Summary
- Stocks at several Japanese video game companies have dropped after President Trump announced a new tariff scheme.
- Sony’s stock has fallen by 12.98% month-over-month on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while Nintendo is down 8.11%.
- Sony and Nintendo are adapting supply chain strategies to mitigate tariff impacts on future products.
Stocks at major Japanese video game companies like Sony and Nintendo have fallen after US President Donald Trump implemented a far-reaching new tariff scheme. Concerns around potential tariffs and their impact on the game industry have circled ever since Trump’s election, and now those effects are taking shape. Japanese gaming giant Sony has seen a considerable dip in its stock price after the US enacted a 24% reciprocal tariff against the country, and it’s not the only one to take a hit from these actions.
A previous report estimated that tariffs could make the PS5 Pro cost nearly $1,000 if Trump’s proposed 60% tax on Chinese imports went into effect. Under the newly passed legislation, China faces a 34% reciprocal tariff on top of an older 20% charge, bringing the total levy on goods from the nation up to 54%. While that’s less than what the 2024 report suggested, and it’s still unclear how Sony will respond in terms of its pricing, the tax hike was enough to impact investors.
Related
‘A Real and Detrimental Impact’ ESA Comments on Trump Tariffs
As gaming gets more expensive in general, an ESA spokesperson comments on how President Trump’s recent tariffs will impact the hobby.
At the time of writing, Sony’s stock has fallen by 12.98% month-over-month on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Nintendo has not seen quite as significant a drop but is still down 8.11%. While both companies are still in the green over the past six months, Nintendo and Sony began seeing noticeable drops in late March and early April 2025, right around the time when President Trump unveiled his new tariff plan. Neither company has yet to announce any pricing changes for their hardware to account for these losses, but Nintendo delayed Switch 2 pre-orders in the US following the tariff announcement to “assess the potential impact.”
Sony and Nintendo Stocks Fall Month-Over-Month After Tariffs Take Effect
Earlier this year, Sony revealed it was increasing its US stock of PS5 consoles as part of a supply chain strategy to bypass the impact of tariffs. Only time will tell how effective an adaptation that shift was, but it could at least provide some temporary relief for gamers worried about rising console prices. While higher tariffs don’t automatically mean new systems and games will cost more, companies have historically raised prices in line with the impact supply chains feel from import taxes. Having enough stock already within the US would let Sony keep prices steady because it wouldn’t import as much, but future consoles may not get by so easily, and it’s unclear what will happen once this stock runs out.
Similarly, Nintendo has said it expects the tariff impact on the Switch 2 to be minimal, thanks to a change in its manufacturing strategy. However, the company planned to avoid tariffs by moving some production from China to Vietnam and Cambodia. Those nations now face 46% and 49% import duties, respectively, which may hinder the efficacy of this plan. While those rates are lower than the overall tax Chinese imports face, they’re still among the highest of the new tariffs. What Nintendo and other video game companies will do in response is uncertain for now, but if stock prices are any indication, the near future may be a bumpy ride for the Japanese gaming industry.
