How Much Will the Switch 2 Cost After Tariffs?
Wednesday was supposed to be the day gamers in the US would rush to their phones and computers to preorder a Switch 2. Instead, Nintendo said last week it would delay preorders in the US, though preorders started in the UK and other countries. Many are now wondering if the Switch successor will jump in price.
With the Switch 2’s launch date set for June 5, the original starting price of $450 seems like a lost cause now. On the same day as the Switch 2 reveal, President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs that would have affected Japan and Vietnam, where Nintendo is based and the country where the Switch 2 is being produced, respectively. Tariffs did go into effect Wednesday morning; however, Trump appeared to have changed his mind later in the afternoon.
“I have authorized a 90-day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,” Trump said on Truth Social.
It does appear Nintendo might be in the clear, as the tariffs on Vietnam would have been 46% while Japan was at 24%. Now, it just has to contend with the 10% tariff instituted on all countries. However, this is only a pause, which doesn’t guarantee that Nintendo will not raise the price. If these tariffs go back into effect 90 days from Wednesday, which would be July 8, Nintendo may end up raising prices.
As for how much the company could jack up prices, that’s a complicated answer.
How much is the Switch 2 after tariffs?
Wedbush Securities Analyst Michael Pachter believes that at launch on June 5, the Switch 2 will still be priced at $450. If, after the pause happens and tariffs do get applied to products made in Vietnam and sold by Japan, like the Switch 2, Pachter expects Nintendo of Japan to ship the consoles to Nintendo of America at the bare minimum cost of the console to pay the lowest tariffs possible.
“I think it will be $75-$100 additional on price, maybe a tad more,” Pachter said. This would put the price of Switch 2 after tariffs in the $525 to $550 range.
Piers Harding-Rolls, Ampere Analysis research director, gave a similar price range in his opinion about the Switch 2.
“This is a pretty fluid situation, after all. Nintendo will not want to change the price having announced it, but I think everything is on the table now, and an increase of at least $50-$100 for the base console is realistic to offset some of the additional costs,” Harding-Rolls said. “Alternatively, Nintendo might conclude that the US market is too important to the company and that it will swallow the additional cost and make up the margin on digital games sales instead.”
DFC Intelligence CEO David Cole has another similar take on the price. He told Forbes on Tuesday that he expects the price to increase, but not that much, as he believes the starting price of $450 already has baked into it a percentage to cover possible tariffs.
“It is not likely Nintendo will raise the price, and if they do, we don’t expect it to be 20%,” Cole told Forbes. A 20% rise would put the price of the console after tariffs at around $540.
The Switch 2 is already expensive
When Nintendo revealed the Switch 2 on April 2, the stream for the show ended without revealing the price. Instead, everyone interested had to visit the site and see the starting price of $450 and the bundle with Mario Kart World for $500.
This price would make the Switch 2 the most expensive Nintendo console at launch when not factoring in inflation. Like Cole, some assumed the higher price tag included a premium for a possible tariff, but that doesn’t appear to be the case, according to Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser.
“Put [the April 2 announcement] aside. Any previous tariffs were not factored into the price itself,” Bowser told The Verge last week after the reveal.
Read more: Rising Cost of Nintendo Switch 2 Games: Are Trump’s Tariffs to Blame?
In another interview with CBC, Bowser defended the $450 price tag, saying it was appropriate for the machine’s value.
“We recognize there are some people that may not be able to afford [the Switch 2’s] price point,” he told CBC. “That’s why we wanted to make the other Switch platforms available, so [people] still have an opportunity to come into our gaming universe, be a part of these characters in these worlds, and see the value, if you will, in whatever rung of the platform they come in.”
It’s clear that Nintendo still has to figure out a proper strategy to deal with these tariffs as it releases its next console. An appropriate launch price can either lead to a steady stream of sales for the company or create a big hole that a company can spend years trying to climb out of.