Nintendo’s recent decision to postpone pre-orders for the Switch 2 in the United States due to tariff implications is news that has likely reached many by now. Having monitored the evolving situation for several months, the company has found the impacts of the tariffs to be more drastic than initially expected. As a result, industry analysts have begun to weigh in on the development, contemplating the future actions of Nintendo.
If you were apprehensive about the console’s pricing prior to this delay, recent insights from analysts featured in an IGN discussion may not offer comfort. Opinions are sharply divided regarding Nintendo’s next steps. For instance, some analysts—including Dr. Serkan Toto, the CEO of Kantan Games, and Mat Piscatella, a veteran analyst at Circana—believe that a price increase for the Switch 2 is likely. Conversely, others, such as NYU Stern professor Joost van Dreunen and Piers Harding-Rolls from Ampere Analysis, predict that Nintendo may strive to keep the price stable in order to mitigate further consumer dissatisfaction.
Despite the differing predictions, analysts unanimously agree on the prevailing sense of chaos and unpredictability surrounding the situation. Joost van Dreunen highlighted that “the unpredictable nature of these tariff decisions—exemplified by the recent situation in Vietnam—injects a significant amount of uncertainty into the market.” Rhys Elliott, a gaming analyst from Alinea Analytics, echoed this sentiment, remarking that “we are living in, there’s no other word for it, unhinged times driven by an unhinged man (and other forces).”