Global gaming giant Nintendo is asking courts to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed by gamers arguing it broke the law by refusing to pass on U.S. tariff refunds to consumers. The class action suit — Hoffert et al v. Nintendo of America Inc. — was filed by Nintendo customers in April 2026 and argued the brand raised hardware prices while seeking tariff compensation.
In the suit, plaintiffs allege Nintendo “responded [to tariffs] by increasing prices on consumer goods to offset the cost,” unfairly placing much of the financial burden on American consumers who made purchases between February 1, 2025 and February 24, 2026.
Nintendo says, however, that consumers “received exactly what they bargained and paid for” when they purchased their higher-priced Nintendo Switch 2 handhelds and peripherals. “Plaintiffs are not entitled to a rebate simply because of intervening legal developments related to tariffs.”
One Nintendo lawyer argued that”[i]f a consumer did not want to pay the advertised price, they were free to abstain from purchasing the product or seek out competing products.”
“The common thread among Plaintiffs’ claims is that it is somehow ‘unfair’; that Nintendo has not retroactively adjusted its prices for completed sales in response to the outcome of the tariff litigation. But that is not how commercial transactions work.
“Nintendo or one of its retailers set a price for each product, and consumers decided whether that price was worth paying. Those who bought Nintendo’s products received exactly what they bargained and paid for: a console, game and/or accessory at a price to which both parties agreed.
“The money Plaintiffs paid represents the purchase price of the goods they wanted and received; Plaintiffs are not entitled to a rebate simply because of intervening legal developments related to tariffs.”
Nintendo lawyers continued, arguing the brand “did not simply increase each product’s price by the amount of tariffs it paid on that product or impose an across-the-board tariff surcharge,” instead imposing “modest and selective price adjustments.” According to lawyers, “[Nintendo] chose to bear the costs of tariffs on some of its most popular products of 2025, including its flagship console, the Nintendo Switch 2.”
President Donald Trump instituted his campaign-promised tariffs, or taxes on imported goods, on February 1, 2025, less than two weeks after his January 20 inauguration. The president leveraged the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to implement widespread tariffs, but earlier this year, the United States Supreme Court ruled the widespread and inconsistent tariffs were unlawful.
Despite corporate blow-softening measures described by Nintendo’s legal team, the class action lawsuit alleges that Nintendo plans to double-dip rather than redistribute to gamers.
“Unless restrained by this Court,” reads the complaint, “Nintendo stands to recover the same tariff payments twice—once from consumers through higher prices and again from the federal government through tariff refunds, including interest paid by the government on those funds.”
“Plaintiffs bring this action on behalf of millions of consumers who purchased goods from Nintendo during the tariff period and who paid inflated prices reflecting Nintendo’s pass-through of unlawful tariffs. Plaintiffs seek restitution of those tariff overcharges, together with appropriate declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief.”
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to Outrun Gaming for more information as it becomes available.
Follow Outrun Gaming on MSN for more content you love.
RELATED →
