February 20th, US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled in a 6-3 vote that most of the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump that affected the prices of consoles such as PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch were unconstitutional. The Trump administration cited the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as a way to impose tariffs on countries like China, which had a negative impact on the gaming industry.
In early 2025, as his second term began, Trump began implementing reciprocal tariffs through IEEPA. Tariffs have affected the prices of a variety of goods in countries including China, Canada, and Mexico, and the costs have been passed on to consumers. The administration cited immigration and drug trafficking as key reasons for citing IEEPA. IEEPA allows the executive branch to block certain transactions during national emergencies, but makes no mention of tariffs. Once enacted, tariffs had far-reaching effects on the global economy. Tariffs have delayed Switch 2 pre-orders in the US by several weeks, but there has been no change to the price or release date of Nintendo's latest console.
The Xbox ROG Ally X Handheld is getting more expensive in at least one region.
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X portable gaming system is now suddenly more expensive to buy in at least one part of the world, according to a report.
Supreme Court ruling against Trump's tariffs
Despite the Trump administration's efforts, the Supreme Court disagreed with the idea that most of the tariffs enacted under IEEPA could be enforced by the president. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 for Trump and said the IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs, citing lack of jurisdiction. The court's decision was part of the case Learning Resources, Inc. vs. trumpSCOTUS will hear oral arguments in November 2025. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, with Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, Jackson, Gorsuch, and Barrett concurring. The majority opinion stated that the U.S. Constitution states that the power to impose taxes and tariffs rests with Congress, not the President.
The dissenting opinion was delivered by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joined by Justices Thomas and Alito. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Kavanaugh said, “The tariffs at issue here may or may not be wise policy, but given the text, history, and precedent, they are clearly legal.” The Trump administration's tariffs have been criticized for triggering the following game: Resident Evil Requiem In order to forgo physical collector's editions, the court's ruling still leaves in place some distinct tariffs on commodities such as steel. President Trump said of the court's decision: “Their decision is wrong, but it doesn't matter because we have a very strong alternative.” President Trump announced a global 10% tariff as one of the alternatives, but the tariff was limited to 150 days.
Don't expect prices to drop anytime soon
Although the Trump administration's economic plan has suffered a major blow, the Supreme Court ruling is unlikely to have an immediate impact on the prices of video game consoles and PC components. The ongoing RAM shortage crisis, fueled by high demand for essential components for AI-driven data centers, has led to a surge in prices for RAM and solid-state drives (SSDs). The ongoing shortage has led stores like Costco to remove RAM sticks from display PCs in response to theft. Consumers can still purchase RAM from a variety of retailers, but the high price points have made it more difficult to build a new PC.
Due to the crisis, Valve postponed the release of Steam Machine to the first half of 2026. Additionally, the Steam Deck is completely sold out in the US, and Valve has stated that it expects shortages of the Steam Deck to be intermittent for the foreseeable future. With the future of Steam Machines uncertain, it remains to be seen when consumers can expect financial stability.
Source: Kotaku, AP
