The current electronics and computer markets have been ravaged by president Trump’s ever-changing global tariffs. Last year before the launch of the Switch 2, Nintendo was unsure of when it should release the console in the US as prices were seemingly changing on an hourly basis. Competitors Microsoft and Sony have even increased the price of their consoles multiple times in accordance with rising RAM and SSD costs. When the US Supreme Court found that Trump’s tariffs were illegally imposed, Nintendo decided to sue the US government for refunds. Now, it seems two players from the US have gotten the same idea, just against Nintendo.
In a report from Game File, it has been stated that two players have filed a lawsuit against Nintendo for what they believe is the company seeking to “unjustly profit from any tariff refunds” it might receive. Gregory Hoffret from California and Prashant Sharan from Washington are arguing that due to Nintendo “needing” to increase the price of peripherals and even the older Nintendo Switch models, any refunds the company should receive from the US government will essentially become extra profit from consumers.
The lawsuit reads, “Unless restrained by this Court, Nintendo stands to recover the same tariff payments twice – once from consumers through higher prices and again from the federal government through tariff refunds, including interest paid by the government on those funds.” The lawsuit even quotes Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa, who told investors last May that the rising tariffs would have a direct impact on the pricing used for its products.
Reporter Stephen Totilo, writing for Game File, asked Nintendo if the company planned to pass any refunds received onto customers who paid inflated prices. The company responded, “We can confirm that we filed a request. We have nothing else to share on this topic.” This flies in contrast to FedEx, which has stated it will dole out refunds to customers affected by the tariffs.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
