Trump tariffs hit Japanese games companies as shares in Nintendo, Sony, DeNA and Capcom fall

A number of Japanese games companes including Nintendo, Sony, Capcom and DeNA have seen shares plummet since US president Donald Trump declared tariffs on imports from China to the US will be doubled.

After a 10% tariff was introduced on Chinese goods on February 10th, a blanket increase to 20% was announced last week on March 4th.

While the tariffs don't explicitly target games, they do affect hardware exports to the US like mobile devices, games consoles and computers, which could result in price increases for consumers.

With tariffs targeting aluminium, steel, semiconductors and more, Reuters reported that "over a quarter of exports" from Japan could be affected.

A synchronous slip in shares

The move looks to have cause jitters amongst investors. Nintendo has seen shares fall by almost 10% between March 3rd - the day before the tariff increase was announced - and today, March 10th. The company officially unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2 earlier this year, set to launch later this year.

Japan’s other major games console maker Sony has seen shares fall by 7% since March 3rd, without a brand-new console on the horizon but still reliant on PlayStation 5 sales to grow its audience for its games.

Furthermore, a number of Japanese companies reliant on others’ hardware have been hit, such as Pokémon TCG Pocket developer DeNA.

Up 137% in a year, the Japanese studio’s shares reached a record high on February 21st through Pocket’s major success, but as one of 2024’s biggest new mobile games, the title’s longevity is naturally reliant on players having access to affordable, up-to-date mobile devices.

Now, DeNA’s shares are down almost 10% since March 3rd. AppMagic data suggests that 26% of TCG Pocket’s player spending has come from the US, making this the game’s second most important market after Japan.

Meanwhile, Capcom’s shares are also down by approximately 10% since the day before Trump’s announcement, regardless of its record-breaking release of new main series title Monster Hunter game Monster Hunter Wilds.

The game surpassed eight million unit sales in its first three days after release on February 28th, making it Capcom’s fastest-selling game ever. However, this only briefly spiked Capcom’s shares.

Other mobile developers have seen small declines since the announcement of tariffs, though shares often fluctuate. Cygames owner CyberAgent’s shares are down by 1% and Square Enix’s are down by 2%. Puzzle & Dragons developer GungHo, meanwhile, has observed an almost 4% fall, and Mixi has seen stocks fall by almost 6%.