Trump’s newest tariff threat could hit gaming hard, if it's for real

Plus: Phil Spencer on Switch 2 and future Xboxes, Reggie Fils-Aime on lasagna

Donald Trump speaking to House Republicans on January 27. Image: CSPAN

It could be the most impactful thing to hit the gaming industry this year. Or it could be meaningless bluster. Hard to say!

On Monday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. will soon impose tariffs on foreign computer chip-makers, a move that would seemingly hike the prices of chips that power PlayStations, Xboxes, graphics cards and potentially the Switch 2.

Here’s how he put it in a speech last night at the House Republicans Issues Conference, as captured by CSPAN and clipped by Twitter user Acyn Torabi:

"..in the very near future, we're going to be placing tariffs on foreign production of computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals to return production of these essential goods to the United States of America. They left us, and they went to Taiwan, which is about 98% of the chip business, by the way. And we want them to come back....They're not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even 100% tax. They're going to build their factory with their own money..."

Most chips in gaming hardware are made in Taiwan by TSMC, which supplies them to the likes of AMD, Nvidia, Apple and others. Those chips power game consoles, graphics cards and other devices. A tariff on the chips would likely lead to price increases on those goods, as it’s unlikely the device-makers would simply eat the costs (note: It’s not yet confirmed where the Switch 2’s chips are being made, but the console, set for launch in the next 11 months, could run right into these tariffs).