Following the US president’s implementation of tariffs for Canada, China and Mexico, the video game industry shares its worries about how the new regulations might affect it. We previously talked about how such tariffs could have an actual effect on games including GTA 6 and here we are. The Entertainment Software Association shared a statement to outlets on Monday which talks about the negative impact the president’s tariffs could have on games.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) are the trade group responsible for representing companies in the USA such as Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, EA, Ubisoft, Epic Games and Rockstar Games’ parent company Take-Two Interactive. They’re most known for running E3. Below is the full quote sent out to several news outlets such as IGN:
“Video games are one of the most popular and beloved forms of entertainment for Americans of all ages. Tariffs on video game devices and related products would negatively impact hundreds of millions of Americans and would harm the industry’s significant contributions to the U.S. economy. We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to find ways to sustain the economic growth supported by our sector.” – ESA
In case you aren’t aware, most of the disc copies of video games for the USA are printed and made in Mexico. Respected video game analyst Mat Piscatella explained that not only could this lead to less games getting physical releases but also higher prices for discs.
Collector’s Edition?
The retail price of disc copies will increase to match the price of digital games more so than usual. Usually, disc copies drop in price faster. Whilst there is no risk of Rockstar not releasing a physical copy of GTA 6, we could see a potential price rise for a collector’s edition.
Rockstar Games typically make one for their games and a lot of fans love them. The estimated base price could be $70 (although not guaranteed); that this is more than GTA V’s cost in 2013. The collector’s edition for GTA V retailed for $150 so we could see it being a fair bit more. Pricing out fans would not be very nice. Hopefully we get a response from Take-Two during their earnings report on Thursday on how they feel about the tariffs.
Whilst such tariffs were to take effect on Tuesday, President Trump is pausing action on Mexico for a month. This is significant but also might not change much in the long run. If they are un-paused and video games don’t get an exemption, you might be paying a little more than you’d hope for the physical edition of GTA 6.
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