Nintendo’s shares have declined in seven out of eight trading days in December, losing roughly US$14 billion in market value, as optimism about the Switch 2 fades in the face of a growing memory supply crisis. PC makers like Dell Technologies Inc and HP Inc have warned they may have to consider price hikes next year as component costs rise at an unprecedented rate.
“The rise in NAND prices is starting to really impact express SD card prices. A 256GB express SD card costs US$89.99 on Amazon. This is effectively a cost that Nintendo has passed on to the gamer,” said Pelham Smithers of Pelham Smithers Associates. He sees these additional storage cards as essential because of the limited storage built into the Switch 2, with third-party games from the likes of Electronic Arts Inc effectively costing US$20 more because of the storage need.
Another cautionary note for Nintendo comes from the earlier-than-expected discounting of its new console. The Switch 2 started out selling faster than any other games console in history. But there’s uncertainty about whether it can sustain that popularity, particularly with gamers beyond its loyal fan base.
See also: Nintendo aims to make 25 million Switch 2 units by March
“One of the surprises around Black Friday was seeing the Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle being offered online at a US$50 discount – which essentially meant that you got the Mario Kart game for free,” Smithers said. “You wouldn’t expect it to be discounted this close to the holiday season.”
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