Mat Piscatella of Circana said this is an unprecedented and “chaotic” situation as it relates to tariffs and their impact on video games, so anyone claiming to know how things will shake out may be speaking out of turn.
“All anyone can do at this point is speculate. We are certainly in uncharted waters here, and no one really knows what will happen next,” he told GameSpot. “Obviously, the announced tariffs are having an immediate impact on the financial markets. And given the haphazard nature of how the tariffs are being calculated and applied, uncertainty is really the only certain thing at the moment.”
Piscatella said there is “absolutely the chance” that the new tariffs or any additional future tariffs might amount to changes for US consumer products, and not just for Nintendo but for all players.
Yep. My consumer concerns are less of retail sticker-shock than people not realizing how dependent they are on consumer surplus. Even a few thousand a year in tariff related expenditure can be quite impactful on comfort.
Sticker-shock will happen with the tariff-adjacent removal of de minimis. Right now it’s China, but it was threatened against Canada and Mexico too (officially delayed, whatever that may mean). A $50 per-item charge is going to be quite a surprise to many.
E.g. if Canada is going to be levied like China, then my plan of getting a pair of oversized Cam-Lock kits for my Canadian-made Arkel bike panniers is gone out the window. There’s no way I’ll buy small parts when the total package cost is the same as getting a whole new set of panniers.
Yes, but that is what a tariff is designed to do. It is designed to encourage you, the consumer, to not buy imported products, so that you buy domestic products instead.
It can be frustrating for consumers in a nation that is extremely dependent on imports, like the United States, because the US does not produce the products its consumers want to buy. If the tariffs remain long enough, the idea is that domestic companies will begin making the products that the consumers want to buy instead of importing, which is obviously beneficial to the economy in many ways, but for the consumer waiting for that to happen, it is hard to see past the number.
Also doesnt help that wages have stagnated while inflation has gone up due to corporate greed. Paying 2025 prices wouldn’t feel so bad if everyone was getting 2025 pay, but instead most of us are paying 2025 prices on like, 2008 pay. Not a fun experience.