According to a Japanese analyst, the Switch 2 may be more expensive and be released later than many expected.
Toyo Securities analyst, Hideki Yasuda, has stated that the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 could be “less than $499” in a brand new report.
Speaking to Kabutan News, a Japan-based news site, Yasuda stated that while “various reports” suggest its $499 price tag, many people in Japan “have doubts” it’ll be “that cheap.”
In the seven years since the original version launched, multiple leaks have suggested its successor will be a big step up, including a notable RAM upgrade and new magnetically attached controllers.
With that in mind, we can speculate that these upgrades will push up the cost, over the original Switch — which had an MSRP of $299.99 when it launched in 2017.
At $499, this would mean the Switch 2 would cost almost $200 over its predecessor. However, as Yasuda explains, no finer details about the upcoming handheld have been shared, so we can only speculate for now.
Switch 2 coming “in the first half of next year”
In the report, translated by Google and discovered by Bloomberg reporter Takashi Mochizuki, Yasuda also states that the same reports state the Switch 2 will be “released in the first half of next year.”
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda says Nintendo's next-gen would come first half next year. https://t.co/4ikEgUL0dJ previously said it wouldn't come this fiscal year. That means the launch would be sometime between April and June 2025?https://t.co/11rb2eAJRB
— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) August 16, 2024
Yasuda didn’t share an exact month for when we can come to expect the Switch 2. However, Nintendo President, Shuintaro Furukawa officially announced it should arrive within “this fiscal year” — which runs until March 2025.
While Yasuda’s findings could be in line with the President’s previous statement, GameIndustry.biz head Chris Dring recently stated that “no developer I’ve spoken to expects [the Switch 2] to be launching this financial year.”
In an episode of the GameIndustry.biz Microcast podcast, released on August 13, Dring explained that developers working on titles for the Switch 2 have been “told next to expect it in the [current] financial year.”
Those that Dring spoke to, however, “hope it’s out in April or May time.”
Takashi Mochizuki, who originally shared Hideki Yasuda’s report to X/Twitter, believes this could hint at a launch sometime “between April and June 2025.”
As Nintendo hasn’t officially shared any details, besides President Shuintaro Furukawa’s previous statement, everything stated by the analyst should be taken with a big Bowser-sized grain of salt.