Nintendo is now warning customers about upcoming Switch 2 price hike in stores — and it's a reminder to buy ASAP if you want one

Nintendo is warning customers about an upcoming Switch 2 price increase via in-store kiosks
The Nintendo Switch 2 will retail at $499.99 starting on September 1, 2026
Consumers are praising Nintendo for giving ample time to purchase before the price increase

Price hikes across PC and game consoles are running rampant due to the RAM crisis, and one case requires urgent action from interested customers.

As reported by Notebookcheck, Nintendo is now warning customers about the Switch 2's price hike at kiosks in stores. The retail price for the Nintendo Switch 2 will increase from $449.99 (£395 / AU$699.95) to $499.99 (around £430 / AU$769.95), starting on September 1, 2026.

This was highlighted on Reddit, where users are praising Nintendo's generosity in informing customers long before price changes come into effect — a move not every PC or game console manufacturer has replicated.

Unsurprisingly, this is a direct result of the RAM crisis, with DRAM shortages impacting almost all hardware manufacturers. Nintendo seemingly managed to avoid any price increases after the Switch 2's launch, but shortages have persisted.

Nintendo worthy of praise?

The price increase itself isn't exactly a major one, at least compared to PlayStation ($90 increase) and Xbox ($150 increase) console price hikes. It's also worth noting that the Nintendo Switch was subjected to a price hike in August 2025.

So it's fair to say that the writing has been on the wall for an eventual Switch 2 price increase, and Nintendo has given customers ample time to get their hands on the handheld gaming device.

Frankly, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony are not to blame for the price increases, as it's well reported that memory shortages are directly impacting manufacturing costs, and that's been the case for most of 2026.

The crisis is only expected to get worse, with Samsung, one of the big three RAM manufacturers, anticipating even more significant shortages in 2027, 2028, and beyond.

However, consumers will only hope that good measures such as Nintendo's (giving consumers time to avoid paying more) can become a new normal across the gaming and tech industry. Will that happen, though? Probably not.

Isaiah is a Staff Writer for the Computing channel at TechRadar. He's spent over two years writing about all things tech, specifically games on PC, consoles, and handhelds. He started off at GameRant in 2022 after graduating from Birmingham City University in the same year, before writing at PC Guide which included work on deals articles, reviews, and news on PC products such as GPUs, CPUs, monitors, and more. He spends most of his time finding out about the exciting new features of upcoming GPUs, and is passionate about new game releases on PC, hoping that the ports aren't a complete mess.