Tuesday, October 27 · thedime.news/issues/2026-10-27/

Why a Switch 2 now costs $50 more than it did in August

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Nintendo raised the price of the Switch 2 in the United States from $449.99 to $499.99 on September 1. Nintendo's president pointed to higher memory-chip costs, a weaker exchange rate and higher oil prices. Many reports say the biggest reason is the AI boom: companies building AI data centers are buying huge numbers of memory chips, which leaves fewer for everything else.

Nintendo is not alone. Microsoft raised Xbox prices in August, and the Series X now costs $799.99. Sony raised PlayStation 5 prices in April, and the PS5 is now $649.99. When many buyers want the same parts, prices go up, and gamers feel it.

Your money: How a price hike changes your savings plan

A savings goal is a specific amount of money you want to have by a certain time. Say you want a $400 item. If you save $25 a week, you need $400 ÷ $25 = 16 weeks.

Now the price rises to $450. The same $25 a week takes 18 weeks. The goal moved, so the plan has to change. A $50 hike cost you two more weeks of waiting.

You have two choices when a price rises: save more each week, or wait longer. A bigger weekly amount gets you there faster, but only if your budget has room for it. Doing the math first lets you pick on purpose instead of by surprise.

Words to know

Write what each word means in your own words.

1. Memory chip
2. Shortage
3. Savings goal

Questions

The story

1. In one sentence, what happened in the top story?
2. If a game console you wanted went up $50, would you wait, buy now, or skip it? Why?

Do the math

3. The Switch 2 went up $50, from $449.99 to $499.99. About what percent is that increase? Show your work.

Your turn

4. You want headphones that cost $300 and you save $20 a week. How many weeks will it take? The price rises to $360. How many weeks now, and how many more than before?

Quiz

5. You want a $400 console and save $25 a week. The price rises to $450. How many more weeks do you need? Circle one.
   1. 2 more weeks
   2. 1 more week
   3. 4 more weeks
   4. No more weeks

What do you think?

6. Game companies say their costs went up, so prices had to go up. When is it fair for a company to raise prices, and when is it not? Answer in two or three sentences, and give a reason.