Nintendo Delays Switch 2 US Pre-Orders Over Trump Tariffs Concerns

Nintendo has decided to delay pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 in the US, which were set to begin on April 9, due to concerns about the new tariffs announced by the Trump administration. While the company didn’t announce a new date for the US pre-orders, it still plans to release its new console in the US on June 5.

“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,” Nintendo said in a statement provided to TechCrunch. “Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.”

Nintendo announced the $449.99 launch price and release date for the Switch 2 on Tuesday, the same day President Trump announced new tariffs impacting dozens of countries, including some where Nintendo is manufacturing parts for its consoles. While the US President and his administration notoriously unpredictable, the Nintendo Switch 2 will likely become more expensive in the US, and the new tariffs are also going to impact many other tech companies.

At $449.99, the Nintendo Switch 2 was already 50% more expensive than the original Nintendo Switch, which launched at $299.99 back in March 2017. However, the new console sports a bigger 7.9 FullHD LCD screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR support, redesigned Joy-Con 2 that attach magnetically, and 256GB of internal storage. The custom Nvidia chip in the Switch 2 will also support ray-tracing, DLSS, and 4K upscaling when the console is docked.