Your Favorite Games, Consoles, and Accessories Might Get a Whole Lot More Expensive Soon

It’s possible gamers could be looking at a future in which games, consoles, and accessories could be twice as expensive as they already are. Per Gizmodo, if newly elected President Donald Trump enacts his proposed tariffs? Gaming could suddenly become a supremely expensive hobby. Here’s a fun paragraph from Gizmodo’s article you might enjoy reading!

“Trump said he’d impose a baseline 60% tariff on Chinese exports. If he does that, the price of all the stuff gamers love is going to go up. Laptop prices could spike by almost 50%. The cost of video game consoles could rise around 40%, making the upcoming PS5 Pro cost almost $1,000. The Switch 2 may be backward compatible, but it may cost quite a bit more than the original.”

If companies are forced to pay higher costs due to the tariffs? They won’t be paying for it — we will. As CNBC reports, AutoZone CEO, Philip Daniele, outright said as much in an earnings call in September. “If we get tariffs, we will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer,” Daniele emphasized.

you better buy those games you were eyeballing soon

So, where does that leave us? Well, nothing is set in stone. It’s possible the tariffs won’t be enacted! However, why take the chance that such policies could pass? You’ve got from now to late January 2025 to potentially get your favorite electronics while they’re still… “cheap.” Tom’s Hardware spoke to Ed Brzytwa, Vice President of the Consumer Technology Association, about tariffs and their impact.

“Tariffs are regressive taxes that Americans pay. They’re not paid by a foreign government. They’re taxes that importers in the United States pay and foreign governments and foreign countries do not pay those tariffs. So when I say they’re regressive, it means that they harm poor people and people of little means more than they harm wealthy people.”

That gives me roughly two months to finally get the Steam Deck before it balloons to be nearly $1,500! Again — I must emphasize — it’s possible this won’t come to fruition! But at least now, you can never say you weren’t warned. Just in case.