Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony teamed up to warn Donald Trump that his latest sanctions on the eastern border could have a detrimental effect on the US economy. The president decided to raise import fees for consoles in the country by 25%, which obviously impacts all three.
The trio recalled that 96% of gaming devices today are manufactured in China, and that this increase would impact the price passed on to consumers, not just that: even moving to other regions to comply with Trump’s indirect recommendation of the companies cease partnerships with the Chinese could be harmful, since new facilities would generate costs and would require a new production work aiming at a safe production line and with quality equipment.
The companies also presented numbers in the letter sent to the government: in 2018 they were responsible for the revenue of $ 43 billion, and only in the US employ 8 thousand citizens. Directly and indirectly, around the world, this number rises to 220 thousand. Americans still spend $ 15 billion annually on console purchases, and all those numbers could be affected by the implementation of the new rate since so much of the manufacturers’ equation would have to change.
It is worth mentioning that both Sony and Microsoft will officialize their next consoles in 2020, so the news falls like a bomb for them. It’s a new sales period that starts where the important thing is not just keeping a stable sales figure for already established consoles such as PS4 and XONE but boosting a new product to gain popularity in the market.
Even Nintendo should release new versions of Switch, so 100% of the manufacturers are worried about the theme.
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It is worth remembering that Huawei is still unable to use Google’s Android in new products, and this could be a shot in the foot of the US administration since HongMengOS can reach the market for mobile devices with great force.
Source: www.regulations.gov