U.S. Tariffs Cause Delay in Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Orders

In somewhat not so shocking news, Nintendo hot off the backlash of the hidden prices of all things Switch 2, has fallen victim to the juggernaut of global trade uncertainty. (See our coverage of the April 2 Direct). At this point, Nintendo and it’s US retail partners have pulled back their announcement of preorders beginning on April 9, 2025. Speculation is that the original MSRP is going to be adjusted to reflect current economic circumstances. It remains to be seen if and when pre-orders will happen, AND what price point will accompany it. Despite these recent developments, according to a statement made by Nintendo, the launch date of June 5, 2025 remains unchanged.

Short History

Back in 2019, Nintendo moved most of its manufacturing to Vietnam to circumvent new US trade tariffs on Chinese imports. Now Vietnam tops the chart as one of the “special” tariff rates (46%!!!), leaving Nintendo caught in the middle. Historically Nintendo has attempted to make a profit on it’s hardware unlike Sony or Microsoft which use their consoles as a loss leader for games and services.

Before the pandemic, hardware has been increasingly difficult not only to find in a timely fashion, but almost impossible to find at MSRP. Scalpers, bots, and resellers have been winning. This time around, Nintendo seemed to be getting ahead of the scalpers with the Switch 2. However they just couldn’t outrun what’s shaping up to be some of the craziest global economic situations yet seen.

GameStop Speaks Up

My Thoughts

While this conversation is almost impossible to have without touching upon politics, we at the GO will continue to focus on the positives of gaming and gaming culture, and attempt to leave the politics at work. It is frustrating to the n-th degree that these recent events have and will impact our beloved hobby, (has anyone tried building a PC in the last 3 years? whoof).

Please continue to share the love of gaming of all kinds. Stay tuned here at The Gaming Outsider as we follow this developing story.

Peace

Paul Hein