The days when older gaming consoles would drop in price have ended. AI is to blame.

Nintendo has recently announced it will increase the price of its existing gaming console.

The company’s president, Shuntaro Furukawa, addressed the situation, also sharing that this might not be the last increase in gaming console pricing.

“While there remain uncertainties regarding how component prices will trend in the future, we acknowledge that we are likely to feel the impact not only this year but next year as well,” Furukawa said during Nintendo’s financial results briefing, reports Nintendo Everything.

The company announced that the prices of its Switch 2 consoles will affect markets globally.

In the US, the gaming console will go from $450 to $500, while in Europe, the price will rise from €470 to €500 ($550 to $590). It’s not yet known how much the console will cost in the UK, where it is now priced at £396 ($535), according to the BBC.

Those who would like to buy the console at the current price still have time to do so. In the US and Europe, the price change will come into effect on September 1st.

In Japan, consumers have until May 25th to make their purchases.

AI boom driving console prices up

Nintendo decided to increase the price of the Switch due to rising prices of memory chips used in gaming consoles, as well as their high demand from the booming AI industry.

“[...] The most critical aspect of the dedicated game console business is providing compelling gameplay experiences that offer value exceeding the price point,” stated Furukawa, sharing that the company will continue to release new games, including those by Nintendo and its third-party software partners.

Nintendo isn’t the only company that has raised prices on its existing products.

A few months ago, Sony shared that it’s also changing the pricing of its PlayStation 5 gaming consoles.

Since the beginning of April, the company has increased its product prices by $100.

This situation has sparked an online debate, with many users disappointed that they would have to pay more for something that had been available for a while.

Following the latest price increase for gaming consoles, Sony has also been involved in a $7.8 million PlayStation Store settlement after the company was accused of making customers pay more for certain digital games.

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