ESA says tariffs will have a “harmful impact” on the entire gaming industry, not just Nintendo

Earlier today, Nintendo made an unprecedented decision Delayed pre-issuance orders for Switch 2 In the United States, in order to enable companies to “evaluate the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.” The news comes after the Trump administration announced its implementation plan Steep and controversial tariffs Globally, countries including Japan, Vietnam, China, Canada, Mexico and other countries and the worst EU facing these trade fines. But while Nintendo may be the first company to address the impact of these tariffs on production, the Entertainment Software Association (the trade association for the video game industry) represents most of its major publishers, and that's just the beginning.

In an interview IGNESA spokesman Aubrey Quinn said the tariffs announced on the same day that the Switch 2 pricing revealed was an “unfortunately accidental” and that Americans “don't take it seriously” if we think it's just that the Switch 2 will be affected by the tariffs.

“It's interesting that the media reported on video games and tariffs because unfortunately, the conversion (2 reveals) was the same day as President Trump's announcement. We played a lot of devices on it. There were other consoles. But, I was talking at the time, VR headsets, our smartphones, we love PC games, and if we don't do that, that's one person, that's it.

“Even companies in the United States, they are receiving products that need to cross the U.S. borders to make these consoles, make these games. So, no matter the company, there will be a real impact. It's the company – out of place, it's the whole industry. It's going to have an impact on the whole industry.”

Quinn added that she hopes the “wide consumer ecosystem” will be affected by these tariffs, as higher prices and a volatile economy mean less spending for consumers. IGN reporter Rebekah Valentine noted that this will in turn affect the company's revenue, job security, R&D, and “even the appearance of the next-generation gaming console.”

Like consumers and media, Quinn said ESA is still trying to figure out exactly how things will work and how big the impact is. Although the group believes these tariffs are due to Trump’s past actions and campaign commitments, they are not sure things will eventually work and are “trying not to give the knee response.”

“We think what President Trump announced this week is the end of the story, but what was announced this week, and the tariffs outlined, we hope that these tariffs will have a real and harmful impact on the industry and hundreds of millions of Americans who love to play games,” Quinn said. “Our goal is to work with the government, with other elected officials, in an attempt to find a solution that will not harm the U.S. industry, U.S. business, nor will it harm the U.S. gamers and families.”

Fortunately, Quinn said there are some actions that citizens can take on possible impacts. Contact your representatives via letters, phone calls, emails, tweets or other forms of communication – is an effective way to ensure that elected officials and their employees “hear about their voters.” Quinn also said members of the ESA met with the Trump administration, White House employees and the U.S. Trade Representative and had a dialogue on the tariffs and their impact on the video game industry.

For months, experts have speculated President Trump's proposed tariffs There will be Significant impact For the gaming industry. While some believe the tariffs may encourage companies like Nintendo to produce in the U.S., Daniel Ahmad, an analyst at Nico partners, Point out This would be very unrealistic.

“Nintendo will spend billions of dollars opening a factory in the U.S.,” Ahmed said. “It can take 4-5 years to complete this work. Not to mention the time and cost of rebuilding supply chain infrastructure and source components (which will be subject to tariffs). They then need to find, train and pay employees to run the factory.”