“What a mess”.
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has implemented a range of tariffs on goods being imported into the country. The introductions, which came into effect yesterday, include a 25% tariff on products from Mexico and a 20% tariff on goods from China (an additional 10% on what was initially implemented on 4th February), both of which have the potential to result in a price hike for consoles and accessories and, according to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, could bring about the death of select physical game sales.
Despite many companies, including Nintendo, Apple and Microsoft, starting to shift their production out of China in the last decade, the country remains a central hub for global hardware production. The same can be said for Mexico and disc production. The U.S. tariffs, therefore, threaten to increase production costs for developers and publishers, something Piscatella believes may lead to select companies dropping physical releases completely.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
