Nintendo raises prices on the Switch 1, making last-gen console a hard sell as the Switch 2 is increasingly easy to find in stock

A Nintendo Switch 2 and a Nintendo Switch next to one another

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Nintendo just announced a price hike for the U.S. that will hit all original Switch / Switch 1 handheld consoles, select Switch 2 accessories, and the Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo. According to its announcement, the company made these adjustments “based on market conditions,” and they will take effect starting August 3, 2025. Thankfully, the cost for the Nintendo Switch 2, game titles for both Switch 1 & 2, and Nintendo Switch Online memberships remain the same. However, the gaming giant also said that “price adjustments may be necessary in the future.”

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Header Cell - Column 0	Original Price	New Price	Price Hike
Nintendo Switch	$299.99	$339.99	$40
Nintendo Switch — OLED Model	$349.99	$399.99	$50
Nintendo Switch Lite	$199.99	$229.99	$30
Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo	$99.99	$109.99	$10
Joy-Con 2 controllers	$94.99	$99.99	$5

This is unusual, as most companies typically drop the prices of their old models after launching next-gen products. And Nintendo has just released the Switch 2, which has been quite successful and is projected to beat the original Switch. However, it seems that these price hikes are driven by economics, especially given the uncertainty of the tariffs that President Trump applied the U.S.’s trading partners. We can't directly blame tariffs for the increasing costs of these consoles, though, as Canada was also affected by these price increases.

The price increases vary between $30 and $50 for the Switch 1 consoles, bringing the cheapest Nintendo handheld to $230 and the most expensive Switch 1 option to nearly $400. At this price, you’re better off spending $50 more and getting the Nintendo Switch 2, which starts at $449.99. This will give you much better performance and a larger screen, although you’ll be missing out on the OLED display. You can also install more games on the new handheld because it uses microSD Express cards. Although these cars are more expensive and harder to find (if you don’t know where to look), they offer better performance and allow you to load games directly from the expansion slot.

More importantly, the Switch 2 is now readily available. This isn’t like the PlayStation 5 launch fiasco, where scalpers made a ton of money buying up Sony’s consoles because it had little to no supply. So, as long as you know where to buy it, you can easily pick up a Nintendo Switch 2 console at any time.

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Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.

4 Comments Comment from the forums

magbarn

Only Nintendo has the chutzpah to spike prices on a 8+ year old console. Seeing that USED "New" 3DS XL's sell more than MSRP on fleabay makes me question the sanity of the fan base.
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Alvar "Miles" Udell

Not entirely unsurprising. Can anyone think of a real reason to buy a Switch 1 new when the used market is flooded with them? Also, this is just Nintendo raising their MSRP, not the price you will find them for new, and it allows retailers to advertise a price cut when one doesn't exist.
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magbarn

baboma said:
>Only Nintendo has the chutzpah to spike prices on a 8+ year old console.

It's not Nintendo.

The price hikes--14.3% on Switch OLED and 13.3% on Switch--are in line with the 15% tariff on Japan, including electronics. Switch 2 will likely get a bump as well.

Vietnam 20%, S.Korea 15%, Malaysia 19%, China 51-55% (stacked average). All these include semiconductors and electronics.

Sans trade deal, Taiwan is slated to be 20%, but previous semiconductor exemption is still in place for now. Taiwan will likely get same deal as the rest, with the baseline 15%, incl semiconductor.

Semiconductor/electronics sectoral tariff should be announced soon. It'll probably be less than the other sectoral tariffs (aluminum, steel, copper) which are all at 50%.

There's also a 40% tariff on transshipment, defined as goods originating from another country (read: China). This is stacked on top of the reciprocal tariff.

Minimis exemption is entirely dead.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/07/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-is-protecting-the-united-states-national-security-and-economy-by-suspending-the-de-minimis-exemption-for-commercial-shipments-globally/
Prices on computer parts will likely increase in the coming days, probably somewhat less than the baseline 15-20%, as vendors may eat some of the increased cost.

Edit: More on upcoming chip tariffs,

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-says-20-us-tariff-is-temporary-separate-rate-chips-focus-2025-08-01/
"Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Friday that the new 20% tariff rate set by the Trump administration on goods imported from the island is "temporary", and the government expects to negotiate a lower figure.

"Lai also noted that rates for semiconductors, electronics as well as information and communication technology will be subject to separate U.S. sectoral tariffs and are still to be worked out.
...
"Neuberger Berman portfolio manager Yusuf Huang said Section 232 levies are likely to be higher than so-called reciprocal tariffs.

"'If the tariff rate is set too low, companies would just keep producing in Taiwan and other countries and still face a 15%, 18%, or 20% tariff. That would defeat (Trump's) goal of reshoring manufacturing to the U.S., so it's likely to be set higher,' he said."
So, if chips tariff is set to be higher than reciprocal tariffs, which look to be 15-20%, then safe assumption is 25% or higher. My bet is 25%.
You can't ignore that these 8+ year old consoles are fully deprecated at this point with all the r&d completely paid off and using old processes that no one is fighting for anymore.

Alvar Miles Udell said:
Not entirely unsurprising. Can anyone think of a real reason to buy a Switch 1 new when the used market is flooded with them? Also, this is just Nintendo raising their MSRP, not the price you will find them for new, and it allows retailers to advertise a price cut when one doesn't exist.

The market is so flooded that the switch is selling much cheaper than a used 3DS. Now's a good time to get one if you're interested in homebrew as the 1st gen can't be patched.
Reply
1000km

magbarn said:
Only Nintendo has the chutzpah to spike prices on a 8+ year old console. Seeing that USED "New" 3DS XL's sell more than MSRP on fleabay makes me question the sanity of the fan base.
The reason for the high prices on used New 3DS XLs is that: 1. It's the best version of the excellent 3DS platform; 2. It is easily jailbroken and installed with the entire library of 3DS titles (plus DS, SNES etc.) for free.
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