Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Orders Now Delayed Due to Tariffs
There’s a lot of hype around Switch 2 . Nintendo’s upcoming console improves on the already eight-year-old Switch in almost every way, supporting 4K HDR resolution, high refresh rates, and even a ” mouse mode ” via the Joy-Cons 2.
In addition to all the new features and changes announced on Wednesday, Nintendo also announced a release date (June 5) as well as a pre-order date (April 9). Hardcore Nintendo fans might want to add this pre-order day to their calendars, perhaps signing up for alerts from various stores to ensure they get their console as soon as possible. However, I have bad news: Switch 2 pre-orders are officially delayed.
Nintendo shared the news with the media on Friday morning. The brief statement reads: “Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the US will not begin on April 9, 2025 to assess the potential impact of tariffs and changing market conditions. Nintendo will update the timing later. The launch date – June 5, 2025 – will not change.”
There is no ambiguity here. The tariffs that the Trump administration haphazardly imposed on countries around the world, as well as the retaliatory tariffs that those countries imposed back on the United States, are directly responsible for Nintendo’s decision to push back the pre-order date for the Switch 2. We don’t know what exactly the company is looking for before choosing a new pre-order date, but we do know that global market volatility has put a pause on what is usually an interesting process.
We also don’t know what this means for the Switch 2’s price outside of Japan. The company did not officially announce the price during the Nintendo Direct itself, opting to reveal the $450 suggested retail price after the event concluded . It’s possible that Nintendo will decide to increase the price of the console in response to these tariffs, passing on the inflated costs to consumers. In fact, the pricing discrepancy already existed before the delay—while Americans were willing to pay $450 for the Switch 2 ($500 for the Mario Kart World bundle), Japanese buyers only need to pay 49,980 yen , or roughly $333.