Gaming, as both a hobby and a business, is not what I would call “affordable” at the moment. If you check store prices, no current game console retails for less than $449.99 USD, including the Switch 2, Xbox Series X, and PS5, to say nothing of constantly-ballooning costs surrounding PC gaming rigs, laptops, and portable devices like the Steam Deck. Unfortunately, given the current trajectory of things, there is a very distinct chance that these pricing woes are going to get worse before they get better.
According to a report released today by Politico, the Trump Administration is weighing a fresh round of tech tariffs, specifically targeting semiconductors and the devices they go into. If enacted, this would affect just about every computing-adjacent aspect of the entire tech industry, including video game consoles and PCs.
According to the Department of Commerce, the only condition that would alleviate these tariffs would be a greater investment in United States-based chip manufacturing, but the effort it would take to reach comparable levels of production to other countries is likely years away, if it could even be facilitated.
Consoles and PCs Could be Affected Across the Board
The United States...
