ESA Urges Serious Consideration Beyond Switch 2 Amid Trump Tariffs

It's been a whirlwind 48 hours for those following economic news, and even more intense for Nintendo enthusiasts. On Wednesday, it was revealed that the Nintendo Switch 2 would be priced at $450 in the United States, a steep figure influenced by anticipated tariffs, inflation, competition, and rising component costs, according to analysts. Then, late last night, the Trump Administration unveiled expansive 10% tariffs on nearly every country, with significantly higher tariffs targeting nations like China, the EU, Japan, Vietnam, Canada, Mexico, and others. In response, China swiftly announced a 34% reciprocal tariff on all U.S. goods this morning. Amidst this economic upheaval, Nintendo decided to postpone pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. to assess the impact of these tariffs on their console plans.

This unprecedented scenario is impacting not just the gaming industry but the broader economic landscape, leaving analysts, experts, and the public grappling to understand the full implications. Just 30 minutes before Nintendo's pre-order announcement, I spoke with Aubrey Quinn, a spokesperson for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), to discuss the potential effects of these tariffs on the gaming industry.

The ESA, like everyone else, is still piecing together how these developments will unfold. Quinn shared that while they anticipated some form of tariffs due to President Trump's previous actions and campaign promises, the exact nature and extent of the retaliation from countries like China, along with potential future U.S. levies, remain uncertain. However, the ESA is confident that these tariffs will negatively affect the video game industry:

“We really are, at this point, just watching and trying not to have knee-jerk reactions, because we don't think that what President Trump announced this week is the end of the story, but what was announced this week and the tariffs as outlined, we do expect these tariffs will have a real and detrimental impact on the industry and the hundreds of millions of Americans who love to play games,” Quinn stated. “And so our goal is to work with the administration, to work with other elected officials to try to find a solution that doesn't damage U.S. industries, U.S. business, but also American gamers and families.”

Quinn emphasized that the impact will extend beyond just the cost of gaming systems. She explained, “It’s hard to imagine a world where tariffs like these don’t impact pricing.” The broader consumer spending will also be affected, influencing company revenues, employment, research and development investments, and even the design of future consoles. “The entire consumer ecosystem is connected,” she noted.

In response to these challenges, the ESA has taken several steps, though Quinn admits it's been challenging to get started. With the Trump Administration only recently back in office and a largely new cabinet, the ESA hasn't been able to leverage previous relationships. However, they are actively working to establish new connections and ensure their concerns are heard:

“But yes, the short answer is we know who the conversations need to be happening with, and we are working on making connections and making sure that they understand that we are eager to work with them to find solutions that this is about public, private sector conversations happening, so we can understand and make sure that they see the impact and the risk of impact to business, to consumers, and really everything that's happening within the US borders,” she concluded.

Quinn highlighted that the ESA had already joined a coalition of trade associations to voice their concerns to U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer before the tariff announcement. They are also seeking meetings with various legislators and administration members to discuss these issues.

When asked if these efforts were making an impact, Quinn responded affirmatively, “Yes. I can tell you conversations are happening with... I don't want to say every level. I've not met with Trump, right? So I don't want to say every level of government, but certainly we've met with members of the administration. We've met with employees at the White House, we've met with employees at USTR [the office of the United States Trade Representative], so yes, we are having conversations and we're also doing that in partnership with other associations to make sure that... This isn't a video game issue. I represent the video game industry, so I'm very aware of the impact on the video game industry, the potential impact, but it's not a video game industry. This is going to affect all consumer products from food to fashion to electronics.”

For concerned consumers, Quinn suggested reaching out to their representatives through letters, calls, emails, or social media to voice their concerns. She believes that the more government officials hear from their constituents, the more likely they are to take action: “I think the more members of government, elected officials, and their staff who hear that their constituents are concerned, the more likely we are to be heard and to potentially make an impact.”

Nintendo's decision to halt Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders came just minutes after our conversation. While the ESA does not comment on actions by individual companies, Quinn did touch on the broader implications of the tariffs during our discussion. She noted the unfortunate timing of the Nintendo Switch 2 announcement coinciding with the tariff news and stressed that the impact would be felt across the entire industry, not just with Nintendo:

“You know what? It's been interesting with media coverage around video games and tariffs because just unfortunate coincidental timing that the Switch [2 reveal] was the same day as President Trump's announcement. There are so many devices we play video games on. There are other consoles, but as I was saying, VR headsets, our smartphones, people who love PC games, if we think it's just the Switch, then we aren't taking it seriously. This is going to have an impact.

“And even American-based companies, they're getting products that need to cross into American borders to make those consoles, to make those games. And so there's going to be a real impact regardless of company. This is company-agnostic, this is an entire industry. There's going to be an impact on the entire industry.”