this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2025
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Well, yeah, but if the final store price is 750 instead of 450 the number of consoles allocated to the US market, let alone sold through, may be much lower.
Given that tariffs could be lifted at random, just like they were set, not even scalpers would want to buy tech that could drop in price dramatically any day.
Presumably the same tariffs will apply to PlayStations and Xboxes too (both made in China with components from Korea, and the former being a Japanese company).
Also, most PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
American gamers aren't going to be overwhelmed with cheaper choices.
This is true. That said, presumably at least some of those have either a pre-existing install base they can keep selling digital games and services to or built-up stock.
Nintendo has zero Switch 2 units in US households and will be expected to honor preorder prices. Who knows how much stock they have in the US at this point. Probably next to zero.
US gamers won't have cheaper choices to buy new hardware, but they sure will have the obvious choice of not spending money on unnecessary new toys at all. Especially because for how messed up gaming hardware is going to get there are going to be entire other market segments getting much worse that you don't get to just opt out of.
This is atrocious timing for Nintendo. But hey, Europe has 450 million people and you weren't going to sell 100 million Switches day one. Shave fifty euros off that sticker and I betcha some of them will take that unused US stock out of your hands and even buy some games on top.