Bloomberg reached out to Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony for comment on if they intend to raise console prices in Japan and as you can see in the tweet above, Nintendo said they have no such plans now.

If you haven’t heard, Japan has been experiencing some electronic prices hikes thanks to inflation, but one area that hasn’t changed in price is the video game console market. This is mainly due to the fact that none of the console manufacturers want to be the first to raise prices, as they fear that upping the price will scare away both customers and developers to competing platforms.

The console manufacturers then choose to rely on international sales to recoup the costs but resellers have made that more difficult.

The Nintendo Switch OLED model is priced at $350 plus tax in the US, but costs 37,980 yen (roughly $290) in Japan. Hardware resellers around Tokyo currently offer to buy it for over 40,000 yen apiece, relying on that price delta for their profit. Sony’s PS5 costs about 55,000 yen in stores, yet can be resold immediately for 80,000 yen or more at retailer Noah Trading Co. in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro. The company boasts on its website that it generated 10 billion yen in revenue in 2020, selling electronics domestically and to countries and regions such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and the US.

[Bloomberg]

So basically, people are buying the consoles for cheap in Japan and reselling them in regions where prices are higher. This, along with the ongoing supply chain struggles that have been prevalent since 2020, makes it seem like eventually something has to give.

For now however, Nintendo is standing firm. We will keep you updated on if prices do end up rising after all. If you want to read the full article by Bloomberg it will be posted in the link below.

About jmaldonado

jmaldonado

A recently graduated creative writer hoping to work his way into the greater gaming sphere.

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Comments (5)

kuribo

1+ y ago

Given the age of the Switch, it would be pretty bold of Nintendo to raise the price. They would probably cut the price even with the current situation and still be making a healthy profit.


the schaef

1+ y ago

They will, however, reduce the size by 12% while selling for the same price.


cheesus 2

1+ y ago

Please continue selling almost a decade old games for 60 dollars though


Are you from Gamefaqs? Cause that's the thing they always love to attack Nintendo Switch users a lot...


sligeach_eire

1+ y ago

Nintendo would have some cheek if they increase the price of the Switch. If anything the price should be lowered after 5 and a half years. It was old tech back in 2017 and it's creeking these days.

Nintendo don't do generous unless they absolutely have to. Just look at their old games on Switch(many of them Wii U ports), still at €60.

Most other companies reduce their prices a few months after release. Not Nintendo though, and you can't say it's because they're selling. There's games in the Japanese charts that barely sell a thousand copies each week.

Sure look at the Wii U and 3DS eShops, you won't be able to add funds to them after this month. There's a mountain of games there at full price, they can't be selling much if anything at all, yet Nintendo wouldn't be generous(they kind of owe it to Wii U owners) and slash the prices to generate some last few sales before they disappear. It's just Nintendo's policy of almost always keeping prices high(barring a few Selects games), positioning themselves as a premium product.