Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft Come Together to Oppose Trump’s Tariffs on Consoles

In a rare but resounding move of unity, Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft have come together in a joint letter to the U.S. government, opposing President Trump’s proposed tariffs on video game consoles that are manufactured in China. These proposed tariffs have been part of the Trump administration’s trade war with China and, if implemented, would tack on a twenty five percent tariff on video game consoles.

The letter, which was addressed to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), was composed by Linda K. Norman, VP of Deputy General Counsel from Microsoft Corporation; Devon Pritchard, General Counsel and Executive VP of Business Affairs from Nintendo of America; and Jennifer Liu, General Counsel, Sr. VP of Legal and Business Affairs from Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE).

In one of the early paragraphs, the letter states that the tariffs would cause “undue economic harm” to the “entire video game ecosystem.” The companies highlighted three major risks of the tariffs, which would cause injury to consumers, developers, retailers, and console manufacturers; put thousands U.S. jobs at risk; and stifling innovation in the games industry. In addition to these repercussions, the letter also outlines how tariffs could “hinder or delay technological innovation in a broad range of applications beyond gaming.”

You can read some of the highlights in detail below.

The letter explains how video games are a core part of America’s entertainment culture, with “two out of three households” having at least one console and more than fifty percent of Americans playing games daily. Consumers who will purchase consoles with the tariffs in place would pay “$840 million more than they otherwise would have, according to a recent study prepared for the Consumer Technology Association by the independent economic group, Trade Partnership. ”

There is no word yet if, or when, these tariffs will be implemented.