As excited as we all were to see the new features and specs for the Nintendo Switch 2, and, of course, the games that Nintendo has in store for it, the price of the console was always going to be the biggest talking point coming out of Wednesday's Nintendo Direct presentation.
Which it certainly has been, due to just how high the price ended up being. $449.99 USD (or $499.99 with a copy of Mario Kart World) was not what gamers around the world wanted to read. Unless you happen to live in Japan, however, since Nintendo also revealed it will be selling a cheaper, Japan-only Switch 2 that's region-locked.
Spotted by VGC, the 'Japanese-Language System' version of the Switch 2 will be available at 49,980 yen, which works out closer to $334 USD. The version of the Switch 2 that supports multiple languages, which is the one everyone outside of Japan will be buying, will cost 69,980 yen.
If you plan on going to Japan sometime after June 5, 2025, and have no trouble reading and understanding Japanese, then it's not entirely clear if you could purchase one of these consoles at the cheaper, Japan-only price, and take it back to your home country and continue to enjoy it there.
Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad reports that the console will only be "linkable to [Nintendo] accounts with their country/region set to Japan," so, presumably, as long as you meet that requirement (and again, can read and understand Japanese), you could get the Switch 2 for more than $100 less than you would have otherwise paid. Though surely the trip to Japan, or shipping the Japanese-only Switch 2 out of the country to wherever you live, will fill that gap quickly enough.
As to why Nintendo is adopting this two-tiered pricing model for Japan only, Ahmad has a few common-sense theories.
"To discourage reselling of the new system by foreign buyers who leverage the console’s lower price point in the country to resell the title to regions with a higher price – an issue faced by the first Nintendo Switch," Ahmad writes.
He also adds, regarding the tariffs announced by the United States and Donald Trump on Wednesday, that the difference in pricing between Japan and the United States particularly, is "likely a calculated move on Nintendo’s part, driven by tariff impacts, the weak Japanese yen and local market conditions."
"Japan accounted for nearly 25% of global Nintendo Switch unit sales, with Nintendo offering a cheaper Switch 2 SKU in this market to stimulate early adoption and maintain momentum," he continues.
"While the company has shifted some of its manufacturing to Vietnam to offset US tariffs on China, the looming threat of reciprocal tariffs prior to the Switch 2 showcase will have also forced Nintendo to consider a higher price for the rest of the world. The reciprocal tariffs on Vietnam and Japan have come in higher than expected, and Nintendo will feel the impact of this if the tariffs go into full effect."
At least Ahmad does end on a more positive note, saying that he does not believe Nintendo will raise the price of the console within the first five years of its lifetime.
