Nintendo Says Tariffs Aren’t The Reason The Switch 2 Costs $449.99

But Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser says that tariffs did not straight effect nan console’s original value tag. “Put [the April 2nd announcement] aside. Any erstwhile tariffs were not factored into nan value itself,“ he explained, speaking to maine nan time aft nan event.

That whitethorn beryllium true, but nan effect of nan April 2nd tariff announcement is already being felt. Just 2 days aft its event, Nintendo announced that it was delaying Switch 2 preorders, which were primitively slated to statesman connected April 9th, successful bid to “assess nan imaginable effect of tariffs and evolving marketplace conditions.” There’s presently nary caller preorder date, and whether nan value of nan console will beryllium changed is unclear. “The news is fresh, and for illustration galore companies correct now, we are actively assessing what nan effect whitethorn be,” Bowser says.

So why is the Switch 2 truthful expensive? When I asked Bowser, he rattled disconnected a database of nan caller console’s features: nan bigger LCD screen, the much powerful internals, the Joy-Con controllers that person been “enlarged and redesigned for durability,” nan GameChat societal furniture built into nan console, and more. “We want to make judge that this is simply a instrumentality that is approachable, that consumers will spot arsenic portion of their wide intermezo experiences and will understand that it has longevity to it,” Bowser says. “And each of those factors really spell into nan information of nan price.”

The Switch 2’s value tag besides puts it successful nan premium spot successful Nintendo’s lineup. Even pinch nan announcement of nan caller console, Nintendo will still beryllium trading each 3 models of nan original Switch — nan guidelines unit, nan OLED version, and nan Switch Lite — for nan foreseeable future. But Bowser gave an unclear consequence erstwhile asked if nan existing Switch devices, which apical retired astatine $349.99, had an effect connected nan determination to complaint $449.99 for nan Switch 2. “You want to see pricing comparative to nan Switch since we still person that successful distribution,” he says. “But, really, nan information was driven much by what is simply a portion of this peculiar gaming acquisition versus what it is comparative to nan Switch 1.”

The console isn’t nan only portion of nan Switch lineup that’s gotten much expensive. Select Switch 2 games person besides received a value bump. For example, Mario Kart World will costs $79.99 erstwhile it comes retired connected June 5th, compared to nan modular $59.99 for first-party games connected nan original Switch. Speaking mostly astir determining pricing for games, Bowser says that “each game, we believe, is simply a unsocial experience,” and frankincense prices tin alteration accordingly.

That’s really Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour — a crippled that teaches players specifications astir nan Switch 2 and offers tech demos highlighting its cardinal features — ended up arsenic a paid crippled alternatively of a free pack-in title for illustration Wii Sports aliases Astro’s Playroom. “As this crippled was being developed, what’s been packed into it is simply a extent of minigame experiences,” Bowser says. “They’re very deep, they’re very repeatable. And so, arsenic we looked astatine that extent of play acquisition and opportunity, we felt that $9.99 was a adjacent value to inquire for that.”