NIntendo fans through the United States is pushing a sigh of relief while tearing the boxes housing their new Nintendo Switch 2 video game consoles. price implemented by Donald Trump, who precipitated pre -order delays From Nintendo, made the date on June 5, very coveted equipment feels more like a hope than a certainty. A potential price increase of $ 450 holds the day of the launch, but the fears of potential buyers did not materialize.
Nintendo’s maneuver around Trump’s prices is not over, however – far from it. The Japanese console manufacturer has managed to launch his device with a 90 -day price break published by the President. If prices on countries like India and Japan return to the levels offered during Trump “Release day“The speech in early April, however, experts claim that Nintendo will have to submit to another delicate trade policy dance.
It is possible that a Switch 2 bought during the holiday season is more expensive than on the launch date. The best competitors of the Nintendo game equipment – and essentially anyone who ships electronics in the United States – watched the Switch 2 saga with a breath.
“What saved Nintendo in this case is that Trump made some passages”, ” Professor of Notre Dame and International Economist Robert Johnson said.
Vietnam prices have forced Nintendo to jostle
Since its launch in March 2017, the Switch has become one of the best -selling video game consoles in history, with more than 150 million units sold worldwide. Nintendo teased his successor in January and made a complete revelation in April 2 livestreamannouncing that the device will be shipped on June 5 with a high price of $ 450 in the United States (or $ 500 when grouped with Mario Kart World). A few hours later, Trump Mounted on a podium with the Rose GardenTrailer graphic, to announce a new volley of prices on imports on countries with a trade deficit with the United States.
Among them: a 24% tariff on Japan, where Nintendo has its registered office, and a price of 46% on Vietnam, where most of its switching manufacturing takes place. Stock markets fall While fans of Nintendo collectively wondered if the company would affect the costs of these steep tasks.
American pre -orders for Switch 2 were to start later this week on April 9. Nintendo delayed this date so that it could “assess the potential impact of changes and market conditions.” The release date of June 5, noted the company, would remain the same. Players trigger has Various social media sites To evacuate their frustration – a large part of it not directed against Nintendo, but to the Trump administration. Pre -orders resumed on April 24 and, predictable, the console quickly sold.
Nintendo did not immediately respond to a comment request
Prepared for bad prices, saved by “Taco”
Johnson notes that Nintendo, like many other manufacturers of consumer electronics, has spent years struggling with the question: “Where should I produce?”
In 2019, during the end of the first Trump administration, the game company began to move the production of China to Vietnam in order to bypass the American prices on Chinese imports. Nintendo still manufactures switching products in China, but these units are generally shipped to non -American markets. Other large consumer technology companies, such as Apple, have Parts displaced in the same way of their manufacture Operations from China to countries like India to mitigate pricing impacts.
This strategy was finally rendered Ooto when the current administration announced a price of 46% on imports from Vietnam, an unexpected decision which, according to Johnson, “caught almost everyone to the deprived”. These imminent prices and the uncertainty that surrounds them could have an impact on the price dynamics of almost all consumer technological products entering the United States.
Sony and Microsoft, The two expected to publish new consoles in 2027will probably be faced with similar challenges to Nintendo.
“It takes a lot of time and important capital expenses to put new online production facilities. Producers really like to work in a stable environment. ” Said Johnson. “The current commercial environment is exactly the opposite of this.”
The prices of the “Liberation Day” could easily lead to a higher price 2 or to a delayed version. But Nintendo managed to avoid this spell thanks to Backpedaling by the Trump administration, a behavior described by the Financial Times using the acronym “Taco” – abbreviation of “Trump Always Chickens Out”. Trump’s call for a 90 -day break on prices to allow negotiations with targeted countries meant that switch 2 could still be released during a window in which import taxes would not apply.
And even if negotiations with Vietnam fail, reports believe that Nintendo has already shipped around 746,000 Change 2 units in the United States, which would not be subject to higher prices.
More expensive supplements
Nintendo consumers will not move away unscathed by prices. The company said that accessories for its device, an important part of the switch’s double form factor, “know the price adjustments”. So far, According to CNBCThe quays used to read the switch on a full -size screen will cost $ 10 more than before, while the straps for the two controllers will see an increase of $ 1. Johnson also said that he would not be surprised if Nintendo plans to increase the price of the console during the holiday season, especially if Trump advances with a 46% rate on Vietnam.
“I find it hard to imagine that the Trump administration wants thousands of stories written during the holiday season on the way Trump ruined Christmas,” said Johnson. “So, I expect them to find a way to go down, but – like everyone – I’m not sure.”
But there is another reason why Nintendo can have an incentive to prevent the console prices from climbing too high: the The majority of his income does not come from sales of physical consoles. Increasingly, real money manufacturers – for Nintendo and its competitors – are online software and subscriptions, none of which is subject to prices.
“In the end, Nintendo wants to sell consoles to bring people to buy games and accessories,” said Johnson. “Consequently, it can be ready to maintain the price of consoles.”
