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NEWS: Nintendo Delays Switch 2 Pre-Orders in U.S. to Assess Tariffs' Impact

Are video games really "unaffordable" to Americans now or is this just people being hyperbolic? .

We live in a country where eggs are $12. .

i got the shivers! wrote:

Are video games really "unaffordable" to Americans now or is this just people being hyperbolic? .

We live in a country where eggs are $12. .

Sure, certain games in the 90s would also retail for $80--in highly-specific cases such as being an RPG with extensive need of translators and localization, or releasing with a fancy expansion chip in the cartridge that would allow it to render more-advanced graphics such as was the case for Star Fox or Super Mario RPG. Wages back then were also a lot better, so those (rare) $80 games didn't hurt as much as today where you have to consider a $80 game in a world where you have to work two minimum-wage jobs just to afford rent.

Plus trying to go "Well, you don't actually need those video games" feels quite disingenuous on an anime site where we love talking about our limited-edition merch, obscure blu-rays, and rare imports.

Wack Sage wrote:

I guess this confirms that the initial pricing people were in an uproar about was before tariffs were considered. Which makes Nintendo look even worse now since people were trying to justify them saying they were high because of tariffs. Assuming nothing changes I guess this gives Sony and Microsoft a chance to sweep in and still undercut Nintendo since they showed their hand pre-emptively

Oh ho ho, MS and Sony are not gonna undercut a damn thing. Because they have to deal with tariffs too. This is gonna be rough for them too what with having to deal with chips and components in their other products.

And no guys, this doesn't prove this was the price before tariffs, get real. The prices probably were because of tariffs, but Nintendo was having to take a guess and now the rates are higher than expected because, of course, the current administration's rates are based on nonsense. Right now the reality is "Trump, Trump, Trump. Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs." Get mad at them

AiddonValentine wrote:

And now Goodsmile has made prices higher for figures like Nendoroids because of the tariffs. Y'all were warned

Oh dang. Glad I got my preorders in and don't buy them that often

Yeah. I'm sure some amount was in there, but the size and that Vietnam got hit with one of the biggest tariffs, probably not so much. Sony won't undercut Nintendo at all. It hasn't seen fit to lower the price on the PS5, despite the tech getting older and the presence of the PS5 Pro. If some of the reporting is true, at most they've been trying to delay a price increase by stockpiling PS5s in the US ahead of time.

Speaking of which the Switch was pretty infamous for how easy it was to pirate games for which is something Nintendo always hated. I already see people chomping at the bits to see what the emulation scene will be like after the price reveal so I imagine if people really want to play Switch 2 games and can't afford it they'll find a way to play them unless Nintendo has since found a way to prevent people from doing so. I imagine if the price increases even more people will just feel even more vindicated.