Donald Trump Has Some Bad News for Nintendo

I write about games, I don't write about politics.

I usually try to not even read about politics. Yet I feel that it is my duty to speak out because #DonaldTrump is affecting the thing I love the most (no offense to my wife, my children, or the Fiery Doritos Loco Taco Supreme).

But now Donald Trump is threatening my video games.

Here's the deal, I know that I'm probably opening a big ol' can of worms with this, but the fact of the matter is that our newly inaugurated 45th President of the #USA, Donald Trump could in fact give the gaming industry a major roadblock moving forward. And that roadblock would eventually trickle down to us, the gaming consumers: and that's just not okay with me. Say it ain't so, Don!

The sad truth is that any American President could impact the gaming industry by imposing trade #tariffs, but Donald Trump is likely to be the first to directly affect the gaming industry since he plans to begin rolling out his trade tariffs on a large scale.

Trump's trade tariffs could mean his fingers in our gaming.

Now for anyone who isn't up to speed on what a tariff is: it's essentially a tax that makes imported services or goods more expensive to consumers than the same items made within the borders of the United States. With Donald Trump's inauguration finalized and as he sits in the oval office, we know that there are rumblings from within the #WhiteHouse of the potential 5 to 10 percent tariff.

Trump might not raise income tax, but he could make things more expensive.

The whole situation is a bit murky considering how many American companies outsource work to foreign countries: clothing lines to China and Brazil, automobiles from Canada and of course technology from Japan. And this is where gamers will be hurt because so much of the gaming industry is based overseas.

So if your game isn't from an American company, Trump has bad news for you and that is why the Entertainment Software Association is in the process of formulating a strategy to deal with the possible price increases across the board for gaming consoles and any hardware, which is primarily manufactured overseas. The ESA hasn't made an official announcement as to how they'll deal with this, but to coin a phrase from Jay-Z, they hope to be able to say: "I got 99 problems, but a Trump ain't one."

We have no idea how 'Final Fantasy 7 Remake' might be affected.

If tariffs are rolled out, Trump would likely not need Congressional support, as he could just alter the currently existing rules to levy the additional taxes. This could have a greater impact on #Nintendo over any other company as they prepare to ship the Nintendo Switch. But let's be real: if Japanese games and products get more expensive, gamers are going to get mad.

SOURCE | Polygon