<strong>Made in Vietnam: Trump Tariffs Ended China’s Monopoly on US Video Game Consoles</strong>

PRESS FOR SOUND China 0% Vietnam 0% Vietnam China Pacific Ocean US Made in Vietnam:Trump Tariffs Ended China’s Monopoly on US Video Game Consoles By Andre TartarHayley WarrenRaeedah WahidAndy Lin December 10, 2025 I have 86% of the video game market! Oh no! Tariffs! My factories are ready for this! LEVEL COMPLETE As of August 2025, Vietnam exported 75% of the game consoles headed to the US. Millions of holiday shoppers across America are filling their baskets with pricey video game consoles, likely unaware of a seismic supply-chain shift that’s done away with the familiar “Made in China” label. Instead, for most consoles sold this year — from Sony Group Corp.’s PlayStation, to Xboxes from Microsoft Corp., and this season’s hot-ticket item, Nintendo Co.’s Switch 2 — the packaging now likely reads “Made in Vietnam.” Few industries have seen a more dramatic and rapid realignment since President Donald Trump shocked markets with sweeping tariff announcements earlier this year. China’s once-dominant share of US video game console imports fell from 86% in 2024 to less than 5% since May, after Trump levied particularly punishing tariffs on the country, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of trade data. The story of how Vietnam seamlessly stepped in to meet US demand reveals the surprising resilience of a global electronics supply chain that’s behind the more than $20 billion annual console trade. It had already started taking new shape following Trump’s first-term tariff broadside against China, with new factories sprouting across Southeast Asia since then.

As Tariffs Hit China, Vietnam Stepped in to Meet US Demand Value of US video game console imports and tariffs in 2025 China $600M 300 0 China’s highest average tariff rate of 88% triggered $18 million in estimated payments 2024 monthly average from China JanuaryMayAugust Vietnam $600M 300 0 JanuaryMayAugust Sources: US Census Bureau, US Bureau of Economic Analysis Note: Estimated tariffs may not include calculated duty on goods subject to various or special rates. While electronics like smartphones were exempted from Trump’s 2025 levies, gaming equipment was not so lucky. In May, importers of Chinese-made video game consoles were hit with an average tariff rate of 88%, which later dropped to about 30%. Meanwhile, tariff rates on Vietnamese imports hovered around 10% or less. In all, the US government estimates that it earned at least $325 million in tariffs on consoles and similar goods between February and August. As a result, Vietnamese exports of consoles to the US, which had averaged less than $30 million a month in 2024, surged to more than $400 million a month after May.

The White House didn’t respond to Bloomberg’s questions about how tariffs impacted video game console production. White House spokesman Kush Desai said the administration’s tariff agenda is meant to “to both reshore manufacturing that’s critical to our national and economic security and level the playing field for American workers and industries.” Vietnam’s Factories Are Ready Three companies are responsible for nearly all of this new export activity: Japan-listed Hosiden Corp. makes Switch and Switch 2 for Nintendo; China-listed Goertek Inc. churns out PlayStation5s; and Taiwan-listed Pegatron Corp. assembles the PS5 and Xbox. Collectively, they’ve shipped more than $2 billion to the US from Vietnam between September 2024 and August 2025, according to figures provided by Big Trade Data. These three companies have had a manufacturing presence in Vietnam for years, making primarily other products, but few video game consoles. From this footprint, producers retooled some assembly lines and, since early 2024, built or expanded factories in the country on their way to producing millions of video game consoles outside China.

Three Companies Are Driving $2B in Exports to US Monthly value of exports by company and brand Source: Vietnam customs data Hosiden began construction last year of a new 258,000-square-foot building at its complex in the Vietnamese province of Bac Ninh. Hosiden declined to comment. Nearby, Goertek kicked off production earlier this year at an enormous 127-acre multi-facility site. A local press report itemized production targets, including “2 million gaming consoles [and] 5 million game controllers.” Selling from its Vietnamese plants allows its Chinese parent company to continue accessing the US market while side-stepping the higher tariffs imposed on China. Goertek declined to comment due to client confidentiality. Pegatron is in the process of quadrupling its workforce in the port city of Hai Phong and increasing its total output across all product lines in its facilities, which includes PlayStations. As part of this expansion, the company is leasing about 312,000 square feet – the equivalent of six US football fields – in a warehousing complex near some of its existing factories. Pegatron declined to comment.

Rapid Expansion Fueled Manufacturing Capacity Select buildouts of factories or warehouses, by company Sources: Google Earth, company presentations and announcements, local news reports Other regions in Asia, including Japan and Taiwan, have also seen their exports of video game consoles to the US ramp up in recent months, though their shipping volumes pale in comparison to Vietnam’s.

Video Game Production Dwarfs Gains in Exports Across Region Change in US imports by country between Feb.⁠–Aug. 2024 to Feb.⁠–Aug. 2025 for all imports and video game consoles 0 250 500 750% Vietnam Japan Japan's shipments of consoles tripled, even as overall exports declined by 1% Taiwan Thailand Cambodia Malaysia Sources: US Census Bureau, US Bureau of Economic Analysis Taiwan, in particular, remains the linchpin for the most important and expensive components in video game consoles: the chips. Each of the three major console makers relies on chips from either Nvidia Corp. or Advanced Micro Devices Inc., who in turn outsource much of their manufacturing to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. This part of the video game supply chain has remained more stable, unlike other components and assembly stages. Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., better known as Foxconn, is also a major global supplier of video game consoles and parts, with a big network of Vietnamese factories at its disposal. Yet Foxconn doesn’t show up in the customs data that Bloomberg analyzed, likely because most of its video game manufacturing is still based in China or final assembly in Vietnam is being handled by other suppliers.

Prices Are Going Up Most holiday shoppers might not even realize that anything has changed, with store shelves full of the latest consoles, especially the Switch 2, which launched in June and is targeting global sales of 25 million units by March 2026. In the US, it’s by far the best-selling video game hardware this year, with PlayStation 5 ranking second. Tariffs Didn’t Slow Down Nintendo’s Switch Supply Chain Quarterly average consoles sold in the Americas = 20K units The Switch 2 launched in June and is expected to dominate holiday sales 2022 1.7M 2023 1.4M 2024 0.9M 2025 2.2M Source: Nintendo Note: Refers to fiscal years starting April 1. Average in 2025 includes only first two quarters and is likely an undercount because shipments tend to be highest in the second half of the year. What consumers may notice is the price tag. While Nintendo has maintained the Switch 2’s $450 launch price, console makers have hiked the cost of some of their older models since tariffs, which has helped boost revenue. Nintendo didn’t respond to requests for comment, Microsoft declined to comment, and Sony didn’t provide a response to Bloomberg’s questions. Price Increases for Video Game Consoles Sources: Nintendo, PlayStation, Microsoft Before Trump announced levies in the spring, a January report from the Consumer Technology Association predicted tariffs would push video game console prices up by at least 40% and sales would drop by 57%. A Lasting Switch Most of the decisions to build out Vietnamese manufacturing capacity were taken well before Trump was re-elected, at a time when some of the world’s largest electronic companies, like Apple Inc., were already raising concerns about their dependence on Chinese manufacturing. “The game console production shift to Vietnam is a natural progression as precision requirements are less demanding than smartphones,” said Ivan Lam, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research. “With Vietnamese factories having sufficient production capacity to absorb demand, we’re seeing players like Foxconn and Goertek jumping into the fray.” As for China, it has managed to maintain and even grow its overall trade volumes by diverting mountains of console exports from the US to other markets. An additional $129 million per month went to other parts of Asia between February and August. Japan, which is home to limited console production, saw the single largest surge in imports from China, even as it increased its own exports to the US. Where China’s $7.3B in Console Exports Went After US Tariffs Year over year increase and decrease in Chinese exports from Feb.⁠–Aug. 2024 to Feb.⁠–Aug. 2025, in millions of US dollars Brazil +26M Canada +219M Japan +595M Spain +356M US -1.4B The European Union absorbed $1.1 billion of Chinese exports China Sources: UN Comtrade, Trade Data Monitor Note: Countries where data is comparable for both periods are shown. An extra $180 million per month, on average, has been ending up in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands, a major shipping hub, as well as Spain, Poland and the United Kingdom. Even if tariffs eventually come down, all these new assembly lines and trading relationships may prove difficult to unwind. “Game makers learned it’s possible to mass produce their products even without relying on China, which was good,” said Hideki Yasuda, a senior analyst at Toyo Securities, though transitioning to Vietnam can include costs, such as slower government approvals and less reliable infrastructure. “I don’t think game makers will revert their production back to China in the future because relocating back to China would also cost a lot by now.” Related tickers: Microsoft (MSFT US)Sony (6758 JT)Nintendo (7974 JT)Pegatron (4938 TT)Hosiden (6804 JT)Goertek (002241 CH)Foxconn (2317 TT)Nvidia (NVDA US)AMD (AMD US)TSMC (2330 TT)Samsung (005930 KS)