The good news? President Trump has announced a pause on his reciprocal tariffs. The bad news? It doesn't apply to China. In fact, tariffs against China will go to 125 percent. As the New York Times points out, there are entire categories of things Americans buy that come primarily from China. How about: 73 percent of smartphones, 78 percent of laptops, and a whopping 87 percent of video game consoles?
With the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 slated for June, that last one is extremely relevant right now. Stocks have rallied some, but the S&P 500 is at its worst start to a presidential term since 2001. That was when the dot.com bubble burst. In 2025, the economy goes as technology goes. That includes computers, smartphones, and yes, game consoles.
After all, how many items in your house cost over $500? Consoles are a big-ticket entertainment buy. Looking back at my own experience, how early I adopted the new console was in direct proportion to how well my personal finances were doing. Leisure time and the money we choose to spend on it, is one of the best indicators of how secure we are, or at least how secure we feel.
Many of the snarkiest and most-uninformed crow that you don't "need" a game console, you "want" one. Those of us that create content actually do need the latest technology. Especially during crazy periods such as console launches, the most important qualification for a hardware reviewer is owning the hardware. It's also sometimes the hardest thing to do, and that's before the economy heads into a tailspin. We'll keep you posted on these developments.