It has been tough to keep up with the evolving tariff situation in the U.S. over the last few weeks. However, gamers have been keeping an eye out to see how these import taxes could impact prices for video game consoles like the Switch 2. Although many of the larger tariffs previously announced by President Trump have been temporarily paused, this doesn’t include those on goods imported from China. However, a memo from U.S. Customs and Border Protection did recently outline several electronics that will be exempt, not including video game consoles.
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The memo lists a series of classification numbers for the types of electronics that will be exempt from the tariffs. As parsed out by U.S.-China economic analyst Ray Wang, these codes refer to electronics such as automatic data processing machines, semiconductors, smartphones, communication equipment, SSDs, sound media, transistors, and more. The list notably does not include video game consoles. So if seeing initial “electronics excluded” headlines seems like it could be good news for gamers, that unfortunately doesn’t seem to be the case.
Computer parts like SSDs being included in the exemption could potentially mean that PC gamers won’t see steep hikes in gaming laptops and their components. However, consoles themselves being shipped into the United States will still be subject to tariffs, which could mean we’ll see price increases. Let’s review how that could shake out based on where each console is manufactured and shipped to the U.S.
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As we previously detailed, Nintendo moved much of its manufacturing to Vietnam in part to avoid previous U.S. tariffs on China. For Nintendo fans, this is potentially good news. Because President Trump announced a delay on the widespread tariffs impacting countries like Vietnam, the Switch 2 may not be impacted – at least for now. Much like the TikTok ban, the tariffs haven’t been canceled outright, just delayed by 90 days. So while Vietnam is currently not among the highest tariffs, that could change come July, shortly after the release of the Switch 2.
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For PlayStation and Xbox fans, the outlook is a bit more uncertain. The PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S are primarily manufactured in China. That means that they’ll be subject to the newly implemented U.S. tariffs, which are currently set at 145% for all imports aside from those few electronic exemptions. So, it’s quite possible that if nothing changes, U.S. prices for PS5 and Xbox consoles newly shipped to the country will increase, possibly by a lot. Analysts at Bloomberg, for instance, think it’s likely we could see a 30% price increase for the consoles.
Given the ever-shifting situation with tariffs, it’s hard to say what will ultimately happen with the prices for video game consoles. For now, though, it looks like gamers should be prepared to spend a bit more for consoles in the near future. Video games aren’t the only thing impacted by steep tariffs on China, either. Board game creators have recently spoken up about the impact that steep U.S. tariffs on China could have on that industry, as well. Like video game consoles and electronics, many board game components are manufactured in China. In all, gaming in general could well be a more expensive hobby as a result of these new U.S. tariffs.
