5 Video Game Items That’ll Be Hit Hardest by Trump Tariffs

The world economy is rapidly changing with the reveal of US President Trump’s increased tariffs on basically every country on the planet. As someone with a Business Economics degree and a love for video games, this is a subject near and dear to my heart. Here’s what you need to know about the video game items that will be hit hardest by these Trump tariffs.

How the Trump Tariffs Affect Games

Now, I don’t have time to dive too deep into all this tariff stuff here. If you want a deeper dive into the general side, read something like this. But the overall idea is Trump is imposing reciprocal tariffs on basically every country of at least 10% more. Now, some countries, like Japan, are getting even more than that.

In Japan’s case, it is 24% with the exception of auto goods at 25%. This 24% is crucial because so many games and consoles come from Japan. Think of your favorite developers and publishers. Companies like Square Enix, Nintendo, PlayStation, Capcom, Sega, Atlus, Konami, Level-5, and so on. The list goes on. All of these companies would be subject to these tariffs that would cost more to export to the United States than ever before due to these taxes on them.

5 Video Game Items That’ll Be Hit Hardest by Trump Tariffs

There are so many different games and video game-related items that would be hit by the Trump tariffs on countries like Japan. That said, there are going to be some items that I predict will be hit harder than others. Here are five of the general items you should be concerned about when it comes to the video game industry, in mostly no particular order:

1. Nintendo Switch 2: This is the big one. This is my personal assumption, but it is possible this console would be cheaper without the tariffs, such as starting at $400 USD. Regardless, the price could go up from even its $450 point. We already see problems with this, such as the region-locked Japanese version in Japan being cheaper than the multilanguage edition. Plus, the pre-order date was delayed as a result of these tariffs.
2. Switch 2 Games: Nintendo is moving the needle quite a bit with its new console. We expected first-party games to rise to $70, but it is more than that. Expect to often pay $80 for games like Mario Kart World and possibly even more than that.
3. Third-Party Japanese Games: Nintendo is far from the only one; it is only just setting the standard for the industry. I fully expect other companies like Square Enix and PlayStation to follow suit with increased prices for new games.
4. European Games: While Japan has a higher tariff at 24%, many European Union countries are also at a high 20%. This means companies like Ubisoft could increase the price of its games in the near future as well.
5. Accessories: Just as games and consoles are affected, so are accessories. Expect controllers, headsets, keyboards, and other gaming goods from other countries to potentially rise in price.