Starting this weekend, Nintendo is running a “Customer Appreciation Sale” featuring steep discounts on games and hardware. The promotion begins at midnight ET on September 13 and runs until September 26, covering the eShop, Nintendo Store, and retail partners. Digital titles, bundles, DLC, physical cartridges, Amiibo figures, and accessories are all included in the markdowns. This extensive range of eligible products ensures that both digital and physical collectors can take advantage of the reduced prices.
Tariff Refunds Fund the Discounts
The company announced the event after receiving around $300 million in tariff refunds from the US government. Nintendo absorbed most of the tariff costs rather than passing them on to consumers when it raised prices on Switch hardware and software last month. In an earnings report, the company stated that these refunds helped make the promotions possible. The refunds primarily covered costs that the company bore rather than costs passed on to consumers through price hikes.
The company said in a statement that the sale is “made possible in part by tariff-related refunds” and is its “largest promotions ever.” The statement emphasizes that the refunds provided the financial basis for these generous price cuts. Nintendo is not alone in this strategy; Amazon and Sony have also faced consumer lawsuits for refusing to return the refunds they received. Nintendo argued in a July filing that it is not legally required to give the money back to buyers, claiming plaintiffs “received exactly what they bargained and paid for.”
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Price Increases and Legal Battles
Nintendo increased Switch 2 pricing in the US, Canada, and Europe last week due to “changes in market conditions.” The company also raised prices in August 2025 for similar reasons following the imposition of tariffs on imports to the US. Earlier this year, Nintendo sued the US government to claw back tariff payments after the Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration’s global levies were illegal. This legal battle was part of an effort to recover funds that had been paid on imported goods.
While Nintendo frames the event as a “thank you” to players, the move contrasts with how other companies have handled similar situations. Panic, the developer behind the Playdate handheld, simply returned the tariff refunds to customers without a fanfare. Nintendo is using the refunds to fund a massive discount event, effectively giving players a small fraction of the money back while retaining the bulk of the funds. This approach highlights a significant difference in corporate philosophy regarding consumer compensation during economic shifts.