Nintendo President Concerned About Potential Impact of U.S. Tariffs on Switch 2 Demand: 'If Prices of Daily Necessities Like Food Increase Then People Will Have Less Money to Spend on Consoles'

Nintendo conscionable released its fiscal results for the 2025 fiscal twelvemonth (April 2024-March 2025), and successful the accompanying online property league connected May 8, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa shed much airy connected the company’s precocious expectations for the Switch 2, arsenic good arsenic the obstacles that could impede its occurrence — including U.S. tariffs.

As the June 5 motorboat day approaches, request for the Switch 2 continues to boom, with Nintendo’s authoritative pre-order lotteries being massively oversubscribed, particularly successful Japan. Nintendo is "working to fortify their accumulation to conscionable demand," and are forecasting Switch 2 hardware income of 15 cardinal units and bundle income of 45 cardinal units worldwide successful the 2026 fiscal twelvemonth (April 2025 to March 2026).

Not lone that, the Japanese crippled elephantine is besides hoping that the Switch 2 motorboat effect volition boost its wide income for FY2026 by 63.1% to 1.9 trillion yen (approx. $13.04 cardinal USD) and last profits by 7.6% to 300 cardinal yen (approx. $2.05 cardinal USD).

However, Furukawa’s code revealed concerns astir the U.S. marketplace and aboriginal profitability of the Switch 2. As a adjacent gen console with other features and improvements implicit the original, the Switch 2 console is much costly than its predecessor.

“The portion income terms is high, and determination are corresponding hurdles, nevertheless we are aiming for a motorboat connected par with (the first) Switch.” said Furukawa, arsenic quoted successful the Yomiuri Shimbun. (The Switch 1 sold 15.05 cardinal units successful its archetypal year, portion Switch 2 is forecast to displacement astatine slightest 15 cardinal units).

These “corresponding hurdles” see worries astir the U.S., which has been Nintendo’s biggest marketplace for the Switch 1. President Furukawa raised concerns astir the imaginable impacts of Trump’s tariffs connected the Switch 2 and the American people’s spending power.

In the online property conference, Furukawa stated that the tariff argumentation volition interaction Nintendo’s profits by “tens of billions of yen.” He added: “If prices of regular necessities similar nutrient summation (because of the tariffs), past radical volition person little wealth to walk connected crippled consoles. If we were to set the terms of the Switch 2 (in effect to the tariffs), this could alteration demand.”

Analysts described Nintendo's 15 cardinal Switch 2 income forecast arsenic "concervative," noting the uncertainty astir tariffs. Despite each this, request for Switch 2 does look huge. After a hold owed to tariffs, Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders went unrecorded connected April 24 with the terms of the console inactive fixed astatine $449.99 — and they went astir arsenic good arsenic you'd expect. Meanwhile, Nintendo has issued a informing to U.S. customers who applied for a Switch 2 pre-order from the My Nintendo Store, saying merchandise day transportation is not guaranteed owed to precise precocious demand.

Check retired IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order usher for more.

Verity Townsend is simply a Japan-based freelance writer who antecedently served arsenic editor, contributor and translator for the crippled quality tract Automaton West. She has besides written astir Japanese civilization and movies for assorted publications.