Nintendo Confirms Switch 2 Pricing Not Effected By Trump’s Tariffs, But Warns Future Policy Changes Could Increase Costs
In putting to bed one of the most vocal lines of discourse surrounding their upcoming console, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has confirmed that the chaos of US President Donald Trump’s tariff attempts had zero effect on the somewhat high asking prices for the Switch 2 console – though, he admits, this could change in the future.
As previously reported, following the reveal that Nintendo would be charging $80 for Mario Kart World, $70 for Donkey Kong Banaza, and $450 for the base Switch 2 console itself – a roughly $150 bump, not adjusted for inflation, from the original’s launch day price tag – players quickly began questioning whether or not these prices were reflective of the specific tariffs proposed by President Trump against China and Vietnam, both of which host various factories that play a role in producing the hardware.
Pressed at the time by The Washington Post‘s Gene Park for clarification as to whether or not this was the case, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser declined to speak directly to the tariffs or the console’s pricing itself, but did note that for Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Banaza, these higher asking prices were representative of the company’s new turn towards “variable pricing.”
“We’ll look at each game, really look at the development that’s gone into the game, the breadth and depth of the gameplay, if you will, the durability over time and the repeatability of gameplay experiences,” said Bowser. “Those are all factors, and there’s many more that go into consideration of what is the right price point for the game. So I think you can anticipate that there will be variable pricing, and we haven’t set a benchmark.”
However, where Bowser was silent on the subject of the Switch 2’s asking price, the aforementioned Furukawa has now offered some actual information regarding the console’s consumer costs.
Hosting an investor Q&A session at the end of the company’s recent 2025 Fiscal Year Earnings call, the Nintendo President was met with multiple questions regarding the actual and potential effects of Trump’s tariff threats on the Switch 2’s production.
First asked as to whether the possibility of either said tariffs or a recession in the United States had prompted the company’s “modest” prediction that the Nintendo Switch 2 would move just 15 million units in Fiscal Year 2026, Furukawa explained, “We set this figure with the aim of reaching the same level of sales we achieved with Nintendo Switch in the roughly 10-month period between its launch in March 2017 and December that year.”
“Nintendo Switch 2 is priced relatively high compared to Nintendo Switch, so we recognize that there are corresponding challenges to early adoption,” he added. “Additionally, the tariff situation in the U.S. or a possibility of a recession did not affect our sales volume forecast either.”
Next asked how the company plans “to respond if the assumptions on tariffs change in the future”, Furukawa detailed, “For the purpose of our consolidated financial forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2026, U.S. tariff rates effective as of April 10, U.S. Eastern Time, are maintained throughout the fiscal year [i.e. 10% on China and Vietnam]. However, our assumption is that packaged software will not be subject to tariffs because it falls under products exempted from tariffs as announced on April 11. Based on these assumptions, we have factored in a negative impact of several tens of billions of yen at the profit level into our consolidated financial forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2026.”
“Our basic policy is that for any country or region, if tariffs are imposed, we recognize them as a part of the cost and incorporate them into the price,” the Nintendo President continued. “However, this year marks our first new dedicated video game system launch in eight years, so given our unique situation, our priority is to maintain the momentum of our platforms, which is extremely important for our dedicated video game platform business, and to rapidly expand the install base of our new hardware. Consequently, if the assumptions on tariffs change, we will consider what kind of price adjustments would be appropriate, taking into account various factors such as the market conditions.”
And finally, met with a request for clarification regarding their tariff assumptions as well as the possibility of “passing the cost” of future tariff changes “on in the sales price”, Furukawa confirmed, “Our financial projections were created based on the assumption of U.S. tariffs of 10% on products produced in Japan, Vietnam, and Cambodia, and 145% on China. Our hardware is produced in China, Vietnam, and Cambodia, and hardware for North America is mainly produced in Vietnam. While there are also some accessories and amiibo produced in China, we do not disclose the impact of tariffs on individual products.”
“Our basic policy is that for any country or region, if tariffs are imposed, we recognize them as a part of the cost and incorporate them into the price,” concluded the company head. “On the other hand, the fiscal year ending March 2026 is the launch period for our first new dedicated video game system in eight years. If the tariff assumptions change, we will consider how to handle the situation while keeping in mind the importance of platform momentum and growth of the hardware install base.”
For those interested in picking up a Switch 2 on launch, the next generation of Nintendo hardware is currently set to hit shelves near-worldwide on June 5th.
NEXT: Nintendo Says Switch 2 Lacks Hardware Gimmick So More Devs Will Make Games For New Console
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