Nintendo is facing criticism over the high price tag of its upcoming Switch 2 console, which is set to launch at $450 in the U.S. Despite leftists eager to blame Donald Trump’s tariffs for the console’s high price, Nintendo of America’s top boss has now said that tariffs had nothing to do with the hotly-anticipated gaming machine’s price.
TechSpot reports that Nintendo has found itself in the midst of a controversy surrounding the pricing of its highly anticipated Switch 2 console. The Japanese gaming giant recently announced that the Switch 2 will launch at a price point of $450 in the United States, a significant increase from the original Switch’s $300 launch price. This announcement has been met with backlash from gamers who feel the price is too high, with leftists and the media immediately blaming Donald Trump’s tariffs.
For example, a recent AP report featured an industry expert calling the system’s higher price a “Trump tax:”
The Trump administration’s tariffs have hit the video game console industry at a fragile moment, said Joost van Dreunen, author of “One Up: Creativity, Competition, and the Global Business of Video Games.”
“At the beginning of a new hardware cycle, all of a sudden we’re looking at this price hike,” said van Dreunen, a games industry researcher. “I had originally predicted that the Switch 2 would be $400. Now it’s announced that it’s $450. That $50 difference is a Trump tax.”
The tariffs, he said, impact games hardware because console devices are manufactured and shipped from China and that region at large.
However, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser has emphasized that the newly announced tariffs were not factored into the console’s U.S. price, as the decision had been made prior to the administration’s announcement. Instead, he attributed the higher price tag to the Switch 2’s enhanced features and technological upgrades.
The Switch 2 boasts a larger LCD screen with variable refresh rate capabilities, a custom-built CPU/GPU from Nvidia, and increased internal storage. Nvidia confirmed that the Switch 2 will deliver 10 times the graphics performance of the original model, with support for advanced features like DLSS and ray tracing. Other improvements include larger, more durable Joy-Con controllers and hardware integration for the new GameChat communication option.
Despite these enhancements, many gamers remain unconvinced that the upgrades justify the substantial price increase. The announcement of higher prices for Switch 2 games, which are expected to cost between $70 and $80, has further fueled the controversy. Nintendo even plans to charge customers $10 for the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, a set of mini-games designed to teach users how to operate the new console.
Bowser maintains that the Switch 2’s upgrades were carefully considered when determining the console’s final price and that they will ensure the device remains a long-lasting entertainment system. Nintendo also plans to continue selling the original Switch models alongside the Switch 2, potentially creating an overlap in pricing and positioning between the new, more expensive console and its predecessors.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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