Nintendo confirmed it on May 11 and it hasn’t changed since: the Switch 2 goes from $449.99 to $499.99 on September 1, 2026. That’s 32 days from today.
The $50 headline number undersells what’s actually happening. Until August 31, the “Choose Your Game” bundle sells a Switch 2 at $499.99 with a free download code for Mario Kart World ($79.99 standalone), Donkey Kong Bananza ($69.99), or Pokémon Pokopia ($59.99). After September 1, that bundle disappears entirely. The same $499.99 buys the console alone.Handheld Gaming PC 2026 — Worth Buying
Anyone planning to buy a Switch 2 in the next six months is effectively choosing between paying $449.99 now and getting a free game, or paying $499.99 later and getting nothing extra. The real difference is $130 in combined value, not $50.RAM Prices 2026 — DDR5 Shortage Explained
Why Nintendo Is Raising the Price
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa cited permanent rises in memory component costs, exchange rates, and oil prices. The memory piece is the honest answer — the same AI-driven DRAM shortage that pushed DDR5 prices up 4-5x from 2024 lows is hitting every hardware manufacturer building anything with memory in 2026. LPDDR5 for mobile devices runs on the same supply chain as consumer DDR5, and hyperscalers are outbidding everyone for allocation.Console vs PC Gaming in 2026
This is the first time in gaming history that every major console maker has raised prices simultaneously within the same twelve-month window. PS5 went up twice — from $499.99 to $549.99 in late 2025, then again to $649.99 in April 2026. Xbox Series X jumped from $499.99 to $719.99 in August 2026. Nintendo’s 11% increase is the smallest percentage hike of the three, which is why Furukawa can credibly call it a reasonable adjustment.
The $499.99 price is expected to hold through at least 2027. This isn’t a temporary measure. Analysts tracking the semiconductor market, including Counterpoint Research, place the earliest realistic DRAM market inflection at Q4 2027. Budget accordingly.PC Gaming on a Tight Budget
The Full Console Price Picture Right Now
Before making any hardware decision, here’s where every major platform sits today:
- Nintendo Switch 2: $449.99 until August 31, then $499.99 from September 1
- PS5 Standard (disc): $649.99 — Sony’s April 2026 increase, no further changes announced
- PS5 Digital Edition: $699.99 — same April 2026 revision
- Xbox Series X (1TB): $699.99 — Microsoft’s August 1 increase, up from $499.99 at launch
- Xbox Series S: $469.99 — up from $299.99 at launch, a 71% increase
The Xbox price increases are in a different category from Nintendo’s. A 60% jump on the Series X and a 71% jump on the Series S are not memory cost adjustments — they’re a fundamental repricing of the platform. Microsoft has positioned Game Pass Ultimate as the value justification, but $799.99 for a console that launched at $499.99 is a hard sell regardless of how you frame the subscription.Xbox Series X Is Now $799 vs PC Build
What This Means for PC Builders
At $499.99, the Switch 2 costs the same as a capable budget GPU. It costs less than a 32GB DDR5-6000 kit at current elevated prices plus a budget CPU. The price comparison between a Switch 2 and a gaming PC in 2026 is genuinely closer than it’s been at any point since dedicated gaming PCs became mainstream.RTX 5060
That’s not an argument for buying a Switch 2 instead of a PC. It’s context for understanding why the console market’s pricing decisions matter to the PC community. When a Switch 2 costs $449, a PS5 costs $649, and an Xbox costs $719, the argument for building a PC strengthens in the mid-range — but it also depends on what games you want to play.Should You Build a PC Now or Wait Until 2027
GTA 6 releases November 19, 2026 exclusively on PS5 and Xbox Series X. No PC release date has been announced. That’s the single biggest short-term argument for console ownership that PC gaming can’t currently counter, and it’s worth acknowledging directly.Should You Buy the Switch 2 Before September 1?
If you want a Switch 2 and were planning to buy one this year — yes, buy before August 31. The math is straightforward: $449.99 plus a free game worth $60-$80 versus $499.99 with nothing. There’s no hardware revision coming. There’s no Switch 3 on the horizon. The console you’d buy on September 2 is identical to the one you’d buy on August 31 for $50 less plus a game.
If you were on the fence about a Switch 2 and are primarily a PC gamer, the September 1 deadline doesn’t change your decision — it creates artificial urgency around a product you weren’t convinced by at $449.99. A $50 increase on a console you weren’t sure about isn’t a reason to buy it.
If you’re genuinely deciding between a Switch 2 and a PC build at similar money, that’s a different conversation that comes down to what you want to play. A $1,400 PC build gives you a platform you own, a library of thousands of games, free online multiplayer, and upgradeable hardware. A $500 Switch 2 gives you Nintendo’s exclusive library, portability, and a plug-and-play experience that requires no technical knowledge to operate. They’re not competing for the same buyer in most cases — but in 2026, for the first time, they’re competing at the same price point.