What Will Trump’s Tariffs Do To Nintendo Switch 2 Prices?

After a solid showcase with Nintendo showing off new games and hardware additions for the Nintendo Switch 2, what they did not say was the price of the system. Instead, they directed fans to their website where not only was it revealed that the Switch 2 would cost $450, up from the $300 of the original Switch, but also Mario Kart World specifically would cost $80, up from industry-standard $70, with prices going to the equivalent of $90 and above for physical copies in some regions.

Then, just hours later, President Donald Trump dumped dozens and dozens of tariffs on all over the world.

An immediate question now is what this might do to the just-announced, already expensive Switch 2, and the answer is that it’s extremely complicated. It’s impossible to know an actual figure, maybe Nintendo doesn’t even know yet, but generally, the idea is that the $450 amount could potentially be pushed even higher. Here’s what to know:

• Potential good news is that at least some experts believe that Trump’s pending tariffs were already priced into the original, high price of the Switch 2. One action Nintendo has taken is to shift hardware production to Vietnam and Cambodia away from China, in anticipation of Trump’s coming trade actions. So, given that this was anticipated a while ago, that could have led to this pricing.
• However, things spiral a bit from here. Trump announced a 24% tariff on goods from Japan. That alone may push the price past $450 if Nintendo reacts to that new action on a system that already has a big gap between the Japanese price of 49,980 yen, or $334, given that no doubt they did not know that exact figure before yesterday.

• Complicating that further is that Trump now slapping some of the largest tariffs in this entire package on Vietnam and Cambodia, 46% and 49% respectively. That was unlikely to be anticipated by Nintendo, and that will no doubt affect pricing there, which then in turn affects Nintendo, which then in turn affects US consumers.
• We do not know what this may do to the apparent $80 price of physical games in the US, as tariffs do not apply to digital goods, but it stands to reason it’s not impossible action could be taken there as well on the physical side (this one, I doubt).
• Of course, the Switch 2 will not be alone. China is the main production hub for the Xbox, where tariffs have skyrocketed. PS5 is also mainly manufactured in China and Japan. So if the Switch 2 increases hardware prices, that may also happen with its competitors as well. Experts expect more generally that all of these tariffs will push up the cost of all gaming hardware like the price of so many other goods are likely to be raised.

The Switch 2 is the most relevant console in this conversation given that it was just priced 24 hours ago. But the $450 total with $80 games was already pushing its luck, and any higher than that, tariffs or no, and consumers may balk entirely at the purchase when June rolls around.

Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Play Puzzles & Games on Forbes

FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™

Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase

Play Now

Pinpoint By Linkedin

Guess The Category

Play Now

Queens By Linkedin

Crown Each Region

Play Now

Crossclimb By Linkedin

Unlock A Trivia Ladder

Play Now

Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.