This April marks the fifth anniversary of the Nintendo Switch’s release. Time flies, doesn’t it? Nintendo’s home console-portable hybrid will turn five years old. And in all its time being available, not once have we gotten a Nintendo Switch price drop. Not once.
Nintendo seems to be defying the universal order here. Every console gets a price drop at some point. Yet here we are, chugging right toward five years of the Nintendo Switch (which launched on March 3, 2017) and one has yet to occur. What’s more: it sure seems like one just isn’t in the cards at all.
So will we ever get a discount on the Switch? Will Nintendo, at some point, finally take a cleaver to its console’s price tag and give everyone a bit of a deal? Or is the company content to keep the Switch at $300 until it decides to sell a brand-new console?
Let’s dig into it.
The next-gen console shortage is likely benefiting Nintendo
If you’re a gamer who explores beyond Nintendo products, you’re likely familiar with the console shortage that’s happening right now. PlayStation 5s are next-to-impossible to acquire. The same can be said of the Xbox Series X. The Xbox Series S — Microsoft’s less-powerful next-gen machine — can be found from time to time if you’re lucky.
The Nintendo Switch, though? You can actually find the original model of it pretty reliably (with the exception of the OLED model). I imagine it sold like gangbusters over the Christmas holiday, just because it’s one console that people are able to get their hands on. The same can’t be said of the more beefy next-gen machines. Their absence on store shelves is probably helping Nintendo in a very big way.
And if you’re the only option people can track down, why offer your product at a discount? There’s really no incentive to do it.
The OLED version makes the original model LOOK cheaper
The Nintendo Switch OLED model debuted back in October 2020 instantly became a hot ticket item. It’s very hard to find an OLED these days: partly because Switch owners want the upgrade, and partly because idiot scalpers know there is demand and are buying up the stock.
What’s interesting about the Switch OLED though is that Nintendo is not selling it as a replacement to the original version. It is priced at $350, while the launch Switch still remains at $300. In a sense, Nintendo could argue that we did get a Nintendo Switch price drop. The best model is $350, so if you buy the $300 Switch, you’re getting a discount.
That’s not even mentioning the Switch Lite, by the way. For those who are especially budget conscious, the $200 price point of that particular model could be what Nintendo sees as a discounted Switch in its lineup. The Lite isn’t giving you the full experience by any means. But it plays Switch games. Perhaps Nintendo believes that is enough.
The Switch continues to sell like hotcakes
The Nintendo Switch will likely end up being one of the best-selling consoles of all time. It has universal appeal. It’s made for those who aren’t as hardcore but still want to game at home. It’s made for those who want to play on the go. It’s made for those who just love Nintendo and anything the company creates.
That’s probably why the Nintendo Switch has taken the #1 spot in console sales for more months than you’d probably believe. There’s been a consistent, steady flow of quality titles coming out for it. And there’s the promise of even more awesome games down the line.
Throughout its life — coming up on five years, as we mentioned — the Nintendo Switch has never had trouble selling. Yet that’s the whole point of a price drop. It’s a mechanism to move inventory. If Nintendo is already doing that with ease, there’s really no reason for a Nintendo Switch price drop to happen.
We may not have a Nintendo Switch price drop in our future
Based on how things have gone thus far — and speculating about what lies ahead — there’s a very real possibility that a Nintendo Switch price drop may not happen. Nintendo already has many store shelves to itself. It has options at a number of price points. And people are still buying the thing like crazy. What would be the point?
Things could change, of course, as Nintendo eventually winds the Switch down and looks ahead to its next machine. Maybe then we’ll start seeing deals. But for now? If you’re in the market for a Switch, you shouldn’t feel bad about buying it for $300. If you wait for a better price, you could be waiting until the very end.
