Switch 2 preorders delayed over Trump tariff uncertainty

Nintendo Switch 2 preorders, which were due to begin on April 9, are being delayed indefinitely amid the financial uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump's recent announcement of massive tariffs on most US trading partners.

"Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,” Nintendo said in a statement cited by Polygon. "Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged."

Nintendo announced launch details for the Switch 2 on Wednesday morning, just hours before Trump's afternoon "Liberation Day" press conference announcing the biggest increase in import duties in modern US history. Those taxes on practically all goods imported into the United States are set to officially go into effect on April 9, the same day Nintendo had planned to roll out Switch 2 preorders for qualified customers.

Welcome to day 2 of Nintendo Treehouse Live's "drop the price" stream

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The delay in the preorder date comes as outspoken gamers online are making plenty of noise over the Switch 2's higher-than-expected $450 price point and over Switch 2 software pricing falling in the $70 to $80 range. Nintendo's promotional "Treehouse" streams showing Switch 2 gameplay have been inundated with a nonstop torrent of chatters demanding the company "DROP THE PRICE."

Yet today's announcement suggests that Nintendo might need to "assess" whether even a $450 price is feasible given the additional taxes the company will now have to pay to import systems manufactured in countries like China and Vietnam into the United States. Alternatively, Nintendo could eat the cost of any tariffs and sell its console hardware at a loss, as it has in the past, in an attempt to make that money back in software sales.