Nintendo Switch gets price cut in Europe — could U.S. soon follow?

Nintendo Switch gets price cutting in Europe — could U.S. soon follow?

A child is playing Nintendo Switch while standing.

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More than four years subsequently launch, the Nintendo Switch is finally getting a price cutting — well, in Europe at to the lowest degree.

This news comes from Nintendo Life, which plant that Nintendo had lowered the MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) of the Switch from €329.99 to €269.99. In U.S. dollars, that'southward a drop from $389 to $319.

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A $70 driblet is not insignificant, although European prices were already much higher than the Nintendo Switch's current U.South. MSRP of $299. U.K prices are seeing a driblet as well, from £279.99 to £259.99, or from $387 to $359.

The price drops are currently live on the Nintendo U.Grand. storefront. At the moment, the Nintendo Switch Light is non seeing a price cutting.

The Wii was cheaper by this point

Nintendo'south last major acknowledged panel was the Wii, released in 2006 at $249 U.S. Even while that system was even so flying off shelves, it saw its outset price cutting , to $199, only three years into its life bicycle. Past 2011, the Wii was down to $149, a full $100 off the original cost.

For comparing's sake, the PS4, i of the highest selling consoles of all time, saw its get-go price cut just two years into its lifecycle, going from $399 in 2013 to $349 in 2015. A slim model was introduced a year later, bringing the MSRP downwards to $299.

Suffice it to say, Nintendo has not been in a rush to lower the price of the Nintendo Switch. At the moment, the Switch has sold 89 meg units, a tremendous milestone for a organisation that's only four years quondam.

Nintendo'southward profits are down

Even so NIntendo's profits on the Switch are downward in 2021 when compared to the aforementioned point in 2020. Granted, the global pandemic pushed many people indoors to notice a newfound appetite for gaming.

At the moment, at that place's no indication whether Nintendo will lower the price of the Switch in the U.S., even with the Nintendo Switch OLED model coming out next calendar month at $350.

"They customarily cut price globally, and so probable one in the U.S. will follow," said Michael Pachter, an annotator at Wedbush Securities, in an email inquiry with Tom'due south Guide.

Considering the Switch sold 28.8 million units in 2020, a 37% increase from 2019, this would advise in that location'south very little incentive for Nintendo to drop the price. Do note, these unit sales as well include the Switch Light.

A cost cut could indicate Nintendo is wanting to go along units flowing to be somewhat close to 2020 sales numbers.

"[I] thought the cost staying at launch price suggested strong need, merely maybe it's beginning to soften a bit," said Pachter.

At the moment, the Nintendo Switch OLED will sell for €364.99 in Europe. Between the OLED, standard and Lite Switches, the pricing structure would exist €364, €269 and €239.

It'southward an odd pricing breakdown, specially considering that the panels found on the OLED model are not much more expensive than the other two models' LCD screens, as Samsung cut Nintendo a bargain for rigid OLED displays.

Still Pachter feels that by adjacent year, in the U.S. at least, the Switch family could see a make clean $300, $250, $200 pricing structure.

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Imad Khan is news editor at Tom's Guide, helping direct the day's breaking coverage. Prior to working at the site, Imad was a full-time freelancer, with bylines at the New York Times, the Washington Mail and ESPN. Exterior of piece of work, you can detect him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.