supporting the switch for a while. Indie developers whose games don’t require too much graphical horsepower will probably continue to be released on the Switch too. Thanks to the huge install base, the Switch may be able to enjoy cross releases for longer than usual expectations along the unusually long transition period from the PS4 and Xbox One to the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
That’s all, I think Switch can sell 1-2 million consoles per quarter for at least another two years and sell on holidays. This gives you enough momentum to win 8 million sales and reels on the PS2. Incidentally, after the PlayStation 3 was released for $599 for the 60GB model, it itself enjoyed a very long sales tail.
No one is happy with Switch 2 pricing. I think even Nintendo would have preferred to price it at $399 if inflation, the cost of components and the scary “market conditions” allowed it. However, there is no denying that Switch is one of the best video game consoles of all time, deserving a long victory rap, and the chance to rob the King of Pop.
