Nintendo sued by players who say they should get any tariff refunds received by the US government

Nintendo has been sued by two players in the US, who say the company stands to unjustly profit from any tariff refunds it receives from the US government.

In April 2025, after delaying Switch 2 pre-orders because of US economic uncertainty, Nintendo announced that Switch 2 accessories would see a price increase in the US “due to changes in market conditions”.

While the hardware itself didn’t get a price increase, the Switch 2 Pro Controller, Joy-Con 2 controllers, Charging Grip, Wheel Set, Camera, Dock Set, Carrying Case and AC Adapter all saw their prices rise by $5-10.

Then, in August 2025, Nintendo increased the price of the original Switch hardware in the US, with the Switch Lite becoming $30 more expensive, the Switch becoming $40 more expensive and the Switch OLED becoming $50 more expensive.

Nintendo’s price changes were widely attributed to US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs on numerous countries and later pause some of them, except for a sizeable tariff on China, where tech products are often manufactured.

After the US Supreme Court found that Trump didn’t have the power to invoke the tariffs, last month Nintendo (as well as more than 1,000 other companies) sued the US Government for refunds what it considered illegal implementation of the tariffs.

As a result of this, two players – Gregory Hoffert from California and Prashant Sharan from Washington – are suing Nintendo, claiming any money recouped from tariff refunds should go to customers.

As reported by Game File, Hoffert and Sharan are arguing that because the tariffs led to an increase in the price of Nintendo hardware and accessories, if Nintendo gets refunds on these tariffs it will essentially have made extra money from consumers.

“Unless restrained by this Court, Nintendo stands to recover the same tariff payments twice – once from consumers through higher prices and again from the federal government through tariff refunds, including interest paid by the government on those funds,” the lawsuit says.

The suit quotes Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa, who confirmed to investors in May 2025 that tariffs would have a direct impact on the price of its products.

“Our basic policy is that for any country or region, if tariffs are imposed, we recognize them as a part of the cost and incorporate them into the price,” Furukawa is quoted as saying.