Nintendo shares hit 2024 low after gloomy Switch 2 forecast
Nintendo's stock fell 12% to its lowest point since 2024 this week, after the company paired a Switch 2 price increase with a weaker-than-expected sales forecast. The move was meant to reassure investors frustrated by shrinking hardware margins — but the numbers that followed did the opposite.
The forecast
Nintendo now expects to sell 16.5 million Switch 2 units in its current financial year, down from earlier projections. Software sales are forecast at 60 million units — an improvement on last year's 48.71 million, per Nintendo official figures, but not enough to offset the hardware pessimism. The stock has now fallen for five consecutive months, and this week's drop pushed it to a 2024 low, reports Bloomberg.
Nintendo Switch 2
The timing drew criticism from analysts. Publishing a downbeat annual outlook ahead of summer — historically one of the strongest sales periods for gaming hardware — struck many observers as a miscalculation. Some, however, agree with Nintendo's caution, pointing to real demand softness in the console market.
The price
Nintendo is raising Switch 2's US price from $449.99 to $499.99, effective September 1. The EU price moves from €469.99 to €499.99 on the same date. The company cites global memory chip shortages and rising production costs as the reason. UK pricing has not been confirmed yet — Nintendo has not updated its UK Store pricing, possibly reflecting uncertainty around sterling exchange rates.
The $499.99 US price now matches the PS5 Digital Edition exactly, which complicates Nintendo's traditional pitch as the more affordable console option. If you were planning to buy a Switch 2 anyway, purchasing before September 1 locks in the lower price — currently $449.99 in the US and €469.99 across most of Europe.
What's next
Nintendo is in an awkward spot: supply costs are genuinely rising, but announcing a price increase alongside a downgraded sales forecast sends a mixed signal to the market. Sony and Microsoft navigated their own price hikes more carefully in the previous console cycle, calibrating announcements to avoid compounding negative sentiment. Nintendo's stumble here is unusual for a company that rarely missteps on investor communication.