On April 4, Nintendo of America told American retailers that pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2, along with its physical games and accessories, have been postponed to a later date in order to assess the impact of Liberation Day tariffs announced on April 2.
While the baseline 10% tariff rate is now in effect for all countries, some countries will be hit by additional tariffs on April 9. It is important to note that these tariffs affect all imports, regardless of product, and are paid by the entity that imports them.
How could these additional tariffs affect the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 and other software? NintendoSoup finds out.
Gibson at MST reported that the export data for Nintendo Switch 2 systems manufactured in Vietnam, destined for the US market, are valued at USD338 per unit for customs duties.
This would mean that, if the United States did not threaten to impose any tariffs, Nintendo would have most likely priced the system at USD399.99. Adjusted for inflation, this would make it in line with past Nintendo home consoles, including Nintendo Switch.
Back in 2017, Nintendo Switch systems were valued at around USD260+ for customs duties, and the console continues to have a suggested retail price of USD299.99. Unlike other platforms, Nintendo was making a small profit off each unit sold, and we could expect that Nintendo is also making a small profit off each Switch 2 console.
After the April 2 Nintendo Direct, retailer listings revealed that the standalone Switch 2 would cost USD449.99 in the US, USD50 more than USD399.99, the price that many fans and industry watchers expected.
Based on the information we now know, this means that Nintendo expected the US government to impose a 15% tariff on imports.
Aside from Japan, which has a Japanese-only system offered at a lower price due to the weak yen, the suggested retail price in all regions were priced around the same as the US in order to prevent reselling and parallel imports from other countries.
This isn’t unusual as most electronic companies, such as Apple, offer their products at a price point similar to the US SRP in overseas markets for similar reasons.
Nintendo products are primarily manufactured in five key markets, and in principle, the Liberation Day tariffs will apply on all imports, regardless of product.
Here is the list:
At the moment, Nintendo is manufacturing Nintendo Switch 2 systems in China and Vietnam, with Vietnam handling all consoles destined for the US market. Nintendo Switch 2 accessories, on the other hand, come from three different sources – China, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Game cards are manufactured in Japan and games for the US market are shipped to North America for final assembly.
While Malaysia and Cambodia have been used for production of some Nintendo Switch systems during the COVID-19 public health emergency, it seems that Nintendo isn’t using these countries to produce Nintendo Switch 2 systems at this time.
Based on these numbers, here’s how much the Switch 2 will be priced at if Nintendo exports from the four countries after the tariffs:
Assuming Nintendo continues to rely on Vietnam, the SRP would have to be adjusted to USD569.99. While Malaysia offers the smallest increase at USD489.99, Nintendo would need months to set up production lines and scale up production in the country. It is unclear how feasible this is considering that Malaysia wasn’t producing as much Switch consoles as the other countries. As a result, relying on Malaysia is bound to make the Switch 2 even harder to find in the US in the short term.
The 24% tariff on Game Cards from Japan may also affect the price of Nintendo Switch 2 physical games, unless publishers decide to eat the cost.
Currently, there is a USD10 price difference between the physical and digital versions of first-party Switch 2 titles. The markup could be explained by higher manufacturing costs as well as a buffer for tariffs. Assuming that buffer was also 15%, the SRP of physical games from Nintendo could increase by up to USD5 in the US.
As for other accessories, price increases are guaranteed due to the large tariffs. SRPs could increase by up to 50% as all three countries Nintendo are relying on for accessories are heavily affected.
The best course of action for Nintendo at this point of time is to wait. Countries are responding to the tariffs and Vietnam is trying to negotiate by removing all their tariffs on US imports. If no resolution is found for the tariffs, American customers must be prepared for price increases beyond the current SRPs.
It’s also important to note that the tariffs will not just affect Nintendo Switch 2, but other products offered by Nintendo’s competitors, as well as products outside the gaming industry. These price increases will only be known after companies run out of their existing inventory, imported before the tariffs, in the US.
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