Summary
ThePlayStation 5might get more expensive before long, as Sony hinted at the possibility of a price hike in its latest earnings call. Finances in the gaming industry have been tough lately, with global inflation and rapidly changing tariff proposals leaving many companies facing tough choices about how to account for these obstacles. Sony may be taking the ever-unpopular approach of passing higher operating costs to consumers by raisingPlayStation 5prices.
The Japanese electronics giant has already seen at least one price bump this year. In April,Sony announced higher PS5 prices in several countries, tacking an additional €50 to the PS5 Digital Edition in Europe. Unsurprisingly, fans weren’t happy with the change and called Sony out for being “greedy,” but that doesn’t seem to have deterred the company as it mulls over the possibility of doing it again.
The news came from aquarterly earnings conference, where Sony CFO Lin Tao announced that tariffs between the U.S. and China could reduce the company’s operating income by 100 billion Yen, or roughly $684 million. While Tao said Sony is “taking different measures” to come up with enough money to close that gap, one of those measures it’s considering is to “pass the price” to its customers. As unpopular a move as that is, previousPS5 price increases did not hurt demandfor the console, which may lead Sony to favor the same strategy this time around.
Sony Is Considering Raising PS5 Prices to Make Up for Tariff Losses
It’s unclear how much the PS5 would go up by if Sony goes that route. Buyer-side price increases are not the only strategy the company mentioned, either. Tao also touched on the possibility of manufacturing consoles in the U.S., which may entail higher production costs but could skirt tariffs on the hardware. Nintendo also recentlyhinted at possible Switch 2 price increasesif tariffs drive down demand by making everyday costs more expensive for U.S. buyers. In such a scenario, Sony may also need to grapple with a similar situation.
The U.S. and China have recently agreed to lower tariffs, so Sony may not need to make up as much money as it initially planned. Still, there’s a lot of lingering uncertainty around trade between the two nations, and the global economy still poses some challenges. Tariffs have already hurt the company, asSony stock fell in Aprilafter the first round of tariff announcements. Nothing is set in stone for now, but there may be bad news on the horizon for anyone hoping to buy a PS5.
PlayStation 5
Sony’s PlayStation 5 is part of the ninth console generation and debuted with a launch lineup that included Demon’s Souls and Astro’s Playroom. The console comes with a Blu-ray disc, although a digital-only edition is also available for a cheaper price.
