Nintendo Surprises With Switch 2 Price Hike—As Trump Imposes Tariffs On China And Vietnam

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.

Key Facts

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)