Just two days after Nintendo announced an on-sale date for its highly anticipated Switch 2 video game device, the company is postponing presales of the systems following President Donald Trump's tariff announcement.
The Verge was the first to report that presales would be delayed.
Earlier this week, Nintendo stated that presales of the Switch 2 devices would begin April 9 at select U.S. retailers. The company mentioned that sales of the Switch 2 systems would begin June 5 and would cost $449.99.
"Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start on April 9, 2025, in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions. Nintendo will update the timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025, is unchanged," a Nintendo spokesperson said in a statement to Scripps News.
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The Switch 2 will be the first video game platform released by Nintendo since 2017 when it launched the original Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo is based in Japan, where President Trump imposed a 24% tariff that is set to go into effect next week. Generally, the cost of tariffs to companies is passed along to consumers, economists say.
It is unclear whether Nintendo plans to increase the release price of the Switch 2 devices from $449.99 when they are released in June. If Nintendo passes the cost of tariffs to consumers, the devices could cost customers at least $100 more because of the tariffs.
Nintendo reported selling over 54 million Switch consoles from 2017 through 2024 in the U.S. and Canada. The two nations represent 39% of Nintendo's overall sales for the Switch. The Switch was far more successful than its Wii U unit, which was released in 2012; only 6.5 million of those units were sold in North America.
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