According to an official statement from Nintendo, US pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 have been delayed until some time after the originally outlined date of April 9, as the company waits and sees how the massive economic policy shift changes the market.
The statement, released to press, reads as follows, “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. Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.”
On April 2, US President Donald Trump announced a vast collection of tariffs for countries all across the world, including but not limited to Japan and Vietnam. Japan is where Nintendo is based of course, but that is not where manufacturing takes place. Much of the production for Nintendo hardware happens in China, and perhaps more importantly Vietnam, the latter being where the company relocated some of its manufacturing in what one source claimed was in anticipation of US tariffs placed on China. Vietnam is among one of the countries impacted the most by recent events, being hit with a 46% tariff. Meanwhile, China has been hit with an additional 34% tariff on top of what had already been levied against it. As a baseline tariff across all goods, this would certainly impact imports of the Nintendo Switch 2.
This announcement follows major economic turmoil worldwide, as Wall Street brockerage JP Morgan raised its recession risk percentage up to 60%, something that itself could impact sales across the US. Economies across the world have also been hit by the tariff announcement, with changes to both imports and exports set to drastically change predicted growth across all territories.
What this could mean for you American readers sitting at home is that the Nintendo Switch 2 could retail at a higher price than you were expecting. This, obviously, isn’t good news. Especially at a time when money is already tight and the cost of living is rather brutal across the board. Sadly, we’ll have to wait a little longer to find out just how bad a hit US consumers will be taking.
Does this change your plans on picking up a Nintendo Switch 2 on launch? Let us know below!