Nintendo yesterday announced the Nintendo Switch 2 will launch on Thursday, June 5 for $449.99 USD, while a Mario Kart World Bundle will also be available for $499.99 USD.
A new report by Financial Times (via VideoGamesChronicle) suggests the Switch 2 costing $150 more than the original Switch did at launch is partly due to Nintendo anticipating Trump tariffs.
Japanese video game analyst and founder of Kantan Games, Serkan Toto stated the price “suggested Nintendo was building a buffer in case tariffs hit supply chains harder than expected.”
A separate report from Financial Times last month suggested Nintendo has shifted production away from China and that over half of the hardware imported into the US from Nintendo comes from Vietnam and Cambodia.
However, Trump this week announced he will be imposing a 46 percent tariff on Vietnam and a 49 percent tariff on Cambodia starting April 9.
MST Financial analysts David Gibson did say Nintendo had shipped 383,000 Switch 2 consoles to the USA across five days in January.
“Export data combined with finished product codes confirms that Nintendo shipped finished Switch 2 [from Vietnam] across five days in January for a total of 383,000 units with all of them going to the USA,” said Gibson. “I suspect this occurred to test the distribution system and get ahead of the risk of tariffs. I expect the numbers to have ramped-up significantly in February and March.”
A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Bluesky.
Full Article – https://www.vgchartz.com/article/464368/experts-say-switch-2-450-price-likely-influenced-by-trump-tariffs/
