Even with its fairly short history, the gaming industry has often found itself at odds with the US government. Given the rapid technological advancements and progressive culture of video games, the biggest gaming companies have been at the center of legislative action by the government many times. Nowadays, the federal government has continued to intersect with gaming in regards to potentially regulating lootboxes, and even by stealing music from Nintendo. Some of the biggest actions the government is considering now are involved with reducing the presence of Chinese influence on our economy through extensive tariffs. If these follow through, they could greatly impact the gaming industry.

As reported on GameDaily.biz, new government tariffs being considered now could greatly impact the gaming industry. To help with their trade war with China, the government is considering 25% tariffs on various items. This list of items focuses on many traditional gaming hobbies, such as board games and billiard tables, but it also includes video game consoles, coin-operated arcade machines and parts related to them.

These tariffs would come at an especially bad time for the game industry, as both Sony and Microsoft are expected to launch their new consoles in the near future. For those not in favor of the tariffs, aside from those opposed of these mainly Trump Administration-supported actions, the Entertainment Software Agency is seeking to support the interests of the industry. As their representative states, “The video game industry boasts a trade surplus for the American economy. Tariffs will hurt the American economy, its industries, and its consumers.” Hopefully, these tariffs don’t cause such a drastic increase in the price of consoles. Otherwise, we all might have to go back to playing the Dreamcast for a while. At least Jet Set Radio will get some more love in that case.

What do you guys think about these proposed government tariffs? Let us know in the comments below!

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