Early, Nintendo made the unprecedented decision to delay the orders of prevenue for the Switch 2 in the US. The news follows the Trump administration that announces its plan to implement steep and controversial tariffs worldwide, with nations such as Japan, Vietnam, China, Canada, Mexico and the EU that faces the worst commercial sanctions. But although Nintendo could be the first company to address the impact that these rates on production will have, the entertainment software association, the commercial association of the video game industry that represents most of its main editors, it means that this is only the beginning.
In an interview with IGN, ESA spokesman, Aubrey Quinn, said that the tariffs that are announced the same day that the Switch 2 prices revelation was “only a unfortunate coincidental moment”, and that the Americans “are not taking it seriously” if we believe it is only the Switch 2 that hit the tariffs.
“It has been interesting with the coverage of the media around video games and rates because only the unfortunate moment of coincidence that the change [2 reveal] It was the same day as President Trump’s announcement. There are so many devices in which we play video games. There are other consoles, but as I said, VR headphones, our smartphones, people who love PC games, if we believe it is only change, then we are not taking it seriously. This will have an impact, “said Quinn.
“Even companies based in the United States are obtaining products that need to cross US borders to make these consoles, to make those games. Therefore, there will be a real impact regardless of the company. This is agnostic of the company, this is a complete industry. There will be an impact on the entire industry.”
Quinn added that he hopes that the “complete consumption ecosystem” will be affected by these tariffs, since the highest prices and a volatile economy mean that consumers are less likely to spend. This in turn will affect the company’s income, occupational safety, research and development, and “even how the next generation of consoles will be seen,” said Ign Rebekah Valentine’s reporter.
Like consumers, and the media, which Quinn said that ESA is still trying to discover exactly how things will develop and how great the impact will be. Although the organization assumed that these rates were due to past actions and Trump’s campaign promises, they are not sure how things will develop and are “trying not to have instinctive reactions.”
“We do not believe that what President Trump announced this week is the end of the story, but what was announced this week and rates as described, we hope that these rates have a real and harmful impact on the industry and the hundreds of millions of Americans who love playing games,” Quinn said. “Our goal is to work with the administration, work with other elected officials to try to find a solution that does not damage US industries, US businesses, but also US players and families.”
Fortunately, Quinn said there are interested actions to citizens who can take that could have an impact. Reaching their representatives, either through letters, calls, emails, tweets or other forms of communication, it is an effective method to ensure that elected officials and their staff “listen to their voters are worried.” Quinn also declared that the members of the ESE have met with the Trump administration, the Employees of the White House and the members of the United States commercial representative, and are having conversations about these rates and their impact on the video game industry.
For months, experts have speculated that President Trump’s proposals would have significant ramifications for the game industry. While some have theorized that these rates could encourage companies such as Nintendo to produce in the United States, analyst Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners pointed out that this would be incredibly unrealistic.
“Nintendo would need to spend billions to open a factory in the United States,” said Ahmad. “It would probably take 4-5 years to complete this. Not to mention the time and cost to reconstruct the infrastructure of the supply chain and the components of origin (which would be subject to tariffs because they are made outside the United States). Then they need to find, train and pay employees to operate the factory.”
