8bitdo is probably the most popular 3rd party video game controller company today. While other companies like Hori and Logitech have been around for longer, and have bigger product lines and distribution, 8bitdo is the most talked about brand of controllers, and the most recommended among gamers themselves.
In fact, we reported on several 8bitdo controllers through the years ourselves. That includes the 1st Ultimate Controller, the Xbox Edition Mechanical Keyboard, the Mobile Gaming Controller, and the Mini Wired Xbox Controller. They’ve been around since 2013, and they made their name from originally on making copies of popular retro controllers, to iterating on dependable controllers with durable parts and premium features.
Unfortunately, today we have bad news for 8bitdo fans in the US.
As reported by Polygon, 8bitdo has revealed on their website that they have stopped shipping their products to the US. They directly state that this is happening due to US tariffs, and they didn’t provide any indication if this is permanent, or if they could reverse course later.
8bitdo does have products that are still warehoused in the US, so customers who do want to get their latest items like the Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller can still get their hands on them while they can.
While we know that Nintendo can migrate parts of their business outside of China to avoid the ongoing tariffs, companies like 8bitdo don’t have that choice. Based on their LinkedIn profile, the company is based in Shekou, a free trade at the border of Shenzhen and close enough to Hong Kong to do business there as well.
As you can imagine, other game controller companies are also based in China. For example, GameSir is based in Guangzhou. On the other hand, many of 8bitdo’s peers are outside of China, such as PowerA, PDP, and Nyko.
On the surface, it may appear that only Chinese companies will be harmed by tariffs, and American based companies are bound to benefit, but other factors are also at play. The likes of PowerA, PDP, and Nyko may have partners and manufacturers in China. And on another level, there are certain resources, such as rare earth medals, that are found in China.
We aren’t in a position to predict how tariffs will play out, or for that matter, to provide an exhaustive explanation of the situation to begin with. But if it immediately seems like this situation will hurt gamers as consumers, one should also understand that the gaming industry, and not just Chinese game companies, can be hurt by all of this as well.