Watch Out, Nintendo Fans! Unpopular Prices Are Going Up Again

Nintendo has been the subject of controversy lately. The high prices of the Switch 2 and Switch 2 games drove many people to protest, though most of them still paid those high prices anyway. Now, Nintendo can find itself in fans’ crosshairs again as prices increase for the original Switch.

Nintendo Switch Price Increases

According to GameSpot, the price of the original Switch is increasing in the US to $340. For comparison, I paid $300 for my original Switch back in 2018. In addition, the Switch Lite will now cost $230, and the Switch OLED will cost a whopping $400 – just $50 less than the Switch 2. The prices of accessories are also going up. The Switch 1 Pro Controller now costs $80, as do the Switch 1 Joy-Con pairs. Even the Nintendo Alarmo clock is raising its price to $110.

This is Insane! Why Are They Raising Prices for Old Consoles?

No specific reason has been given beyond “market conditions,” but it can be reasonably assumed that Donald Trump’s tariffs played a large part in this decision. Nintendo consoles are marketed in Vietnam and China, two places that have received steep tariffs. In addition, the company itself is housed in Japan, another place that has tariffs placed on it. Still, raising prices on an eight-year-old console seems like a baffling business decision. Could this also be an attempt to convince people to buy the Switch 2 instead of the Switch 1?

Will the Switch 2 Price Also Go Up?

There has been no word of the Switch 2 price increasing, but we shouldn’t rule out the possibility. The US economy is in an uncertain place right now, so Nintendo could very well decide to raise the Switch 2’s already-high price to compensate for tariffs. In addition, future Switch 2 games could cost even more than the $80 Mario Kart World. If you have any interest in the Switch 2, but you don’t yet have one, it might be a good idea to see if you can obtain one before they get even more expensive.