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Nintendo Blames Trump’s Tariffs for Switch 2 Delay

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The hottest new gaming console is already priced above what many had expected.

Guests play with the new Nintendo Switch 2 video-game console system of Japanese video-game company Nintendo during the worldwide presentation at the Grand Palais in Paris on April 2, 2025.
DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

Nintendo has slammed President Donald Trump’s tariff for delays in the scheduled April 9 pre-order date for the pricey new Switch 2, Business Insider reported. The company had to push back preorders this month and blamed the president for a new preorder date that will be disclosed later. “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,” the company statement read. “Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.” The upcoming $449.99 gaming console is $150 more than its original iteration, and what experts had predicted would cost $400 at most. Experts do suggest that the tariffs may not affect the price directly, or could have already influenced price increases in anticipation. The tariffs impose a 24 percent fee on Japan and 46 percent on Vietnam, where Nintendo now manufactures some components. However, the system already costs about $130 more in the U.S. than in Japan. The “evolving market conditions” refer to significant declines in the U.S. sharemarket in recent days.

Read it at Business Insider