Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders delayed amid Trump tariff uncertainty
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The Nintendo Switch 2. Image: Nintendo
Nintendo is delaying preorders for its hotly anticipated Switch 2 gaming console amid tariff uncertainty, the company said Friday.
Why it matters: It's one of the first big examples of President Trump's new, sweeping tariff regime having a clear consumer impact.
Catch up quick: Nintendo revealed the Switch 2 release date (June 5) and price ($449) Wednesday morning, just hours before Trump announced new tariffs that will likely result in higher prices for all sorts of consumer goods sold in the U.S.
What they're saying: "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 said in a statement emailed to several media outlets.
- "Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged."
Between the lines: The delay gives Nintendo time to reconsider the Switch 2's price before Mario and Zelda fans lock in their orders.
- $449 was already a surprisingly high launch price for a Nintendo console, which tend to be a little cheaper at release compared to Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox machines.
- Nintendo's previous console, the original Switch, released in 2017 for $299 — about $389 in 2025 dollars — and helped reverse Nintendo's fortunes after its Wii U console was widely considered a flop.
The intrigue: Nintendo "has been shifting production away from China since the first Trump administration signaled its intent to upend the global trading system," the Financial Times reports.
- "Now, according to analysts and import data, more than half of Nintendo's hardware imported into the U.S. is from Vietnam and Cambodia."
- Both of those countries were on Trump's list of new tariffs from Wednesday, with Vietnam at 46% and Cambodia at 49%.
