For all the excitement of last week's Direct, Nintendo's Switch 2 pricing has gone down like a cold cup of something nasty. £75/$80 games, a sizeable bump in cost for the system itself, current economic conditions, and tariffs have melded into the perfect storm, with the once-affordable Nintendo now appearing a little more out of reach.
It's a problem around the world, but Switch fans in Scandinavia are feeling particularly hard done by the pricing after the region's main distributor has apparently driven up prices further, leading to some eyeing early-June flights abroad to save some cash on a launch-day Switch 2.
Let's start with some context. Bergsala AB holds exclusive distribution rights to Nintendo products in Nordic countries and has done so since the early '80s (before Nintendo of Europe was a thing). The firm has long been criticised for its pricing schemes in the region, with consoles and software regularly exceeding the rest of Europe by a sizeable margin, and Switch 2, it seems, is no exception.
Shortly after last week's reveal, it was pointed out on Reddit that Switch 2 pre-orders listed at Nordic storefronts held "absurdly overpriced" asking prices of around €100 more than in other European countries. This puts the going rate for a Switch 2 around €589 (~£510/$652) in Finland, 6,695 NOK (~£480/$610) in Norway, 4199 DKK (~£485/$620) in Denmark and 6800 SEK (£530/$680) in Sweden. There's an error in the following Reddit post that exaggerates the conversions, but you can look at our numbers above and see just how inflated things have become.
While import options from the likes of Amazon are available for select customers (those in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland), limited stock and warranty concerns mean this isn't always feasible.
Across several Reddit threads on the topic, we've seen hopeful customers float the idea of taking a flight to another country to bag a Switch 2, claiming it actually saves money to grab a console this way.
"Seems like it may be more affordable for someone to take a cheap RyanAir jet to Germany, buy a Switch, and fly home and still would've saved money vs buying it locally," notthegoatseguy said in one discussion. Elsewhere, RIPGeech cheekily went along the same lines: "Considering changing career to smuggle Switch 2s into the Nordics. You get a cheaper console, I get a free weekend in Tromso".
Of course, importing a console is always an option, and there's every chance that regional prices may fluctuate if the console doesn't meet sales expectations. But the fact that you could board a literal plane and pick up a Switch 2 for cheaper than buying one from your local store is a wild state of affairs.
Bergsala doesn't set a regulated price for Nintendo products in the region, so individual Nordic retailers can technically charge whatever they want for the hardware. What hasn't been specified, however, is how much of a markup the distribution firm has already applied to the consoles before they arrive with retailers — as many have noted in the above thread, the so-called "Bergsala tax" is hardly a new discovery to customers in the region.
Earlier this week, Nintendo of America's Bill Trinen defended Mario Kart World's controversial price, claiming it's all part of the company's approach, "whenever we look at a given game, we just look at what is the experience, and what's the content, and what's the value?"
