I’m sure we’ve all 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 thus, these tariffs are going to hurt us where it counts: our bank accounts.
What will be impacted by these tariffs? Well, lots, but here are just a few examples for you to consider.
- 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 think I need to point out something that people might gloss over. Taiwan is the main company that produces just about every CPU and GPU that anyone uses. Regardless of AMD, Nvidia, Intel, whatever. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) makes the parts for ALL of these companies and 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.
Now, 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 in one shape or another, and in this instance and 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 stated they’ll be passing these new costs on to customers. Best Buy and Target, for example, have made it clear they won’t be eating those costs, and they are far from the only two that will be doing so.
If you thought prices were high now, it’s about to get rough, and myself, like I’m sure many of you, will need to be more cautious about what we purchase while these tariffs, and more importantly, the person in this country’s administration play games that impact our lives.
