I’m sure you’ve heard that Nintendo is delaying its Switch 2 pre-orders in the U.S. due to President Trump’s tariffs. The company says it wants to “assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions”—which is basically a polite way of saying it’s deciding whether it needs to raise the price of its console here. Honestly, that’s fair, and I respect Nintendo for being upfront about it.
However, if you think this is only going to affect Nintendo, I wish that were the case. These tariffs being levied against countries like Japan, China, and Cambodia will affect pretty much everything you hold near and dear. Since we’re a gaming and geek culture outlet, we’ll stay in that lane—but heads up, the news still isn’t great.
The U.S. imports a massive amount of technology and manufacturing, and these tariffs are going to hurt us where it counts: our bank accounts.
What will be impacted by these tariffs? Plenty. Here are just a few examples:
- Current generation consoles (PlayStation 5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and the upcoming Switch 2)
- Computer processors (AMD, Intel)
- Graphics cards (Nvidia, AMD, Intel)
- Computer cases
- Handheld gaming PCs
- Laptops
- DVDs & Blu-rays
- Gaming accessories (controllers, charging kits, etc.)
- Tabletop games
- Trading card games
- Toys
- Statues and collectibles (gaming/anime-themed)
- Headphones & headsets
- Microphones
- Cameras
- TVs & monitors
- T-shirts and hoodies
- Plushies
I need to point out something that people might gloss over. Taiwan is the main country producing nearly every CPU and GPU on the market. Regardless of whether it’s AMD, Nvidia, or Intel, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) makes the parts for all of them. Taiwan just got slammed by a 32% tariff.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg—and we’re the Titanic. Nearly everything we enjoy could see a price hike, with no clear end in sight.
I’m not trying to scare the crap out of you. That’s not the goal. I just want to keep you informed—because politics absolutely affects you one way or another, and in this case it might have just opened a massive black hole in your bank account.
So, if you’re on the fence about making a purchase and you’ve got the money, it might be wise to buy now rather than later. Several companies have already said they’ll be passing these new costs on to customers. Best Buy and Target, for example, have made it clear they won’t absorb those costs, and they’re far from the only two taking that stance.
If you thought prices were high now, it’s about to get rough. Like many of you, I’ll need to be more cautious about what I purchase while these tariffs—and more importantly, the people in this country’s administration—play games that directly impact our lives.
