UPDATED with new preorder date, accessories price increases. Nintendo has set a new pre-order date for its highly anticipated Switch 2 video game device.
Pre-orders will now be taken starting on April 24. The original date had been April 9, but plans were thrown into confusion by President Trump’s erratic rollout of tariffs and the resulting shock to many economic systems around the world.
The June 5 commercial launch date for Nintendo’s long-awaited gadget sequel is staying the same, but accessory prices have been raised.
In a statement, the company blamed “changes in market conditions” for the accessory price hikes.
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“Other adjustments to the price of any Nintendo product are also possible in the future depending on market conditions,” the company warned. “We apologize for the retail pre-order delay, and hope this reduces some of the uncertainty our customers may be experiencing. We thank our customers for their patience, and we share their excitement to experience Nintendo Switch 2 starting June 5, 2025.”
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Nintendo is delaying the long-awaited pre-order date for its new Switch 2 video game device, citing uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The original pre-sale date was Wednesday, April 9. As of now, the late-spring launch date for the new console remains on track.
“Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025, in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,” the company said in a statement. Nintendo says it still intends to launch the console on June 5 as originally planned.
Trump unveiled the tariffs Wednesday in a meandering White House Rose Garden news conference. Futures markets began sinking as he was talking. A baseline 10% reciprocal tariff was put in place on all trading partners, with varying country-specific rates. China, India, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam are slated to be hit with respective tariffs of 34%, 26%, 32%, 36% and 46%. The European Union also faces a 20% tariff. The measures will take effect in stages during the next week.
In the wake of Wednesday’s announcement, the U.S. stock market has had two consecutive days of extreme decline, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 on track for their worst week since the Covid panic of 2020. Trading on Friday has seen the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunge 1,600 points, and the other major indices have followed suit as most media and tech shares continued to slump.
At $450, the Switch 2 is significantly pricier than its popular $300 predecessor. Games for the portable unit are also pricey for the marketplace, costing $70-$80 each. It is unclear at this point whether pricing will change to reflect the tariffs.
Japan-based Nintendo, only hours before Trump spoke at the White House, had officially introduced the Switch 2, a long-awaited follow-up to the original device, which debuted in 2017.
The video game sector is among those due to take a hit from the tariffs, which disproportionately affect China, Vietnam and other nations declared by the White House to be “bad actors” in terms of trade. Even nations like Australia and the UK, where the U.S. runs a trade surplus, are being slapped with the tariffs, however.
