The Japanese video game company Nintendo said on Friday that it would delay preorders for its new console, the Switch 2, in the United States because of the tariffs imposed by President Trump.
The Switch 2’s price was unveiled as $450 this week. Its release date of June 5 remains unchanged, the company said.
U.S. preorders were supposed to begin on Wednesday for the anticipated follow-up to the Switch, which has sold more than 150 million units, making it one of the most popular gaming consoles of all time.
Nintendo said that it was delaying preorders “to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions” and that a new date would be announced later.
One week before the preorders were meant to start, Mr. Trump announced sweeping tariffs on nearly all goods imported into the United States, with particularly steep rates applied to goods from electronics manufacturing hubs like China (34 percent) and Vietnam (46 percent). After the levies take hold in the coming days, importers in the United States must pay the higher duties on products brought into the country.
Companies like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft often sell gaming hardware at losses to expand their user base and make money on software. The Switch 2 game Mario Kart World, which will allow up to 24 drivers to explore off track, will cost $80.
Other games coming this year from established Nintendo franchises are Donkey Kong Bananza and Kirby Air Riders.
The Switch 2 will include a microphone to chat with other players, screen-sharing and the option to add a separate camera for streaming. It will have a 7.9-inch-long screen, the ability to run games at 120 frames per second and 256 gigabytes of internal storage.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/business/economy/nintendo-switch-2-preorder-delay-tariffs.html
