Nintendo doesn’t believe customers deserve a cut of Trump’s boneheaded tariff scheme. The Mario maker made it clear in a recent legal filing that it doesn’t believe you deserve any money back on spiked console prices because “that is not how commercial transactions work.”
Back in August last year, Nintendo spiked costs on all its original Switch variants, including the Swtich Lite and Switch OLED, by $30 to $50. The company also hiked prices for several Switch 2 accessories, like the Joy-Con 2 and Switch 2 Pro controller. A supreme court ruling Feb. 20 allowed Nintendo to file a lawsuit against the U.S. federal government this year, arguing that the company deserved a refund on the extra cost it had to pay to ship its gaming gear to the U.S. The federal government is allowing companies to request refunds for tariff-born price increases.
Then, in April, gamers filed their own class-action lawsuit against Nintendo, arguing they deserve a rebate on their purchased accessories and consoles. In its latest filing in this class action first reported by Game File, Nintendo argues it doesn’t owe gamers anything, saying “plaintiffs are not entitled to a rebate simply because of intervening legal developments related to tariffs.”
“Nintendo or one of its retailers set a price for each product, and consumers decided whether that price was worth paying,” Nintendo’s attorneys argued in their latest filing. “Those who bought Nintendo’s products received exactly what they bargained and paid for: a console, game, and/or accessory at a price to which both parties agreed. The money Plaintiffs paid represents the purchase price of the goods they wanted and received.”
Nintendo explicitly blamed “market conditions” at the time for raising prices, a thinly veiled hint that this was due to President Donald Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs. While the White House has continued to argue that tariffs are for the good of the economy, even erroneously claiming that foreign nations end up paying for tariffs, these import duties inevitably get passed to the consumer.
Nintendo’s arguments once again prove that companies don’t imagine they’re responsible for kicking prices back down even after they have to stop paying extra import duties. More than that, customers can’t expect any money back for paying the higher prices.
Just this year, Nintendo announced it plans to spike the price for its Switch 2 handheld from $450 to $500 in September. This time, the company said the 10% markup was due to the ongoing RAM pricing apocalypse. Even if RAM prices settle (they probably won’t for years to come), Nintendo may not have any reason to lower console costs.
The whole scenario is indicative of how screwed gamers are in 2026. Players have been hit with a one-two punch of tariffs and memory prices that led Sony and Xbox to spike costs on their nearly six-year-old consoles multiple times in the past year. For instance, a top-end PlayStation 5 Pro now costs $900. It originally sold for $700.
Nintendo’s attorneys said in its filing that there isn’t anything “‘unjust’ about Nintendo retaining money that it may receive from the government as tariff refunds.” Meanwhile, consumers effectively have no recourse. Either we suck it up and buy our inflated consoles and games, or we stop buying new titles and gaming hardware altogether.
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