May 09, 2025 10:46:00

The worst-case scenario for Trump's tariffs is that the prices of game consoles will rise by more than 69%.

The reciprocal tariffs (Trump tariffs) introduced by President Donald Trump have come under intense criticism. President Trump has responded by suspending reciprocal tariffs for 90 days for over 75 countries that did not retaliate, but has not yet abolished the reciprocal tariffs themselves. Industry analysts have analyzed that if President Trump continues with his tariff policy, it could bring a crisis to the video game industry.

How the Proposed Trump Tariffs Increase Prices for Consumer Technology Products (May 2025)
https://www.cta.tech/research/how-the-proposed-trump-tariffs-increase-prices-for-consumer-technology-products-may-2025/

Trump Tariffs Would Torpedo Game Console Sales, Report Claims
https://kotaku.com/switch-2-ps5-pro-game-console-prices-tariffs-report-1851779765

In a report issued in May 2025, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) pointed out that 'the imposition of new tariffs (reciprocal tariffs) would significantly increase the costs of game console imports to the United States.'

Until now, imports of game consoles have not been subject to tariffs, but they are not exempt from the reciprocal tariffs. Therefore, at the time of writing, game consoles will be subject to an average tariff of 130% and a maximum of 145%. At the time of writing, about 87% of US game console imports come from China, so the CTA pointed out that these imports will be subject to a 145% tariff.

The table below shows the CTA's prediction of how much the prices of products will increase as a result of the reciprocal tariffs. Smartphones are expected to increase by 30.8%, laptops and tablets by 34.0%, and other products are expected to increase by about 10-30%, while game consoles are expected to increase by a whopping 69.4%.

The 69.4% price increase assumes that the suspension of reciprocal tariffs will be lifted, reciprocal tariffs of up to 46% will be reinstated for some countries, including Vietnam, existing import taxes will continue, and tariffs on imported goods will be passed on to consumers.

For example, the price of the PlayStation 5 Pro will increase by up to $428 in the United States. According to the CTA, if this price increase is implemented, American consumers will pay $12 billion more for game consoles. If this happens, the CTA predicted that the amount that American consumers spend on game consoles will be reduced by 73% overall.

If that were to happen, the CTA pointed out, the United States, the world's largest console market, would be almost devastated. Lower console sales would mean lower sales of new games, which would have a knock-on effect on the entire game development ecosystem.

In fact, shortly after the Trump administration announced the reciprocal tariffs, Nintendo postponed pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 in the United States.

Nintendo postpones pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 due to Trump administration's tariff hike - GIGAZINE

Nintendo then resumed sales of the Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. The price of the Nintendo Switch 2 console remained the same, but the prices of games and related accessories increased.

Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders in the US will resume on April 24th, with some products increasing in price - GIGAZINE

Even if the reciprocal tariffs are abolished, gaming media Kotaku points out that game consoles, which are primarily manufactured in China, are unlikely to maintain their current prices.

In fact, Microsoft has raised the price of the Xbox Series X by $100, and the new Call of Duty game is expected to be the first in the series to be sold for $80. 'It's only a matter of time before Sony implements a similar price increase, raising the price of the PlayStation 5 to $600 and the PlayStation 5 Pro to nearly $1,000,' Kotaku pointed out.