The rising demand for RAM for AI data centres and the associated rising costs are having a massive effect across the tech world, and with Sony reportedly pushing back the launch of its as-yet-unannounced PS5 successor, Nintendo is considering raising the price of Switch 2 in 2026, too, according to a new Bloomberg report (paywall).
Speaking to "people familiar with its plans", Bloomberg reports that Sony is now eyeing 2028/29 for its next console hardware, and that Nintendo is looking at how to approach what the article says is being coined "RAMmageddon":
"Close rival Nintendo Co., which contributed to the surplus demand in 2025 after its new Switch 2 console drove storage card purchases, is also contemplating raising the price of that device in 2026, people familiar with its plans said. Sony and Nintendo representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment."
Earlier in the year, Niko Partners predicted that Nintendo would be forced to follow suit and raise hardware prices as its competitors have.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked about the possibility of a price increase in an interview with Kyoto Shimbun back in January, but refused to be drawn on plans at the time, saying "I cannot comment on hypotheticals".
With most tech firms reliant on memory and microchips produced by other companies, this precarious situation around RAM manufacturing has been a concern for some time now, with the crisis growing as AI-invested firms such as Meta, Microsoft, and Google's parent company, Alphabet, purchase DRAM for data centres to drive chatbots and other AI-powered applications. Prices have been driven up at an alarming rate as demand outstrips component availability, with Bloomberg stating that the "cost of one type of DRAM soared 75% from December to January" alone.
Consequently, tech firms must choose between slimmer profit margins or raising prices in an already-fraught economic environment. The Switch 2's launch pricing and Mario Kart World's $80 price tag proved controversial with gamers in June last year, and Nintendo raised the price of all its Switch 1 hardware in the US last summer. Sony and Microsoft both raised their hardware prices recently, with PlayStation getting a $50 hike on all PS5 models in the US last August.
Nintendo may have gotten its latest console to market ahead of full-scale "RAMmageddon", but it still has to keep the ball rolling and keep up production numbers. With the tech sector's reliance on RAM for almost everything and the AI bubble yet to burst, one thing is for certain: Switch 2 certainly isn't getting cheaper anytime soon.
Are you tempted to push the boat out for a Switch 2 before it gets even more expensive? Happy you jumped in early? Let us know below.