It's been a roller coaster for Nintendo this week. The Mario maker held its Nintendo Switch 2 reveal on Wednesday, which showed the upcoming console and its games.
On the same day, President Donald Trump revealed he was implementing new tariffs on countries including Japan, where Nintendo is based, and Vietnam, where the Switch 2 is reportedly going to be manufactured. This led to a sudden announcement on Friday by Nintendo that soured the reveal for fans in the U.S.
Nintendo says it will delay pre-orders for the Switch 2 in the U.S., which was originally planned for April 9, as reported by IGN.
"Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions," Nintendo said.
This change will only affect the date of pre-orders in the U.S. as the launch date of the Switch 2 will remain on June 5. There are concerns, however, that this change by Nintendo could be a sign of it dealing with the possibility of a more expensive console.
How much will the Switch 2 cost?
Nintendo revealed the cost of the Switch 2 on Wednesday's stream. Pricing will start at $449 for the console itself and $499 for the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World.
That pricing caught gamers off guard as it was higher than the launch prices of previous Nintendo consoles. There were also some worries about a higher cost of games with Mario Kart World having an MSRP of $79, which is $10 more than new game releases.
The cost of the Switch 2, however, might have to be adjusted by Nintendo due to tariffs. According to the New York Times, Trump's tariffs on Japan are now 24% and for Vietnam it's 46%.
Exactly how much this increase in tariffs will translate to the Switch 2 pricing is unclear as of now. But with Nintendo manufacturing the console in Vietnam and likely using parts from other countries, possibly China, and with the company being based in Japan, it's hard to deny the possibility.
Back in January, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) released a report saying tariffs could increase the cost of video game consoles by 40% if tariffs were instituted. It appears they weren't far off.
Analysts are expecting the same, but are still cautious, as this is an unprecedented move by Nintendo as well as the U.S. government.
"When GPU prices increased in February that's because tariffs on China were 10%. When they increased again in March that's because they were 20%. Now they're 54% for China and other Asia markets incl. Vietnam are 46%. Unless reversed, expect all gaming hardware to see jumps," said Daniel Ahmad, director of research & insights at Niko Partners, which analyzes the video game industry.
When GPU prices increased in February that's because tariffs on China were 10%.When they increased again in March that's because they were 20%.Now they're 54% for China and other Asia markets incl. Vietnam are 46%.Unless reversed, expect all gaming hardware to see jumps. https://t.co/8bvwDTxKRyApril 4, 2025
A ray of hope for consoles.
There is a slight bit of hope for the future pricing of video game consoles.
Vietnam has reportedly spoken with Trump and wants to reduce its tariffs on the U.S. to zero, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. It's unclear when this will happen or what this could change, but companies like Nintendo, Apple, and Nike specifically moved the manufacturing of their goods from China to Vietnam in order to avoid possible ramifications such as these tariffs.
Another potentially good sign for Nintendo is that it reportedly already shipped more than 300,000 Switch 2 consoles back in January, according to the Financial Times. This move could have been a move to specifically avoid tariffs on launch day, but that remains to be seen as well.
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