Sony & Nintendo Stocks Plummet After Trump’s Shocking Tariff Move

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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.

The shares of significant Japanese video game companies such as Sony and Nintendo have dropped following President Donald Trump’s imposition of a broad new tariff policy in the United States. This has been a topic of worry within the gaming industry since Trump’s presidency, and now those apprehensions are materializing. Notably, Sony, one of Japan’s leading gaming companies, has experienced a significant decline in its stock value due to the 24% reciprocal tariff imposed by the US on the country. Other firms have also been affected by these actions.

The initial forecast indicated that if Trump’s proposed 60% tax on Chinese imports were implemented, the PS5 Pro could cost around $1,000. However, with the recent legislation, China now faces a 34% tariff in addition to an existing 20% charge, resulting in a total tariff of 54% on goods from China. Although this is less than what was projected for 2024 and Sony’s response regarding pricing remains uncertain, the increase in tariffs has affected investors nonetheless.

Currently, Sony’s shares have decreased by approximately 12.98% from one month to the next on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Nintendo’s stocks have also dropped, but not as severely at 8.11%. Despite these declines, both companies have managed to remain in profit over the past six months. However, starting from late March and early April 2025, significant drops were observed in the shares of both companies, coinciding with President Trump’s announcement of a new tariff plan. Neither company has announced any changes in hardware pricing due to these losses yet, but Nintendo postponed pre-orders for Switch 2 in the US after the tariff announcement to evaluate the potential impact.

Sony and Nintendo Stocks Fall Month-Over-Month After Tariffs Take Effect

Back in the early days of this year, Sony shared that they were boosting their U.S. inventory of PlayStation 5 (PS5) consoles, as part of a strategic move to circumvent the influence of tariffs within their supply chain. Whether this adjustment turns out to be successful or not remains uncertain, but it does offer a temporary reprieve for anxious gamers fretting over potential price hikes in gaming consoles.

Although increased tariffs don’t necessarily mean that new systems and games will instantly cost more, the history shows that companies often adjust prices according to the effects of import taxes on their supply chains. By having an ample supply of PS5 consoles already in the U.S., Sony can maintain steady pricing since they would import less. However, future consoles may not be so lucky, and it’s hard to predict what will happen once this stock depletes.

In essence, Nintendo anticipates that the impact of tariffs on the Switch 2 will be negligible due to a shift in their manufacturing approach. To dodge tariffs, they intend to transfer some production from China to Vietnam and Cambodia. However, these countries have recently imposed import duties of 46% and 49%, respectively, which could potentially undermine this strategy. Although these rates are lower than the overall tax on Chinese imports, they are among the highest of the newly implemented tariffs. The response of Nintendo and other video game companies to these developments is unclear at present; however, given recent stock market trends, it seems that the coming months could be turbulent for the Japanese gaming industry.

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2025-04-07 20:39