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Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-orders Open on April 24 Following Delay from Tariffs' Impact

Nintendo announced on Friday that it will open pre-orders for its new Nintendo Switch 2 system on April 24, following a delay. The console's release date of June 5 remains unchanged.

The prices for the Switch 2 (US$449.99), Switch 2 bundle with the Mario Kart World game (US$499.99), as well as the Mario Kart World (US$79.99) and Donkey Kong Bananza games (US$69.99) remain unchanged from the original announcements. However, Switch 2 accessories will change pricing "due to changes in market conditions." The company stated that it may adjust prices of any Nintendo product in the future "depending on market conditions." Nintendo is listing the current prices of the peripherals on its website.

The company announced on April 4 that pre-orders for the system would be delayed in the United States from the initial April 9 date "to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions."

Nintendo had announced the global April 9 pre-order date, the US$449.99 price, and other details for its Switch 2 launch on April 2 at 9:00 a.m. EDT. U.S. President Donald Trump formally announced new tariff taxes on imports seven hours later, after U.S. stock markets closed. Stocks in the United States, Japan, and elsewhere have dropped across the board since.

Nintendo had already been shifting part of the original Switch's production from China to Vietnam since 2019 during Trump's first term. The Financial Times reported that factories in Vietnam and Cambodia now make more than half of Nintendo's hardware destined for the United States, and the company has stockpiled hundred of thousands of Switch 2 systems in the United States early, partly in anticipation of the tariffs.

The company also delayed pre-orders for Switch 2 in Canada to align with its postponement of U.S. pre-orders.

Background on New U.S. Tariffs

Trump announced a baseline tariff of 10% on global imports to the United States would start on April 5. He also announced self-described "reciprocal" tariffs would start against many countries on April 9. Vietnam and Cambodia would receive some of the highest additional tariff rates at 46% and 49%, respectively, while Japan and China would receive 24% and 34%, respectively. The president then suspended tariffs for almost all countries except China, which he continued raising to an effective 145% (including tariffs levied prior to the current administration) over a number of days, with China responding with an escalation of its own tariffs to the United States that so far has reached 125%.

The White House posted a list of products exempted from the additional tariffs after the April 2 announcement. That list includes "printed books, brochures, leaflets and similar printed matter," which indicates books such as manga and other comic books physically printed in Asia would be exempted from the additional tariffs. The U.S. administration has since clarified other goods would be excluded from the tariffs, including steel and aluminum products, cars and car products, certain critical resources, smartphones, computers, and various electronic parts, among others.

The new U.S. tariffs would also affect toys, figures, and other merchandise produced in China, Vietnam, Japan, and elsewhere in Asia.

The U.S. administration noted that it can raise tariffs further or lower them, depending on how countries respond. The current situation on the U.S.'s new protectionist tariff policy is extremely fluid and volatile, and has seen changes and clarifications almost every day.

Source: Email correspondence