Featured Image Credit: Nintendo
Topics: Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
It’s about to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better, because, according to an “internal assessment memo by a major Apple and Nintendo supplier”, the Nintendo Switch 2’s price is already set to increase.
Thank you in advance to Nikkei's Cheng Ting-Fang and Lauly Li for the original source (per Video Games Chronicle).
At the moment, the Nintendo Switch 2 is set to retail in the United States for $449.99 on June 5th.
However, a recent report more than implies that $449.99 is the minimum you'll probably end up paying for Nintendo's next console at launch.
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“According to an internal assessment memo by a major Apple and Nintendo supplier seen by Nikkei Asia, game consoles are still subject to a 145% U.S. tariff on goods made in China,” reads Nikkei’s report.
This means that products such as game consoles aren’t safe from the recently announced tariff exemptions, even though the likes of smartphones and computers are.
If you’re curious as to why China-specific tariffs will affect a product that’s being sold by Nintendo (a Japanese company), that’s because it would seem that the majority of Nintendo Switch 2s have been manufactured in China.
This is almost definitely the reason why pre-orders for the console were suspended in both the United States and Canada, because Nintendo need to figure out how exactly the tariffs are going to change its previously announced recommended retail price.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if Nintendo are just waiting to see if the Trump administration will change their mind… something that isn’t out of the question considering they’ve already done exactly that since announcing them earlier in the month.
Plus, who knows? It could get worse. Trump announced a couple of days ago that he might reveal new smartphone-specific tariffs, mere days after making the products exempt.
That’s basically my way of saying this information will likely change on a day-to-day basis, so just cross your fingers and hope that things get better by the time pre-orders open.