Before you wait for any gadget, ask one question: will waiting bring you new information, or a higher price? For the Switch 2 the answer was a dated price rise, and it has already happened. Since September 1, 2026 the console lists at $499.99 in the US, €499.99 on the European My Nintendo Store and ₩758,000 in Korea. There’s no old price left to beat, so if you know which games you’ll play, buy now and set a price alert.
I bought mine in Korea in mid-August, before the increase, and the Korean prices below are ones I read on Danawa myself.
The test I used in August
Nintendo Korea’s June 29 notice fixed the date: ₩110,000 more from September 1. Waiting would only have brought that price, so I bought in mid-August. With a card discount I paid ₩620,000–640,000, under the old ₩648,000 list price.
On the early morning of October 22, 2026, Danawa’s lowest price was ₩719,990. That’s ₩80,000–100,000 more than I paid. If I went back to August, I’d make the same call.
The same test points the other way for the HomePod mini 2. I’m holding off on it, because waiting there brings information, like Korean Siri support and a Korean sales page.
Switch 2 prices after the increase, by region
Nintendo announced the increase on May 8, 2026 for Japan, the US, Canada and Europe. Its May 8 notice gives these prices; US and Canadian prices exclude tax, and the European price includes it.
| Region | Before → After | Change | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | $449.99 → $499.99 | +11.1% | 2026-09-01 |
| Canada | C$629.99 → C$679.99 | +7.9% | 2026-09-01 |
| Europe (My Nintendo Store) | €469.99 → €499.99 | +6.4% | 2026-09-01 |
| Australia | AU$699.95 → AU$769.95 | +10.0% | 2026-09-01 |
| Japan (Japanese-language model) | ¥49,980 → ¥59,980 | +20.0% | 2026-05-25 |
| Korea | ₩648,000 → ₩758,000 | +17.0% | 2026-09-01 |
The change column is my arithmetic. Australia comes from Nintendo Australia’s support page, and Korea’s ₩110,000 increase was announced on June 29, 2026. In Japan, the Multi-Language model sold on My Nintendo Store keeps its old price; only the Japanese-language system went up.
Will the Switch 2 go on sale for Black Friday or the holidays?
Probably not by much. In Korea, stores already sell about 5% under the new list price, and the best benefit price moved by under ₩3,000 in a day. I found no news of a year-end console discount there, and Nintendo expects the cost pressure to last.
Here is what I read on Danawa and Coupang, Korea’s main price-comparison site and its biggest online store:
| Item | Price | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Official price | ₩758,000 | Since 2026-09-01 |
| Danawa lowest | ₩719,990 | 2026-10-22, early morning |
| Danawa max benefit* | ₩699,600 | 2026-10-22, early morning |
| Samsung Card payment | ₩704,930 | 2026-10-21 |
| Coupang, console (BEE-001) | ₩707,640 | 2026-10-21 |
*Stacks Naver Pay and N+ membership deals; excludes their point rewards.
The lowest price sat ₩38,010, about 5.0%, under the official one. The evening before, it was ₩722,850, so it fell ₩2,860 in a day. I left out imported Japanese units, because their official Korean warranty service is different.
That’s why I think waiting for a big cut is closer to hoping. Korea’s increase was announced in June and applied in September, there’s no discount news, and daily moves are small. A price alert and a day when a bundle or card deal lines up is the realistic version of waiting.
Why the price went up, and why it won’t snap back
Nintendo’s notice cites “changes in market conditions” and says it expects the impact “to extend over the medium to long term.” At the May earnings briefing, president Shuntaro Furukawa was reported as pointing to memory and other component prices, plus exchange rates and oil prices.
Retail RAM went the same way. In my post on DDR5 prices, a Samsung DDR5 32GB stick was ₩790,970 on Danawa on October 18, shipping included, about ₩24,700 per GB. When I bought a Mac mini at the end of September, the same stick was around ₩750,000. That’s a retail price, not what Nintendo pays, so I only read the direction from it.
I agree memory is a big part. But memory alone doesn’t explain Korea rising 17% while the US rose 11%. I think exchange rates and regional pricing went in too; that’s my interpretation, not Nintendo’s.
How much is a used Switch 2 in Korea?
On the early morning of October 22, 2026, the cheapest of five listings on Danawa’s used Switch 2 page was ₩625,100, including ₩3,500 shipping. That’s about ₩95,000 under the lowest new price. A Hana Card payment price on a used listing was ₩623,600.
Condition and included items vary by seller, so I don’t average them. My sense of the going rate for a well-kept, complete set was ₩620,000–680,000 as of October 22.
I left out listings far below that, like ₩300,000 or ₩180,000, because their transaction reviews had posts suspecting fraud.
Having bought a ₩648,000 console with a card discount, I find used in an odd zone: about the same as, or above, what I paid.
Switch Online: did it go up too?
Only in Japan and Korea. Nintendo’s May 8 notice revised Japan from July 1, 2026, said Korea’s revision was planned, and listed no change for the US, Canada or Europe.
In Korea the individual 12-month plan is ₩24,900, or ₩2,075 a month. Yonhap reported the 1-month plan going from ₩4,900 to ₩5,900, so five months of it already cost ₩29,500.
I bought the 12-month plan in August at ₩24,900, the post-July price. I play one or two Mario Kart World online races a week, and I wanted save data backup.
My own line, set as ratios
My use was clear before I bought. I game on PC: League of Legends, PUBG and Valorant take my 10–12 hours a week. The Switch 2 is for what the PC doesn’t do: Mario Kart World and Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the TV dock, 2–3 hours on weekend evenings, and short sessions on the 7.9-inch screen on the subway.
After a day at a mouse and keyboard, I wanted a controller on the sofa.
Since I already own one, this line is only for buying a second unit as a gift or replacement. It isn’t advice for you.
| Who | Line | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Me, new | Under ₩700,000 | 92% of the ₩758,000 list price |
| Me, used | Under ₩620,000, complete set with warranty | 86% of the ₩719,990 new lowest (about ₩619,000) |
| First-time buyer | Buy now if your games are decided | Price alert, bundle or card deal day |
On October 22 the ₩699,600 benefit price already touched my new-unit line. I set both as ratios so they move when the list price or lowest price moves.
Sources
- Nintendo Switch 2 price revision notice, Nintendo Co., Ltd., 2026-05-08: US/Canada/Europe/Japan prices and dates, Multi-Language exception, “medium to long term” wording, Switch Online revisions
- Price revision for Nintendo Switch 2 console, Nintendo Australia: AU$699.95 to AU$769.95
- News1 (Korean), News1, 2026-06-29: Korea ₩110,000 increase from September 1
- Switch 2 price increase isn’t because of one reason, Checkpoint Gaming, 2026-05: Furukawa on memory, components, exchange rates, oil
- Yonhap via Radio Korea (Korean), Radio Korea: Switch Online 1-month plan ₩4,900 to ₩5,900
- Danawa and Coupang price pages, read by the author on 2026-10-21 and 2026-10-22: Korean new and used prices
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I first wrote this in Korean on my blog: https://jjeongil.tistory.com/3623.