While there had been a report earlier this week that Nintendo might be hoping to boost the domestic sales of the Switch 2 by allowing retailers in Japan to keep a gross margin of around 5 percent for every console sold, the company has come out and denied the veracity of these reports. Taking to social media platform X, the company has said that the report is not true, and that the company’s standard procedures prevent it from disclosing information about its deals with retail and distribution partners.
“On June 2, 2025 (JST), a news report related to the wholesale price of Nintendo Switch 2 in the Japanese market was published,” posted the company on X. “We want to clarify that this report is not true. Nintendo does not disclose any information regarding business conditions with distribution and retail partners.”
While there might be a chance that Nintendo might be trying these tactics to bolster its retail presence, the fact that there hasn’t been much in the way of hard evidence about this works against the original Bloomberg report. The original report cites the fact that retailers usually tend to make more of a profit margin on console sales when they’re bundled with additional games or peripherals, rather than sticking to thinner margins by selling just the console itself, as one of the reasons Nintendo might be doing this.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is on track to do incredibly well in Japan, with president Shuntaro Furukawa revealing back in April that more than 2 million fans in the country had signed up for the lottery system being used to assign pre-orders. In a post on X, Furukawa apologised, saying that not everyone that signed up for the lottery would be able to get a console on launch day. He did, however, promise to bolster Nintendo’s capabilities of making and shipping more consoles moving forward.
“Furthermore, we are planning to produce and ship a substantial number of Nintendo Switch 2 units moving forward,” he wrote. “We sincerely apologize for the time it will take to fully meet your expectations and kindly ask for your understanding.”
The console’s popularity in Japan might have quite a bit to do with a lower-priced Japanese-only version of the Switch 2 being available. Compared to the global version of the Switch 2, priced at ¥69,990, a Japanese-only version of the console is priced at ¥49,980.
Nintendo has also been taking steps to prevent scalpers from disrupting the market leading up to the Switch 2’s June 5 launch. Back in May, the company had announced that it was partnering up with various online storefronts like Yahoo! Auctions, Yahoo! Flea Market, Rakuten Rukuma, and Mercari to combat scalpers.
“Nintendo and the three service providers will take measures to combat fraudulent listings of Nintendo products, including Nintendo Switch 2, that violate their respective terms of use, including by having the service providers proactively remove listings and by establishing a collaborative system for sharing information,” wrote the company (translation via Google).
