Nintendo recently showcased the Switch 2 during the latest Nintendo Direct presentation. By the end of it all, many fans immediately took notice of the fact that Nintendo never dropped the price of the console despite the fact that it’s slated to be released on June 5, 2025.
With some research, it was discovered that the Switch 2’s retail price is set to be a whopping $449.99. However, it’s the fact that all Nintendo Switch 2 major releases going forward, such as Mario Kart World, being priced at $79.99 that might be the most bitter pill of all that consumers will have to swallow.
What are the causes of Nintendo’s sudden price escalations? Though Nintendo has remained mostly radio silent on the issue, there’s been plenty of speculation to suggest that the Trump administration’s tariff policies might be the cause of all of this.
Of course, it should be noted that for several years now, Nintendo has been moving Switch (and Switch 2) production to Vietnam from China to “diversify risks” associated with production costs.
The more likely scenario is that Nintendo was simply adjusting prices in response to ongoing inflation. Additionally, many suspect that Nintendo might’ve believed that they’d be able to distract fans with the Switch 2’s game library and specs as it quietly revealed the prices due to the amazing success of the Switch.
Regardless, fans immediately took notice of the prices. During the proceeding days in which Nintendo held “Nintendo Treehouse” streams to showcase Switch 2 games and content, fans were spamming “Drop The Price!” and #DropThePrice” into the chat, all throughout the entire event. It was a nonstop ordeal that Nintendo never once addressed.
President Trump’s “Liberation Day” announced “reciprocal tariffs” on virtually all countries, including Vietnam, on the exact same day in which they held the Switch 2 Direct. Fans were previously told that preorders for the Switch 2 will begin on April 9, 2025.
Unfortunately, Nintendo (via GameStop) has apparently announced that the original preorder date now must be delayed due to the potential impact of the tariffs announced earlier this week. At the very least, the original release date for the Switch 2, June 5, 2025, is still set in place at the moment.
GameStop’s message about the Switch 2 preorder date:
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.
GameStop will continue to work closely with Nintendo and provide updates as soon as more information becomes available. Stay tuned for further details.
An update from Nintendo pic.twitter.com/iygReQlBwl
— GameStop (@gamestop) April 4, 2025
Needless to say, this has some rather problematic implications. For one, it suggests that Nintendo did not properly and adequately factor the price of the Switch 2 and its major releases based on a scenario involving the Trump administration’s tariffs.
This suggests that Nintendo could announce that retail prices in the United States may need to rise even higher than what was previously reported, which already had fans riled up. As one can imagine, Nintendo’s in a bit of a tight spot right now.
Nintendo has clearly been trying to avoid making a direct statement about the subject. Meanwhile, former Nintendo employees have suggested that Nintendo is probably scrambling right now trying to figure out how to address the gaming community’s concerns, but believe that any price drop before release is unrealistic to expect.
Regardless, things could end up going from bad to worse if Nintendo is forced to announce a price increase for their upcoming product. As always, you can expect that we’ll be keeping an eye on the situation to see what comes of all of this.
Source: Event Hubs