The trade wars - they continue. Now Canada is in the crossfire because of its geographic and economic proximity to the United States. Nintendo of Canada will delay pre-orders of the Switch 2. Here's the official statement:
"Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in Canada will not start on April 9, 2025 in order to align with the timing of pre-orders to be determined in the U.S. Nintendo will provide updated information at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025, is unchanged."
President Donald Trump's wave of tariffs go into effect on April 9. If that plan goes forward, the gaming industry will take some more severe hits. China will get tariffs of 104 percent unless they agree to remove their retaliatory tariffs. Japan, where Nintendo is headquartered, is expected to suffer especially hard. Its tariff rate is only 24 percent, but the United States is placing a 25 percent tax on all auto and parts imported. Cars are Japan's biggest export.
By the way, I don't like talking about tariffs and percentages and math anymore than you probably like reading about them. But gaming doesn't get to exist in a vacuum, the real world is sadly never more than a trade war away.
It's my job to talk about all the aspects of the Nintendo Switch 2 launch, even the unpleasant ones. At Fansided, we pride ourselves on not just giving you the news but helping process what the impact of it could be. I've been writing about gaming for more than two decades now. So I can tell you with confidence I've never seen a console launch start quite this way.