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Why Nintendo Delayed U.S. Switch 2 Preorders—and What Happened to the Price

Nintendo said tariffs and evolving market conditions prompted the April 2025 U.S. preorder delay, while the June launch stayed on schedule. Its listed U.S. price later rose to $499.99, effective September 1, 2026.
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Nintendo postponed U.S. Switch 2 preorders in April 2025 so it could assess the potential impact of tariffs and changing market conditions. The company did not announce a price increase in that statement, and it said the June 5, 2025 launch date was unchanged. Nintendo’s listed U.S. suggested retail price later rose from $449.99 to $499.99, effective September 1, 2026; U.S. prices exclude tax.

Why Nintendo postponed U.S. Switch 2 preorders

On April 4, 2025, Nintendo said preorders in the United States would not begin on April 9 as planned. Its stated reason was to assess “the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.” The company said it would announce new preorder timing later and that the June 5, 2025 launch date was unchanged. Reuters and TechCrunch reproduced Nintendo’s statement.

The timing made tariffs a central concern, but the announcement was about delaying the preorder start—not postponing the console launch or setting a new price. Nintendo had announced the June 5 release on April 2, along with product details and a Japan-specific Mario Kart World set. Nintendo’s release announcement also noted that Switch 2 plays existing Switch games, with some compatibility exceptions.

Did the preorder delay mean a price increase?

No. Nintendo’s April 4 statement did not announce a price change; it said the company needed time to assess tariffs and market conditions. At the time, coverage discussed the possibility that tariffs might affect pricing, but that speculation was distinct from Nintendo’s stated reason for postponing preorders.

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In a May 2025 results briefing, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa described the company’s general approach: when tariffs are imposed, Nintendo recognizes them as a cost and incorporates them into prices. He said the company would consider adjustments if assumptions changed, while taking market conditions into account. That policy explanation does not establish the precise internal reason for a particular price decision. Nintendo’s FY2025 results Q&A also discussed factors such as platform momentum, consumer price perception, exchange rates, manufacturing costs and regional market conditions.

What happened to Nintendo shares?

A Nintendo Life report published April 7, 2025 said the company’s Tokyo-listed shares had fallen 10%, attributing the figure to Bloomberg. That is a contemporaneous report of a market move after tariff news and the preorder postponement—not evidence that the delay alone caused the decline or a measured estimate of its effect. Nintendo Life’s report provides that attribution.

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What Nintendo later said about tariffs and manufacturing

In its May 9, 2025 FY2025 results briefing, Nintendo said its forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2026 used tariff rates effective April 10, 2025. In that forecast context, the company said North American hardware was mainly produced in Vietnam; some accessories and amiibo were made in China. Nintendo did not disclose tariff impacts for individual products. These statements describe the assumptions and production context discussed in that briefing, not a guaranteed current manufacturing map. The results briefing does not provide a product-by-product tariff breakdown.

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Current listed U.S. Switch 2 price

Nintendo’s May 8, 2026 investor briefing listed a U.S. suggested retail price revision for the Switch 2 console from $449.99 to $499.99, effective September 1, 2026. The listed U.S. prices exclude tax. Therefore, $449.99 is the historical launch price, not Nintendo’s current listed U.S. suggested retail price as of October 5, 2026. Nintendo’s FY2026 results briefing documents the revision.

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The 2026 price revision came after the preorder postponement by more than a year. The record supports saying Nintendo later raised its listed U.S. price; it does not establish that the April 2025 postponement itself caused that later change. Nintendo’s general tariff-pricing policy is relevant context, but it is not proof of the specific factors behind the 2026 revision.

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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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