DFC Intelligence: Hardware Prices Will Increase 20 % In The Next Two Years, Mirroring The Switch 2

DFC Intelligence has shared a concerning opinion, that may be the ‘hard truth’ that gamers need to accept even if they don’t want to.

DFC shared their own market analysis for the Switch 2 beyond their corporate clients to the general public. They shared this opinion about the $ 450 pricing of the Switch 2.

“When the $450 price for the Switch was announced on April 2, we were relieved.  Our concern was economic conditions would result in a $500+ price point.  At $450 the Switch 2 is a solid value even though the original Switch launched at $300.

However, the announcement coincided with new U.S. tariffs, including a significant 24% tariff on Japanese goods, leading Nintendo to delay pre-orders initially scheduled for April 9 while it assessed the potential impact. The broader macroeconomic challenges facing the video game industry complicate pricing forecasts, with DFC modeling a 20% price increase over the next two years.

We continue to work closely with game industry clients to prepare for various scenarios, and additional clarity is expected when Nintendo releases its earnings in May, at which time DFC will provide a comprehensive market update.”

After a misinterpretation of their statement, DFC reached out to Polygon to clarify how their prediction of a 20 % price increase related to the Switch 2. DFC CEO David Cole said this:

“The reference to a 20% hardware price increase over the next two years applied to the hardware side in general and not just the Switch. In the case of the Switch 2, we believe much of the 20% increase was already baked into the $450 price.

It is not likely Nintendo will raise the price, and if they do, we don’t expect it to be 20%. Also much of that increase is in the form of NOT discounting prices. So not necessarily a price increase but where we model a 20% price decrease in the next year or so we have the prices holding steady.”

And so, DFC has put their line in the sand. US tariffs, and the changes in the market that may come as a result of it, will lead to hardware increasing in price by 20 %. The Switch 2 itself likely won’t raise in price over $ 450, but it’s possible that the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series line of consoles will raise in price. But if that doesn’t happen, console gamers will still have to deal with the knowledge that those consoles won’t drop in price anymore.

These conditions can change in the coming months or even weeks as well, so it’s certainly not bright prospects for console gaming. In fact, with Nintendo finally crossing the $ 400 barrier in pricing their console, we wouldn’t be surprised if the 10^th generation PlayStation and Xbox consoles move towards the PlayStation 5 Pro’s pricing.

We imagine a lot of gamers will not be happy with this prospect, but we aren’t sharing this analysis to purposefully upset our readers or evoke a reaction like that. If you were hoping Sony and Microsoft weren’t going to follow Nintendo on this direction, it’s time to mentally prepare yourself because it’s looking more and more likely that they will.