Following a class-action lawsuit filed by US-based gamers who were demanding that Nintendo issue refunds to customers for price hikes imposed by the country’s import tariffs, the company has said that it has no legal obligation to do so.
In a filing from earlier this week in the case of Hoffert et al v. Nintendo, as caught by Game File, the company said that the customers “received exactly what they bargained and paid for” when buying products despite price hikes. Rather than issuing refunds, Nintendo has said that the plaintiffs “are not entitled to a rebate simply because of intervening legal developments related to tariffs.”
The lawsuit itself alleges that by not passing on the price difference from the tariffs after they had been deemed illegal by the US Supreme Court, Nintendo was committing a crime.
“The common thread among Plaintiffs’ claims is that it is somehow ‘unfair; that Nintendo has not retroactively adjusted its prices for completed sales in response to the outcome of the tariff litigation,” continued the lawyers in a motion to dismiss. “But that is not how commercial transactions work.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling happened earlier this year, with the bench deeming the US tariffs as being illegal by a vote of 6-3. Even at the time, however, the ruling didn’t quite offer any concrete decision on how refunds for the tariffs would work. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, for instance, noted that the federal government “may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers” that had paid the tariffs.
Interestingly, the Supreme Court’s ruling was followed by Nintendo of America, alongside more than a thousand other companies, filing its own lawsuit against the government, calling the implementation of the tariffs to be illegal, and demanding refunds.
“This action concerns Defendants’ initiation and administration of unlawful trade measures that have, to date, resulted in the collection of more than $200 billion in tariffs on imports from nearly all countries,” wrote Nintendo’s lawyers.
Leading up to the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, company president Shuntaro Furukawa had spoken about the potential of the console’s price going up to deal with the import tariffs imposed by the US. He noted that would be done despite the primary focus still being on encouraging mass adoption of the Switch 2.
“At this time, the top priority is to quickly popularize the Switch 2 hardware,” said Furukawa back in May 2025. “If the assumptions regarding tariffs change significantly, we would like to consider what price adjustments we should make and implement them after considering various factors.”
While Nintendo managed to avoid raising the Switch 2’s prices because of the US tariffs, the company hasn’t been able to avoid the global component shortages. This has led to the Switch 2’s price going up from $449.99 to $499.99. These prices are slated to go into effect from September 1st onwards.
In a statement, Furukawa noted that the price hikes are happening because current market conditions don’t seem to be temporary. “If the increase in costs were seen as something temporary that would subside relatively soon, then we could have pursued other options, such as working to improve productivity and expand the installed base while maintaining hardware prices.”
