The fiscal year ended in March, which means corporate heads gave their annual reports on how things are going in general. Shuntaro Furukawa, President of Nintendo, gave a rundown of several topics to shareholders – including the pricing of the Nintendo Switch, which still hasn’t budged from $300 since its release all the way back in March 2017. When asked about pricing for hardware and software, Furukawa stated the following:
“With regard to hardware, prices for certain materials have fallen but overall costs remain high. We must also continue to account for the impact of factors such as inflation and foreign exchange rates. Production was highly impacted during the previous fiscal year (ended March 31, 2023), so we are ensuring our parts procurement occurs far enough in advance to ensure stable production. Even if raw material prices decrease, it will take time for this to be reflected in manufacturing costs. Currently, there are no plans to reduce the price of our hardware during this fiscal year. On the other hand, while we also have no plans to raise prices, the yen continues to be weak, and procurement costs remain high, so we will continue to monitor the situation carefully.”
Basically, while sales are expected to drop, and raw material prices are decreasing, inflation plus a weak yen mean that the Switch price is remaining where it’s been. He also confirms that despite Tears of the Kingdom costing $70 instead of $60, game pricing will be on a case by case basis going forward, and this isn’t a new standard. But the promises of “continuing to monitor the situation closely” could mean either situation could change at any point. We’ll keep you posted on updates.
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
