Nintendo has directed the vast majority of its Switch 2 manufacturing output from Vietnam towards the US over the first two months of this year, as the threat of Trump’s now-confirmed tariffs loomed.
Figures published by Bloomberg show more than 1m Switch 2 consoles made in Vietnam reached US shores in January and February.
Data obtained from customs records also reveals how Nintendo sent 100 percent of all Switch 2 consoles made in Vietnam to the US in January, after only a fraction of the country’s output were sent there during the last few months of 2024.
Vietnam production makes up around a third of Nintendo’s Switch 2 output, Bloomberg states, though the larger share still comes from China.
As of today, Thursday 10th April, the US has backed down from tariffs that threatened a swathe of countries across the globe for at least 90 days. But US president Trump has simultaneously doubled down on his trade war against China – which at the time of writing will now be subject to tariffs of 145 percent.
Trump was not quiet about the possibility of tarrifs, and had talked up his idea of a grand announcement this month on what he dubbed ‘Liberation Day’.
The suggestion here is that Nintendo pushed to get as many Vietnamese-made Switch 2 consoles into the US ahead of tariffs landing, expecting Chinese production to be hit hard.
Earlier this week, David Cole – founder of games industry marketing and research firm DFC Intelligence – told Eurogamer his firm expected Nintendo to stick with its $450 launch pricing for Switch 2, despite temporarily pausing pre-orders in the US and Canada.
“We are expecting Nintendo to stick with the $450 price point,” Cole told Eurogamer, “and we believe that price point was reached with the threat of tariffs already looming.”
Bloomberg’s report states similar. “If the tariffs stay at 10 percent, Nintendo probably keeps pricing at $450 and just takes the hit on margin,” Bernstein analyst Robin Zhu told the outlet. “At 46 percent Vietnam tariffs [Trump’s initial plan for the country, now put on pause], I expected them to raise by $50 to $100.”
Earlier this month, US trade group the Entertainment Software Association said the Trump administration’s tariffs will “have a real and detrimental impact” on the video games industry as a whole.