Nintendo Shares Tank 8% on Switch 2 Price Hike and Soft Sales Outlook

CNBC reported Monday that Nintendo shares closed 8.4% lower in Tokyo, settling at 7,020 yen and marking the stock’s weakest close since August 2024. The sell-off follows a price increase for the Switch 2 console and a full-year sales forecast that alarmed investors.

Switch 2 Price Hike Rattles Markets

Nintendo raised the Switch 2’s retail price by $50 in the United States and by 10,000 yen in Japan. The company attributed the decision to a sustained surge in memory chip costs, driven largely by heavy demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure buildouts. The increases were announced Friday, setting the stage for Monday’s sharp market reaction.

Nintendo simultaneously cut its Switch 2 sales forecast to 16.5 million units for the fiscal year ending March 2027. That compares to nearly 19.9 million units sold since the console launched in June last year. Analysts noted the downward revision is unusual for a console less than one year into its lifecycle.

Serkan Toto, CEO of industry consultancy Kantan Games, told CNBC the core concern is straightforward. Nintendo is projecting hardware volumes to decline rather than grow, which runs counter to the typical trajectory of a new console cycle. Toto said the price increase is the primary culprit, as Nintendo expects softer consumer demand at the higher price point.

A Pattern of Conservative Guidance

Both Toto and Kazunori Ito, director at Morningstar, pushed back on the pessimism. Nintendo has a well-documented history of setting cautious targets that it later surpasses, and analysts suggested this forecast follows that pattern.

Ito wrote in a research note Sunday that the guidance was “overly conservative” and that consumers tend to adjust to new price levels over time. He projected Switch 2 unit sales closer to 19 million for the current year, well above Nintendo’s own target. Ito also called Nintendo shares undervalued, arguing markets are overweighting near-term headwinds while ignoring the long-run earnings potential of migrating more than 100 million existing Switch users to the new platform.

Software Pipeline Adds to Investor Concern

Nintendo also forecast combined software sales across both Switch generations to fall roughly 11% year-over-year to 165 million units. Ito described the decline as too pessimistic, forecasting software shipments closer to 205 million units and citing typical acceleration in user engagement during a console’s second year.

The Switch 2 has notched early hits, including “Mario Kart World” and “Pokémon Pokopia,” the latter selling more than 4 million copies in its first five weeks. Still, investors are awaiting clarity on upcoming releases tied to Nintendo’s flagship franchises. The company’s stock is now down roughly 34% in 2026.

Read Next: What Rising Memory Costs Mean for Consumer Electronics in 2026