There's a lot of hype around the Switch 2. Nintendo's upcoming console improves upon the now eight-year-old Switch in almost every way, supporting 4K HDR resolution, high refresh rates, and even "mouse mode" via the Joy-Cons 2.
In addition to all the new features and changes announced on Wednesday, Nintendo also revealed the release date (June 5) as well as the preorder date (April 9). Avid Nintendo fans might have added that preorder day to their calendars, perhaps signing up for alerts from various stores to ensure they snag their console as soon as humanly possible. However, I have some bad news: Preorders for the Switch 2 are officially delayed.
Nintendo shared the news with the media Friday morning. Its brief statement reads: "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."
There's no ambiguity here. The tariffs the Trump administration haphazardly imposed to countries around the globe—as well as the retaliatory tariffs those countries imposed back onto the United States—are directly responsible for Nintendo's decision to pull back the preorder date for Switch 2. We don't know what the company is specifically looking for before they choose a new preorder date, but we do know the volatility of global markets has put what is usually a fun process on hold.
We also don't know what this means for the Switch 2's price tag outside of Japan. The company did not formally announce the price during the Nintendo Direct itself, choosing to reveal the $450 MSRP after the event concluded. It's entirely possible Nintendo decides to increase the price of the console in response to these tariffs, passing along the inflated costs to consumers. In fact, there was already a price discrepancy before the delay—while Americans prepared to pay $450 for the Switch 2 ($500 for the Mario Kart World bundle), Japanese customers only need to pay 49,980 yen, or roughly $333.
