Trump Tariffs May Kill Super-Cheap Retro Handhelds—but They Won’t Kill What Made Them Popular

The future of the cheap retro gaming handheld is looking grim, and it couldn’t come at a worse time for gamers looking for a cheap and well executed fix. The upcoming Switch 2 is set to sell for $450, $150 more than the starting price of 2017’s original Switch. The PS5 is going up in price in some regions. Games themselves will cost $70, $80, or even $100. All these price hikes should only help propel the legion of great-feeling, excessively cheap handhelds to even greater stardom. Unfortunately, Trump’s tariffs are set to hit small businesses and niche hobbies even harder than the biggest players who can afford to cajole the capricious chief executive into making an exception. Retro handhelds are almost certain to increase in price, and by a lot. The situation surrounding tariffs are so fluid, there’s no telling where gaming will end up when (if) the chaos ends. As it currently stands, consoles don’t get a carveout from tariffs that other electronics like smartphones will. Aubrey Qui ... Read full article.