Anyone waiting for the Switch to get a price drop so they can play the new Zelda is going to be left waiting (pic: Nintendo)



Nintendo argues it can’t afford to make the current Switch cheaper despite mounting evidence of the Switch 2.



You would think the Nintendo Switch would have seen some kind of price cut by now, considering it’s been widely available for over six year. However, Nintendo’s never been one for making its products cheaper if they’re still selling. Even its Zelda: Breath Of The Wild discount lasted for just 10 days before jumping back up to full price.



The Switch’s consistent profitability has meant Nintendo’s had little reason to make it cheaper, although you think it’d start to reconsider as sales begin to drop and expectations of new Nintendo hardware rises .



One of Nintendo’s own investors recently posed the query, about a potential change in price, and while Nintendo wants to avoid making the Switch more expensive, despite component shortages, it’s equally unenthused about making it cheaper.



Company president Shuntaro Furukawa does admit that the cost of certain materials for Switch production has dropped. However, he counters that the overall costs remain high.



He also blames the yen, which he describes as ‘weak’ and, much like last year , doesn’t entirely rule out a price increase, saying Nintendo ‘will continue to monitor the situation carefully.’



Furukawa’s exact words are : ‘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.’



As for the eventual Switch 2, Nintendo has already said that it has no plans to launch new hardware this financial year, which means not before April 2024.



Despite the lack of public acknowledgement it’s obvious merely by the age of the Switch that a successor must be deep in production by now, with recent job ads seem to confirm exactly that.



More: Gaming The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom review - you know the score Nintendo Switch 2 rumours return as Sharp confirms they’re working on a ‘new console’ Games Inbox: Is Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom game of the year?



Just yesterday, the CEO of technology manufacturer Sharp , Robert Wu, admitted, in a call with analysts, that the company will begin making display screens for an unannounced new console, which everyone and their grandma assumes to be the Switch 2.



Even though Wu never specified which company the console belongs to, Sharp quickly deleted presentation slides that mentioned a new game device from its financial statements, as spotted by Bloomberg’s Takashi Mochizuki.



That’s not something it’s likely to have done if it was Sony’s Q Lite device or another Steam Deck clone, which are the other most likely explanations for what Wu is referencing.



Although given how immune Nintendo is to rumour and speculation we’ll only know for sure when they actually announce something.




シャープが新型ゲーム機向けに液晶を供給することは決算資料で触れられていたのですが、消えました。記事に使った社長コメントは、この資料を参照し「ゲーム機向けに新しいディスプレイを入れる、ではなく、新しいゲーム機向けにディスプレイを入れるということでいいか」の質問に対する回答でした。 pic.twitter.com/7zf1he61zD — Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) May 11, 2023




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