Topline
The new Nintendo Switch 2 console will release in June at a launch price of $449.99, the gaming company announced Wednesday—a higher-than-expected price some analysts have attributed to Trump’s tariffs, including levies on Vietnam, where the company has moved much of its Switch production to from China in recent years.
The Nintendo Switch 2 will cost $450 on launch, more than the $300 its predecessor initially cost. … More
Key Facts
Trump’s tariffs, including those levied on China and Vietnam, where Switch consoles are produced, have put “pressure a supply chain” Nintendo has “spent years optimizing away from China” by creating additional production facilities in Vietnam, Joost van Dreunen, a New York University Stern School of Business professor who teaches about the business of video games, told Forbes.
van Dreunen said consumers should expect “reduced holiday promotions, 10-15% price increases on accessories,” and more games to adopt the $80 pricing standard Nintendo appears to have set with the price tag for its new “Mario Kart World” game—which was an increase from the previous industry standard of $70 for games.
The tariffs hit Nintendo at its “most vulnerable moment,” van Dreunen said, citing the timing of the Switch 2 rollout, adding the company likely built some buffer into the console’s high price tag, but noted these tariffs were steeper than the company likely expected.
The Switch 2 costs 50% more than the original Switch retailed for at launch, representing a price hike that Kantan Games consultancy founder Serkan Toto told Reuters was “a bit higher than what was widely expected.”
The prices for the Switch 2 and its newly announced games sparked confusion as Nintendo did not announce the cost during an hour-long presentation Wednesday that focused on the console’s new features, though the company announced the price in a press release later that day.
The Switch 2 will be released in June, eight years after the original Switch hit stores.
Is The Switch 2 Price Hike Because Of Trump Tariffs?
Some analysts have indicated President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs may have been one factor that influenced Nintendo to hike prices. Toto told the Financial Times the steep prices “suggested Nintendo was building a buffer in case tariffs hit supply chains harder than expected.” It was initially unclear whether Trump would impose tariffs on Vietnam, where much of Nintendo’s Switch production occurs, but Trump announced Wednesday that Vietnam, as well as China, would face some of the steepest rates. van Dreunen, who is also the CEO of data firm ALDORA, previously told gaming outlet Polygon that Trump’s Chinese tariffs would make gaming consoles, and “everything around it as well,” more expensive, and that Nintendo’s effort to move some production to Vietnam to avoid Chinese tariffs would become “moot” if Vietnam was also targeted.
Surprising Fact
Nintendo announced in 2019 it would move much of its Switch production facilities to Vietnam in an effort to avoid tariffs on China. Trump, then president during his first term, had raised tariffs on China multiple times, including just months after Nintendo announced it would shift some production away from China.
Chief Critics
The Switch 2 price hike sparked some blowback from customers online, some of whom voiced fears Trump’s tariffs could make the console or games even more expensive. In a thread announcing the price on the r/gaming subreddit, which has 46 million members, most of the most-upvoted comments criticized the console’s high price. “That’s too expensive and the price will never go down,” one user wrote, receiving more than 1,100 upvotes. Another user, upvoted nearly 2,000 times, called the prices of the games “hard to swallow.” Saltydkdan, a gaming YouTuber with more than 600,000 subscribers, posted on X: “Switch 2 games being $70 and $80 kind of killed my buzz, not gonna lie.” After Trump’s tariff announcement, a Reddit user in the r/Nintendo subreddit posted a thread fearing future price increases, garnering more than 1,100 upvotes.
Tangent
Nintendo announced the Switch 2 on April 2, the day Trump dubbed “Liberation Day,” in which he unveiled tariff increases worldwide. Trump imposed tariffs of 34% on China—on top of already-imposed tariffs, making the effective rate 54%—and 46% on Vietnam, making them two of the hardest-hit countries. Trump’s tariffs are widely expected to make many consumer goods more expensive.
How Is The Switch 2 Different From Its Predecessor?
The Switch 2 arrives with visual upgrades over its predecessor, including 1080p screens and the possibility of playing in 4K resolution if connected to a compatible television. Some of the controls are also upgraded, including the Joy-Con controllers, which can now function as a mouse. The Switch 2 will also support in-game chats and screensharing, and it will come with 256 gigabytes of internal storage, eight times the storage capability of its predecessor. Among the new games announced are “Mario Kart World,” the first open-world installment of the game series, as well as “Donkey Kong Bonanza,” “Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment,” “The Duskbloods,” “Kirby Air Riders” and “Survival Kids.”
Further Reading
Mario Kart World On Switch 2 Will Cost $80 (Kotaku)
Nintendo’s Switch 2 has big shoes to fill – at a much higher price (CNN)
