Noriega: Good luck breaking down the Switch 2 and tariffs with your kids

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SALT LAKE CITY — Wednesday, April 9, 2025, was supposed to be pre-order day for the Switch 2 video game console from Nintendo.

How do I know this?

I’ve had a steady reminder from my 14, 20 and 23-year-old sons for the past week.

The Switch 2 was given a price and release date a week ago during the Nintendo Direct presentation, which is basically the NCAA Tournament for gamers. Kids fake illnesses and throw parties to stay home from school and watch the Nintendo Direct.

My boys learned that the Switch 2 would arrive on June 5 of this year and that it will carry a price of $450. This was a surprisingly high price point and 50% more than the previous Switch price of $300.

Games are going to cost $70-$80, up from the standard $50-$60 per game.

It’s the most anticipated game console of the year. Pre-orders were expected to go through the roof.

This was all before the Trump tariffs.

“As we priced the Switch 2 of $449… we didn’t consider tariffs into that equation. We felt that was going to be the right price point for our consumers,” Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser said to CNBC.

The Trump tariffs could change everything. When Trump hit Japan with 24% tariffs, the Switch 2 theoretically could have jumped in price to $558. $80 games could now cost $100 per game.

This caused Nintendo to delay the pre-orders indefinitely.

They told Engadget, “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.”

On Wednesday afternoon, we saw the stock market take a dramatic upturn when Trump announced on Truth Social that he’d be putting a 90-day pause on the tariffs.

This didn’t change anything for the Switch pre-orders in America—at least not since I’ve been writing this.

We do know that the 24% tariff on Japan is gone, but there is a blanket 10% tariff that will remain. This could bump the price from $450 to $495 if the full tariff is passed onto the consumer, but Nintendo is still contemplating its options.

In other parts of the world, the Switch 2 pre-order delay hit Canada, but launched in the UK, where Switch 2 console pre-orders quickly sold out.

I haven’t been home yet, but I’m sure this is going to be the only dinner table conversation topic allowed. For the first and perhaps only time in their lives, my boys will sit with rapt attention as I drone on about global economics and tariffs—which as a father, I’m going to count as a win.

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