We could define it as a new type of global conflict, the Tariff War that for some time now has been threatening the world economy.
La tariff issue is gaining public attention here in Europe as well, but this is certainly not the place to do politics, nor does the writer intend to do so, let that be clear. A mess of this magnitude can certainly not spare the entertainment sector, in which video games, telephony, and raw materials for low-cost technology (not so low-cost, in truth) could be radically scaled back, not only as regards mere availability.
The current tariffs on China and manufacturing companies currently stand at 20%, a figure that is already alarming in itself and, as I write, seems destined to increase until the moment they take effect: this will certainly force the nations involved to raise the prices of next-generation consoles and hardware component production, not to mention the enormous mobile phone market.
All’orizzonte, the gray clouds of radical change, and for the worse, of a market that already by nature is fickle, in precarious balance on the axis of foresight toward the future.
In recent years, the efforts of some “enlightened” franchises have firmly embraced the return to physical media, thanks to a awareness campaign carried out by the collectors and enthusiasts themselves, who infuse emotional value into their precious cult items.
The advent of tariffs and their impact risks being destructive, forcing the hand of video game development companies and the giants that produce and import the raw materials needed for hardware, which, in other words, means only one thing: the near-total exodus of all of them toward the digital market, effectively dismantling the physical medium and everything related to it forever.
We all remember, during the Covid pandemic period, the shortage of PlayStation 5s and the enormous delays in console deliveries to everyone who had placed pre-orders in stores; this was a tiny drop in the ocean, compared to the tsunami of much greater proportions that could hit the video game industry soon, when prices will soar and the physical copies available, both of consoles and games, will undergo a steep decline.
If stores, companies and businesses linked to the video game market are the Titanic, then the tariffs imposed by the States are exactly what you’re thinking: a solid and gigantic iceberg, into which we are heading to crash.
Penso a small game development studios, teams made up of a few but extremely passionate creatives (I myself collaborate with an Italian team specialized in graphic adventures): these pockets of genuine gaming resistance will struggle to stay afloat in a nightmarish scenario like the one that lies ahead of us.
No more cases, no more booklets with illustrations and special content: I’m reminded of the spectacular booklet for Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb for the original Xbox, for example, complete with a map and notes written by Indy himself!
The future we have outlined does not look very bright, I realize that, perhaps we are just worrying ourselves unnecessarily, maybe we are exaggerating and everything will burst like a soap bubble.
While we wait, let’s give our collection of video games on the shelves an extra dusting: they have never been as important as they are in this historical moment.
