Nintendo may raise Switch 2 price as AI-driven RAM shortage intensifies

Nintendo may hike Switch 2 prices by 2026 due to an AI-driven RAM shortage. Learn how rising DRAM costs are impacting the record-breaking console’s pricing.

The price of Nintendo’s Switch 2 could climb in 2026 , and the reason comes from an unexpected corner of the tech world: artificial intelligence.

A fresh report from Bloomberg suggests Nintendo is weighing a price increase for the console as global memory costs skyrocket . While the system debuted in 2025 at $449.99 (£395.99) , holding that price point is becoming increasingly difficult.

Nintendo Switch 2

It’s certainly not a demand issue. The Switch 2 has been a commercial juggernaut , reportedly shifting over 17 million units and eclipsing the launch trajectory of its predecessor. The bottleneck is purely technical: DRAM . This specific type of memory has turned into a scarce commodity in the escalating AI arms race.

Major players like Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon are investing hundreds of billions into AI infrastructure . They are aggressively acquiring Nvidia accelerators packed with memory, creating a vacuum in the supply chain . To put the scale in perspective, a single new AI server rack can devour as much RAM as thousands of smartphones combined.

This insatiable appetite has triggered what analysts have dubbed “RAMmageddon.” Bloomberg notes that prices for one specific DRAM variant surged 75% in just 30 days . Consequently, key suppliers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are pivoting to prioritize high-bandwidth memory for AI chips, leaving consumer electronics makers scrambling for the remaining, shrinking inventory.

Nintendo isn’t the only casualty here . Sony is reportedly eyeing a delay for the PlayStation 6 until 2028 or 2029 . We’ve already seen price hikes for the Xbox and the PS5 , while companies as diverse as Apple and Tesla have flagged memory shortages as a threat to their profit margins.

Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa recently assured shareholders that there are no imminent plans to raise the sticker price , though he notably didn’t rule out the possibility . If component costs stay this high, the company may eventually be forced to act to preserve its margins.

It appears the Switch 2 arrived just before the worst of this memory crunch took hold . However, if these reports prove accurate, the days of reliable console price cuts may be behind us—meaning those waiting for a discount might be better off buying sooner rather than later.