Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Orders Delayed in America

Nintendo announced on Friday that it has delayed the start of pre-orders for its Switch 2 system in the US “to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.” GameStop and other retailers were informed of this decision. In addition to stating that it still intends to debut the system in the US on June 5, the business will reveal the revised U.S. pre-order date later.

Nintendo revealed the Switch 2 launch details on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. EDT, including the US$449.99 pricing and the worldwide pre-order date of April 9. U.S. stock markets closed seven hours later, and U.S. President Donald Trump publicly announced higher import tariff rates. The last two days have seen a general decline in stocks in the US, Japan, and other countries.

During Trump’s first term in 2019, Nintendo began moving part of the production of the original Switch from China to Vietnam. According to the Financial Times, Nintendo has built up hundreds of thousands of Switch 2 systems in the US ahead of schedule, in part because of the tariffs, and factories in Vietnam and Cambodia now produce more than half of the company’s hardware that is intended for the US market.

An Overview of the New US Tariffs

Trump declared that on April 5, a 10% baseline duty on imports to the US from around the world would go into effect. Additionally, he declared that on April 9, reciprocal tariffs will begin to be applied to other countries. Japan and China would receive equivalent rates of 24% and 34%, respectively, while Vietnam and Cambodia will receive some of the highest rates at 46% and 49%. (The total rate for China will be 54% because the United States has placed tariffs on China.)

The U.S. administration stated that, based on how countries respond, it may decide to further increase or decrease tariffs. On Friday, China declared that it would slap 34% additional tariffs on the United States on April 10; at the same time, Vietnam agreed to hold negotiations with the United States regarding it.

Other products made in China, Vietnam, Japan, and other Asian countries, such as toys and figures, will also be impacted by the new U.S. tariffs.