Nintendo will not make any money on Switch 2 sales analysts claim

Nintendo is not expected to make any money on Switch 2 console sale in the US, according to a number of different analysts.

The Switch 2 is priced at $449 and the Mario Kart World bundle at $499. Shortly after the Switch 2 Direct at the start of April, Hideki Yasuda of Toyo Securities told Bloomberg he thinks Nintendo will make a loss on the sale of each unit.

"We believe the Switch 2's bill of materials is around $400, meaning Nintendo would still be selling consoles at a loss in the US with the 10 per cent tariff - but the loss would be something Nintendo would be able to absorb," he said.

MST Financial analyst David Gibson reportedly told Financial Times the Vietnam export data for the Switch 2 unit price is $338, a figure given to all countries to work out custom duties.

YouTuber Nintendo Prime also shared a rumour on social media from retailer Double Jump Games that its data found Nintendo would only make $4 from each sale.

Nintendo Prime Tweeted: "Double Jump Games, who is getting nine Switch 2 Units to sell, noticed in the order that Nintendo is basically making nothing in the US per unit. They make $4 per unit sold, Nintendo's costs basically match what it costs to be here. So next to no profit margin."

However it's actually quite common for companies not to make any money on consoles themselves and for them to be sold at a loss.

For example, when the PS5 launched, Sony sold these at a loss compared to the manufacturing cost for each unit.

Microsoft did the same with the Xbox Series X/S too before the recent price hike, although it's not clear if the raised prices do now cover the cost of making each unit (this, twinned with declining Xbox hardware sales, have been speculated as reasons why prices for these were raised).

It's on other areas, such as game sales, accessories and subscriptions, that gaming companies make a profit.

Elsewhere from indy100, check out the three best features of the Nintendo Switch 2 console after we went hands on with it and are the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World worth the price?

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