Nintendo was likely hoping that its Switch 2 Direct would steer discussion towards excitement for the next generation of Nintendo hardware, but the sad reality of the economic situation in the United States has thrown a lot of that into a blender. With President Trump’s global tariffs destabilizing the global economy on an unprecedented level, many were starting to believe that the $450 price tag for the Switch 2 hardware was a direct reaction to those tariffs. It didn’t help that Nintendo of America delayed the pre-order date for the Switch 2 in the US, lending some credence to the speculation of the tariffs having an impact.
According to Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser, however, Nintendo did not account for tariffs when pricing the Switch 2.
In an interview with CNBC, Bowser was questioned about the price point of the latest console and whether or not the tariffs were a factor in Nintendo deciding on an MSRP. “We didn’t consider tariffs into that equation,” Bowser said. “We felt that [$450] was going to be the right price point for our consumers, and the right value proposition [if you will] for the device that we are creating.”
The director of Research and Insights for Niko Partners, Daniel Ahmad, gave some extra insight into that statement on Bluesky. “This is more of a PR statement tbh,” he wrote. “Nintendo will of course have accounted for as much as possible prior to announcing the price. What they (and no one else) expected was a significantly higher 46% tariff. That’s what is leading to the pricing re-assessment at this point.”
So, make of that what you will. Nintendo is likely trying to spin upcoming news of a price increase in its favor, but then no one could have anticipated that President Trump would take things to such an extreme.
As for whether or not you’ll be able to find a Switch 2 at launch, Bowser did confirm that Nintendo has sent extra stock to retailers in an attempt to meet demand. “Our goal is to meet the demand that’s going to be out there for Nintendo Switch 2,” he told CNBC. “We’ve had some time to build up inventories on a global basis, so we really do hope we can meet that demand.” When pressed further by tech correspondent Steve Kovach on if that is possible, Bowser said, “It remains to be seen, but that certainly is our goal.”
While the US pre-order date has been delayed indefinitely, Nintendo still plans to launch the Switch 2 globally on June 5th, 2025. It remains to be seen if it will stay at $450.
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Nintendo Switch 2: Hardware, pricing, release date – Everything you need to know
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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.
