Nintendo fans have filed a class-action lawsuit demanding that tariff refunds received by the company are returned to customers, who have paid higher prices on Switch 2 accessories and Switch 1 consoles over the course of the past year.
The lawsuit, reported on today by Game File, essentially seeks to ensure that Nintendo does not profit from the tariff refund money, after already receiving more money from customers from goods sold at an increased price.
Nintendo recently attempted to sue the U.S. government over its “unlawful” tariff demands — an attempt that was essentially put on hold while the messy situation was sorted out. Now, the company — alongside many others — looks set to benefit from a collective $160 billion tariff refund that the government has said is owed to businesses, following recent intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court.
All of this has prompted two Nintendo fans — Gregory Hoffert and Prashant Sharan — to file that class-action lawsuit, which links Nintendo price increases over the past year to the need to counter U.S. tariffs.
Indeed, the lawsuit highlights specific comments from Nintendo boss Shuntaro Furukawa last year where he was asked about the impact of tariffs on company profits. Furukawa responded by stating that the impact would be recognized as part of the product’s cost, and that Nintendo would “incorporate them into the price.”
While Nintendo has not adjusted the price of Switch 2 consoles, the company increased the cost of various Switch 2 peripherals just after tariffs were announced. Last summer saw Nintendo then raise the price of its aging Switch 1 console, something that would have seemed unbelievable just a generation ago. And then, earlier this year, Nintendo said it would no longer charge the same price for digital and physical copies of the same game — recognizing that boxed copies cost more to manufacture and ship.
Nintendo is not the first company to face a similar lawsuit from customers keen to recoup some of the extra money they feel they spent to make up the extra margin necessary due to tariffs. Intriguingly, FedEx has said it will return money from refunds back to consumers. IGN has contacted Nintendo for comment.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
