Earlier this month, the current U.S. administration implemented an additional 10% tariff on all goods imported into the country from China. While the full effect of this increase is yet to be seen, it poses a potential price hike for consoles and accessories developed in China, which, naturally, is a cause for concern to both consumers and developers.
Acknowledging this, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has said that the company is looking into the potential impact that the tariffs could have on the upcoming financial year and the launch of the Switch 2. As reported by Reuters (and translated by Nintendo Everything), Furukawa explained in a press conference that the company is “predicting various geopolitical risks and establishing ways to respond”.
“Nintendo Switch is not only manufactured in China,” Furukawa noted, “but in places such as Vietnam and Cambodia as well”.
With many Switch consoles already imported into the US by the time the tariffs came into effect, Furukawa suggests that there should be little financial damage this fiscal year: “While we anticipate a certain impact, the influence on this year’s financial results is expected to be minimal”.
The Nintendo president didn’t comment specifically on FY2025/26 and the launch of Switch 2, though there’s every chance that the impact may be greater.
Nintendo expanded its manufacturing operations outside China in 2019, when proposed tariffs once again threatened to drive up prices. In a rare display of unity, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft joined forces to pen a letter to the US government, warning of the tariffs’ negative effects on the gaming industry should console sales not be exempt from the increased taxes.
The letter led to a successful outcome for the companies in 2019, though, six years later, no such exemptions currently seem to be in place. We’ll have to wait and see just how “minimal” of an impact the price increase has on consumer spending when there’s a hot new console on the market.
