Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
If you are at all considering buying a Nintendo Switch 2, I would highly recommend doing it right now before September 1st, 2026. This is the exact date when we are going to see an official price increase hit the Nintendo Switch 2 model across the board. The base price of the console is going to jump from $449 up to $499. That is a significant and quite surprising hike for a console that is still relatively early in its overall lifecycle. However, Nintendo has also officially announced that there will be two brand new hardware bundles coming shortly thereafter to help ease the sting for buyers: one bundle in September and another one in October.
While these new hardware bundles might take the sting out of the overall price increase a little bit, it is certainly not a tremendous overall savings if you are simply looking to get your hands on the base hardware itself. First up in September is a brand new Mario Kart World bundle. Okay, big deal! That is going to be the very first combo hitting store shelves. The second bundle, which is coming later in October, is going to be a combo that includes the Nintendo Switch 2 system along with the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch Sports Resort. I am actually kind of excited for that title!
Both of these new hardware bundles will also include a three-month subscription to the Nintendo Switch Online service. I actually think Nintendo Switch Online is a really good service that offers a lot of great value for competitive multiplayer matches. Pricing for these bundles is quite interesting: the Nintendo Switch Sports Resort bundle will be priced at $529.99, whereas the Mario Kart World bundle will set you back $549.99. So, the Sports Resort package is a noticeably lesser expensive bundle overall. I hope that means physical copies of Switch Sports Resort will be less expensive too.
Overall, though, we are currently in a situation where the software still has not completely caught up with the raw capabilities of the hardware. I think the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware itself is genuinely great, but the game library has not been as strong out of the gate as what the original Nintendo Switch delivered during its launch window. At least, that is true for me personally. For someone who specifically likes action platformers, puzzle games, and similar genres, the current lineup is not as strong. If you love massive RPGs or indie titles, it has been fantastic!
Looking at both of the combos—you can see the retail boxes displayed above me—they look decent enough. The Mario Kart World box looks really similar to previous hardware packaging, but I do genuinely like what Nintendo has done here with the colorful box art design for the Nintendo Switch Sports Resort bundle. I think overall it is a really good-looking box, but obviously, it is what is inside that actually counts. For your $529 or $549 investment, you get full games, but note that these are digital downloads via voucher codes inside the box, not physical cartridges.
And again, you get that three months free of Nintendo Switch Online. Good deal, not great deal. I would still absolutely say that if you are on the fence and thinking about buying a Switch 2, do it right now before the price increase officially hits on September 1st. You are going to be cheaper off buying the base console right now at $449 and buying your preferred games and three months of Switch Online separately, rather than waiting to buy these bundles at the higher overall cost. Let me know your thoughts down below in the comments! Are these deals good enough for you?
Game preservation and physical media options are always huge topics for console gaming. Whether you prefer digital downloads or physical cartridges, price adjustments like this affect how we build our gaming collections over time. It will be interesting to see how Nintendo handles software sales going into the holidays.
If you are at all considering buying a Nintendo Switch 2, I would highly recommend doing it right now before September 1st, 2026. This is the exact date when we are going to see an official price increase hit the Nintendo Switch 2 model across the board. The base price of the console is going to jump from $449 up to $499. That is a significant and quite surprising hike for a console that is still relatively early in its overall lifecycle. However, Nintendo has also officially announced that there will be two brand new hardware bundles coming shortly thereafter to help ease the sting for buyers: one bundle in September and another one in October.
While these new hardware bundles might take the sting out of the overall price increase a little bit, it is certainly not a tremendous overall savings if you are simply looking to get your hands on the base hardware itself. First up in September is a brand new Mario Kart World bundle. Okay, big deal! That is going to be the very first combo hitting store shelves. The second bundle, which is coming later in October, is going to be a combo that includes the Nintendo Switch 2 system along with the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch Sports Resort. I am actually kind of excited for that title!
Both of these new hardware bundles will also include a three-month subscription to the Nintendo Switch Online service. I actually think Nintendo Switch Online is a really good service that offers a lot of great value for competitive multiplayer matches. Pricing for these bundles is quite interesting: the Nintendo Switch Sports Resort bundle will be priced at $529.99, whereas the Mario Kart World bundle will set you back $549.99. So, the Sports Resort package is a noticeably lesser expensive bundle overall. I hope that means physical copies of Switch Sports Resort will be less expensive too.
Overall, though, we are currently in a situation where the software still has not completely caught up with the raw capabilities of the hardware. I think the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware itself is genuinely great, but the game library has not been as strong out of the gate as what the original Nintendo Switch delivered during its launch window. At least, that is true for me personally. For someone who specifically likes action platformers, puzzle games, and similar genres, the current lineup is not as strong. If you love massive RPGs or indie titles, it has been fantastic!
Looking at both of the combos—you can see the retail boxes displayed above me—they look decent enough. The Mario Kart World box looks really similar to previous hardware packaging, but I do genuinely like what Nintendo has done here with the colorful box art design for the Nintendo Switch Sports Resort bundle. I think overall it is a really good-looking box, but obviously, it is what is inside that actually counts. For your $529 or $549 investment, you get full games, but note that these are digital downloads via voucher codes inside the box, not physical cartridges.
And again, you get that three months free of Nintendo Switch Online. Good deal, not great deal. I would still absolutely say that if you are on the fence and thinking about buying a Switch 2, do it right now before the price increase officially hits on September 1st. You are going to be cheaper off buying the base console right now at $449 and buying your preferred games and three months of Switch Online separately, rather than waiting to buy these bundles at the higher overall cost. Let me know your thoughts down below in the comments! Are these deals good enough for you?
Game preservation and physical media options are always huge topics for console gaming. Whether you prefer digital downloads or physical cartridges, price adjustments like this affect how we build our gaming collections over time. It will be interesting to see how Nintendo handles software sales going into the holidays.
