No fun in Trumpland: Video games, toys, and more take hit by tariffs
President Donald Trump’s tariffs are roiling global markets and triggering layoffs, but now the widely derided economic policy is coming after several areas of leisure and fun.
Nintendo announced on Friday that preorders for the highly anticipated Switch 2 game console will be delayed for Americans because of the tariffs.
“Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions. Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged,” Nintendo said in a statement.
This policy will affect multiple U.S.-based retailers who offer preorders of the game, including Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and GameStop. Customers hoping to get access to titles like “Mario Kart World” will have to wait, thanks to Trump’s actions.
In his rambling tariff announcement speech on Wednesday, Trump singled out the nations of China and Vietnam for retaliatory tariffs. Those nations are two of the largest toy manufacturers in the world and the tariffs could lead to a 50% price hike—right before the back-to-school season.
“This is going to have massive negative repercussions for the consumer and for our industry,” Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of The Toy Association, told CNBC.
Eric Handler, an industry analyst for Roth, told investors in a research note, “The consumer should soon see price increases to partially offset the tariff impact.”
Board game companies are also in Trump’s crosshairs.
The Game Manufacturer’s Association said in a statement on Friday that Trump’s tariffs are “dire news” for the industry. Many tabletop gaming companies manufacture their games in China.
“Tariffs are essentially taxes on consumers, not on the countries where the products are produced. Publishers will be forced to pass these costs along to their customers or face the prospect of ceasing operations,” the group added.
Meredith Placko, CEO of Steve Jackson Games, noted on their website that while the company would like to manufacture games within the U.S., “the infrastructure to support full-scale board-game production—specialty dice making, die-cutting, custom plastic and wood components—doesn’t meaningfully exist here yet.”
She added, “There is no national plan in place to support manufacturing for the types of products we make.” Placko said costs for games will increase and asked fans of the company’s games to contact elected officials.
“Ask them how these new policies help American creators and small businesses. Because right now, it feels like they don’t,” she wrote.
Comic book costs for many publishers are also set to increase. Many books, particularly collections of existing titles in trade paperbacks and graphic novels, could be hit with a 54% tariff. The tariffs will also hit independently produced titles backed by Kickstarter campaigns.
“My already-funded Kickstarters, awaiting printed books to be shipped out to me next week, will now collectively lose a small fortune. It might actually be cheaper to pay off the printer, trash the books, and refund every Kickstarter buyer,” David Campiti of Glass House Graphics wrote.
Trump’s tariffs are affecting multiple sectors of the global economy, from auto manufacturing to basic household items, even Trump merchandise—and now leisure products. Just about the only entity escaping the backlash is Russia, led by Trump ally Vladimir Putin, who escaped the tariff barrage.
But fun will now cost more, with new policies that tax the very distractions people need in times of economic upheaval.