Talking Point: How Does Switch 2’s Launch Price Compare To Past Nintendo Systems?
Image: Nintendo LifeThe big talking point out of last week’s Switch 2 Direct hasn’t been the system deep dive, the Donkey Kong reveal, or the weird little camera; it’s mainly been about Nintendo’s approach to pricing.
The messaging was non-existent in the Direct itself, but in the minutes and hours after it ended, we learnt that games would reach up to £75/$80 (in the case of Mario Kart World) and the system alone would set us back £395.99 / $449.99. While not unexpected, that’s still a lot of money.
The Switch 2 is a powerful bit of kit and a strong upgrade on its predecessor, so it’s no surprise that Nintendo’s suggested retail price has perked up to match. But there’s no denying that hitting $500 before any peripheral bells and whistles are thrown in is a tough pill to swallow. We thought it would be worthwhile diving into the Nintendo history books to see how the Switch 2 compares to the company’s pricing strategies from the 1980s to the present day.
Below, you will find a list of every major Nintendo console from the NES right up to Switch 2, accompanied by its launch year and launch price in GBP and USD (with an estimate where we couldn’t 100% verify). To show how this compares to the Switch 2’s 2025 price, we have also adjusted all console launches for inflation, too, to see what the asking prices mean in today’s money.
Nintendo Systems Launch Price Comparison
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
We have used the Bank of England’s inflation calculator for the adjusted GBP totals and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ for the USD pricing. Bear in mind that they can only give an estimate of what the launch prices would equate to in 2025 money, but it’s still interesting to see how the Switch 2’s £395.99 / $499.99 compares with everything that’s come before.
Also, we’ve only included the launch price of the system/bundle (later SKUs may have omitted pack-in accessories and games and other things that led to price cuts over time).
Click on the column headers to re-order the table.
System
Launch Year
Launch Price (UK)
Launch Price (US)
2025 Price (UK, Adjusted for Inflation)
2025 Price (US, Adjusted for Inflation)
NES
1985
£179.99 (~)
$199
£547
$602
Game Boy
1989
£99
$89.99
£260
$236
SNES
1991
£150
$199.99
£339
$472
Virtual Boy
1995
N/A
$179.99
N/A
$380
N64
1997
£249.99
$199.99
£483
$399
Game Boy Color
1998
£69.99
$79.95
£133
$157
Game Boy Advance
2001
£89
$99.99
£164
$181
GameCube
2002
£129.99
$199.99
£237
$359
DS
2004
£99.99
$149.99
£177
$257
Wii
2006
£179
$249.99
£305
$400
3DS
2011
£229.99
$249.99
£334
$360
Wii U
2012
£249.99 (8GB) / £299.99 (32GB)
$299.99 (8GB) / $349.99 (32GB)
£353 / £424
$420 / $491
Switch
2017
£279.99
$299.99
£370
$363
Switch 2
2025
£395.99
$449.99
£395.99
$449.99
As you can see, when adjusted for inflation, the Nintendo Entertainment System is the most expensive console to date in both Europe and the US, with the 1985 asking price jumping to an eye-watering £547 / $602 equivalent today. However, it should be noted that this was the Deluxe Set, which packed in two pads, Duck Hunt, and Gyromite, plus the NES Zapper and R.O.B. – both needed to play the pack-in games. All that extra gear bumps the price up and skews the data set a tad.
A handful of these like the 3DS and N64 (in Europe) saw a price drop shortly after launch to counteract poor initial sales. But, more often than not, prices have tended to stay around the same level throughout the console’s life span.
One illuminating data point here is the AFI price of the original Switch after just eight years: £370 / $363. The US Switch 2 price (well, at least at the time of writing) is $87 higher, yet the difference is only around £25 in the UK. A lot has happened in eight years!
Software is an entirely different ballgame and is perhaps a feature for another day. But when you look at things laid out like this, Switch 2 is certainly pricey, but it seems to fall roughly in line with what Nintendo always has been and, probably, always will be.
Do you think Switch 2 is too expensive, or roughly what you expected? Let us know in the comments.
