The World Seems Ready For A Nintendo Switch Price Cut

The neon red and blue Nintendo Switch floating in some random white space.

Hey look, it’s the Nintendo Switch suspending in the air. Cool.
Image: Nintendo

The Nintendo Switch has received its first price cut in certain parts of the world, dropping from £330 in Europe and £280 in the UK down to £270 and £260, respectively. But while fans hoped the same could happen in the U.S., especially with sites like VGC insisting a cut is coming, Nintendo says such a thing is definitely not happening.

After rumors began circulating over the weekend that the OG Nintendo Switch model was about to get its price slashed, fans took to the internet to wonder whether this would apply to all parts of the world. Alas, it turns out the cut only affects Europe.

As spotted by Eurogamer, Nintendo’s European store lists the Switch at those updated prices. Other retailers, such as Amazon, have yet to reflect this new cut.

And the company has no plans to adjust the price everywhere the Switch is sold. A Nintendo spokesperson told Eurogamer that a number of reasons, most notably the currency exchange rates in Europe and the imminent launch of the OLED model, factored into the decision to slash the original Switch’s price.

But when reached for a comment, a Nintendo spokesperson was adamant that the company is not changing the console’s price in the US.

“The trade price adjustment is for the European region only,” the spokesperson said. “There are no plans to change the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for any Nintendo Switch model in the U.S.”

If you ask me, a price drop right now totally makes sense. The Nintendo Switch has been on the market for more than four years now and the OLED model, which features a bigger screen and other minor upgrades, launches on October 8 for $350. Pricing the OG Switch just $50 below the OLED version and $100 more than the Lite model could spell doom for the mid-tier console. Are middle children ever the favorite anyway?

How the company handles price drops, though, is quite unpredictable. It only took Nintendo five months to slash the 3DS’ price back in July 2011. Meanwhile, the Wii U, the company’s last major console before the Switch, didn’t see its price get cut until nearly a year after it launched in November 2012.

The lack of a price cut for the Switch in most territories isn’t doing much to slow its sales, however, as the console still frequently sells out, due in part to the ongoing semiconductor shortage. You may need a bit of luck to find any one of the three Switch models, as the supply chain issues are likely to last until at least 2023.

source: gamezpot.com