As of April 2025, Donald John Trump has enacted a 24% tariff on Japan (where physical Switch 2 game cartridges are made), and a 46% tariff on Vietnam, where the Switch 2 video game system is manufactured. Due to this, Nintendo has delayed pre-orders for Switch 2 consoles sold in America to ponder their options.
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.
Nintendo will not delay the system, but based on their wording it’s possible prices could increase even more in the USA. This is not good, especially considering Nintendo is already going through a bit of a pricing crisis with Mario Kart World and even the old Tears of the Kingdom game seemingly costing upwards of $79 USD. During Nintendo’s Treehouse: Live presentations, the live chat was full of nothing but users spamming “DROP THE PRICE.”
Nintendo is also experiencing a Japan-exclusive scandal, where foreigners living in Japan are expected to pay 20,000 yen more to play the system in English (or other languages).