Ever since the Nintendo Switch came out all the way back in 2017, yes it’s really been that long, it has held firm at a price of $300. While it’s not common for a console to go so long without a price drop, this price has always made sense for the Switch. It has always been the least expensive console on the market compared to what Sony and Microsoft are offering and it’s also significantly less powerful. Especially compared to the current generation PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. However, with the announcement of the OLED model we may finally be seeing a change in pricing for the Switch.
Rumors have been circulating over the last few days that the Switch would be dropping in price sometime in the near future. While those of us in the states have yet to see a price drop, these rumors may have been confirmed by a recent drop over in the UK/Europe. The UK/European version of the Switch dropped from £279.99/€329.99 to £259.99/€299.99. This is adding further flame to rumors that a price drop will be occurring in the United States sooner rather than later.
A price drop for the Switch makes sense when we take into consideration that Nintendo is releasing a “superior” model in the near future with the OLED. While the OLED is not going to perform better than the current Switch under the hood, we do know that it has an improved screen and is made to better perform as a mobile console. That new model is going to cost $350 at launch. Meanwhile, the current version is four years older and also at a $350 price tag. Without a price drop that would be Nintendo basically admitting that this “new” model isn’t that much of an improvement compared to a four-year-old console.
What gave a lot of people pause with the upcoming OLED model is that there have been rumors of a “Switch Pro” persisting for a couple of years now. This Switch is supposed to stand closer to the same footing as current-generation consoles, and the OLED model definitely doesn’t do that. If that’s not the case then a new more powerful Switch should be on the way right? If we take Nintendo at their word, that won’t be happening anytime soon.
We also want to clarify that we just announced that Nintendo Switch(OLED Model) will launch in October, 2021, and have no plans for launching any other model at this time. (2/2)
— 任天堂株式会社（企業広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) July 19, 2021
It’s unfortunate that we won’t be getting a next-generation Switch anytime soon, but the current model does have a plethora of good games to play on it. So it’s not like we’re limited. Even better is, since the OLED really isn’t that much of an improvement, fans can wait for an expected price drop to get all those games at a slight discount. Big wins for everyone that enjoys video games.