Report: Nintendo paying 41% more for RAM chips used in Switch 2

AI is gobbling up memory and storage, and Nintendo is being hit hard by the RAM shortages, with the company now paying 41% more for Switch 2 memory.

Report: Nintendo paying 41% more for RAM chips used in Switch 2
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Senior Gaming Editor
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TL;DR: Nintendo faces a 10% share drop due to component shortages and rising costs impacting Switch 2 production. Memory and storage chip prices have surged, reducing per-unit profits despite strong sales and a revised 19 million unit forecast. Potential price hikes and production disruptions may affect consumers in 2026.

Nintendo's shares have dropped 10% from December's trading high as the company once again faces the dreaded combination of component shortages and rising costs.

Report: Nintendo paying 41% more for RAM chips used in Switch 2 35
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Nintendo's aspirations for the Switch 2 could be stymied throughout 2026, leading to hardware production disruptions and potentially even price hikes for consumers.

New reports from Bloomberg indicate that Nintendo is now paying more money to secure parts for its Switch 2 system. Data from TrendForce suggests that Nintendo is now paying 41% more for the memory chips used in the handheld-console; the Switch 2 uses 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, split evenly across 2x 6GB modules from Micron.

The firm also says that Nintendo is paying upwards of 8% more for the storage chips used in the console--in this case, the Switch 2 uses 256GB of onboard NAND flash from SK hynix to store games, content, and apps.

Bloomberg notes that Nintendo has lost roughly $14 billion in market value throughout December.

The Switch 2 has been a success so far, causing Nintendo to upwardly revise its hardware sales forecast by 4 million units. The company now expects to ship 19 million Switch 2 consoles throughout this fiscal year, which ends in March 2026.

Sales data shows that Nintendo has already shipped over 10.36 million Switch 2 systems from April - September.

The company has noted, however, that per-unit profits on Switch 2 sales are lower than Switch 1.

It's unclear how the RAM and NAND shortages will affect Nintendo's production cycles, and whether or not this could trigger a price hike for the Switch 2 system.

Nintendo has already raised the prices of the entire Switch 1 family of consoles--the base Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED--alongside a range of accessories in a bid to stave off harmful tariffs.