Just a few weeks ago, the long-awaited PS5 Pro was released worldwide. Sony therefore has its work cut out for it with the arrival of this technological gem which combines upscalling via AI with Ray-Tracing for exceptional graphic rendering! On Nintendo's side, the trend is at its peak as gamers around the world impatiently wait to discover the Switch 2. We don't know anything about this console but unfortunately, it could well suffer from a rise in prices because of the recent election of the new President of the United States!
A rise in Nintendo and PlayStation prices after Trump's election?
Recently, the new President of the United States was elected, and unfortunately, his plan to impose basic tariffs of 60% on all Chinese imports could have significant impacts on technology costs in the United States, including a 40% increase in video game consoles.
The majority of PlayStation 5 consoles are manufactured in China. As shown on the social network Redditsome consoles are marked “made in Japan”which indicates that the PlayStation 5 consoles are still assembled in this country. As for Nintendo Switch consoles, they are also mainly manufactured in China by subcontractors. In 2019 However, the studios transferred part of their production to Vietnam.
Besides China, Donald Trump also plans to introduce customs duties of 10 to 20% on all products from other countrieswith the aim of boosting products made in the United States. So even if companies like Nintendo and Sony move their manufacturing operations outside of China, prices are likely to rise, even if less colossally. In any case, players are worried!
What can these customs duties really entail?
This potential increase in the price of consoles depends on whether electronic devices can benefit from an exemption from these customs duties. For now, there is no guarantee that Donald Trump will actually implement this project and we will have to wait until his inauguration on January 20, 2025 before knowing for sure.
It should also be noted that these percentages were calculated in a report from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), and therefore represent the worst-case scenario. As for the rest of the world, players should be mostly spared unless companies try to compensate for rising prices in the rest of the world! For now, nothing is certain…
