US video game trade group the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has warned that the trade tariffs imposed by US president Donald Trump “are going to have a real and detrimental impact” on the games industry.
Trump has been imposing tariffs on numerous countries in recent weeks, including a sizeable tariff on China, where tech products are often manufactured. On Wednesday he also introduced a blanket 10% tariff on all imports, with countries like China, Vietnam and Japan – which Trump calls among “the worst offenders” – getting larger tariffs of 54%, 46% and 24% respectively.
In a discussion with Stephen Totilo for his Game File newsletter, ESA senior vice president Aubrey Quinn said that game hardware, including consoles, could take a big hit as a result of these tariffs, given that some of them often have parts sourced from multiple countries.
“Any one product that a consumer would buy is likely to be subject to many of the tariffs announced, all compounded on top of one another,” Quinn explained.
Quinn also suggested that the situation could worsen given the possibility that countries affected by the tariffs may respond by imposing tariffs of their own on the US, warning: “I think what we heard yesterday is not the end of the story, not for the United States, not for other countries.”
When asked whether the ESA should consider Trump’s suggestion that more goods should be made in the US, Quinn replied that such widespread changes to the manufacturing process can’t be made instantly, and shouldn’t necessary be made on a whim.
“I think every company, every industry, the video game industry included, needs to think about what’s best for consumers, best for business, and best for employees,” she said. “Supply chains are complicated and, certainly, supply chains don’t change overnight. Everything that is considered or decided can’t be a quick turnaround and can’t be a knee-jerk reaction to any particular announcement.”
Earlier today a report by the Financial Times suggested that the Switch 2‘s US price of $449.99 could have been affected by Trump’s trade tariffs, with Nintendo possibly deciding on its price with the impact of potential tariffs in mind.
Japanese video game analyst and founder of Kantan Games, Serkan Toto, told the publication that he believed the Switch 2 price took Trump’s recent behaviour into account, saying the price “suggested Nintendo was building a buffer in case tariffs hit supply chains harder than expected”.
