Games business expert Joost van Dreunen weighs in on Nintendo’s move to delay pre-orders for Switch 2.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 ramp-up week started with a cheerful bang (a jingle, really) at Wednesday’s Switch 2 Direct that revealed the sleek new console’s release date, launch games, and features. Donkey Kong hype abounded online, at least until the company’s news releases started trickling out to outlets like Polygon, and sticker shock took over. Nintendo announced it would charge $450 for its console and $80 for its flagship game, Mario Kart World (or $500 for the two bundled together).
Around the same time, President Trump announced his sweeping global trade plan, which included significant tariffs for virtually every country in the world — including uninhabited regions. To put it simply, everyone began freaking the fuck out in response, and the stock market did, too. In the news and on social media, both “Switch 2” and “Trump tariffs” began trending, marking the beginning of a very chaotic 48 hours in which the release of a highly anticipated game console and the blundering whims of the U.S. president became inextricably linked not just for the folks who care about games, but for consumers of other mainstream media, too.
The tariffs will impact the cost of almost everything Americans purchase, all amidst stocks plummeting downward and social services getting dismantled. That might include the cost of Switch 2 — a price that a lot of people weren’t happy about before Nintendo announced it would delay pre-orders due to “tariffs and evolving market conditions.” Panic has ensued for fans: What if the Switch 2 is even more expensive than $450? That’s on top of this other bit of lurking dread: What if there aren’t enough Switch 2s to go around?
Business professor and author Joost van Dreunen said in an email to Polygon that Nintendo’s “explicit reference to tariffs” in its statement is highly unusual for the company, and for Japanese corporate posturing in general.
