Admitting that the new pricing may increase “barrier” to purchase, Furukawa has an answer: more Nintendo games.
充実したソフトのラインアップを用意し、スイッチ２の体験価値を上げる。ハードルを乗り越えるため、地道に努力していく
We will prepare a robust software lineup to enhance the Switch 2 ownership value. We will work diligently to overcome this barrier.
As is customary for a Japanese CEO, he added:
お客様には多大なるご迷惑とご不便をおかけすることを心よりおわびしたい
We sincerely apologize to our customers for the considerable inconvenience and trouble this will cause.
It was a “difficult decision” (難しい判断):
（スイッチ2の）普及を最優先したい気持ちもあったが、コスト上昇を長期間にわたって負担するには難しい部分があった
While we wanted to prioritize a wide adoption, it was challenging to bear the rising costs over a long period.
あらゆるコスト増を加味した価格設定ではない
The [new] pricing does not fully account for all cost increases.
Furukawa also explained why the second year hardware forecast is lower than the first:
スイッチ２は発売前から供給体制を強化したことで初年度の販売台数としては異例の水準となった
Due to efforts to strengthen our supply chain […] the 1st year sales reached an unprecedented level.
発売２年目の需要としては堅調で、スイッチ２の普及自体は順調だと考えている
The demand in the 2nd year is firm, and we believe that the adoption of Switch 2 is progressing smoothly.
発売２年目の目標としては高水準だ
[16.5M units] is a high target for the 2nd year of sales.
Other interesting bits:
- The sales forecast includes revenues from The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
- Furukawa intends the Switch 2 to have a long lifespan as the Switch 1, building up the user base and hardware/software sales over time. (「スイッチ２も同様に長いスパンでユーザー数を増やし、ハードやソフトの販売を伸ばしていきたい」)
- Nintendo believes that the component costs surge, weak yen, and oil prices spike may “persist over the medium to long term”. (「中長期に及ぶと判断した」)
- On the global level, the new pricing will bring the profit margin back to last FY’s level. (That is to say the war and AI cost us ~$50 per unit.)
- The NSO prices are only raised in Japan, because Nintendo wants to “balance service pricing across different regions”. (「各地域間におけるサービス提供価格のバランスを調整する」)
Sources: NHK News, Mainichi Shimbun, Nikkei Shimbun, Reuters Japan, Kyoto Shimbun 1, Kyoto Shimbun 2, and Kyoto Shimbun 3
[Originally posted on 2026-05-08 Pacific Time]
[Update on 2026-05-11] For anyone wondering why the official transcript and the quotes I compiled from media reports aren’t identical: The former doesn’t relay the Q&A verbatim, but is a sanitized version (e.g., the apology was omitted). Reporters often edit quotes for clarity also. When this happens on either end, we get different or incomplete quotes.
