Sony Mulls PS5 Price Hike Due to $685M Tariff Impact

Sony has announced that it is contemplating price increases across its product line due to the significant impact of tariffs on its operations. In its financial report for the fiscal year ending March 2025, and during a subsequent Q&A session with investors, Sony's executives delved into the effects of the tariffs introduced by the Trump administration.

Sony's Chief Financial Officer, Lin Tao, highlighted that the tariffs could impose a 100 billion yen (approximately $685 million) burden on the company, assuming the current tariffs persist. This impact is particularly felt in Sony's hardware sector, which includes the production of popular gaming consoles like the PlayStation 5.

Tao indicated that Sony might pass some of these costs onto consumers through higher hardware prices, which could affect the PS5. "In terms of the tariff, we are not just simply calculating the simple tariff to come up with 100 billion yen, but thinking about the currently available information, and also looking at the market trend, we may pass on to the price, and also shipment allocation," Tao explained during the investor webcast.

Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki also addressed the issue, specifically mentioning the PlayStation brand. He suggested that manufacturing consoles in the U.S. could be a strategy to circumvent the tariffs. "These hardware of course can be produced locally," Totoki stated. "I think that would be an efficient strategy. But PS5 is being manufactured in many areas. Whether it’s going to be manufactured in the U.S. or not, it needs to be considered going forward. We are not in such a critical situation."

Sony's Hiroki Totoki is considering producing the PS5 in the United States due to the tariffs. "It needs to be considered going forward" pic.twitter.com/c1cEQIwXA4

— Destin (@DestinLegarie) May 14, 2025

Analysts have speculated to IGN that Sony may follow the pricing strategies of competitors like Nintendo and Microsoft, potentially raising game prices to $80. There is also speculation that the PS5 family of consoles, especially the upcoming PS5 Pro, might see price hikes. This anticipation has led some consumers to purchase the console preemptively.

Daniel Ahmad, director of research and insights at Niko Partners, noted to IGN that Sony has already increased console prices in regions outside the U.S. "Sony has raised the price of its console multiple times outside the U.S.," he said. "There is a reluctance from both Sony and Microsoft to raise prices in the U.S. given the size and importance of the market when it comes to console sales. That being said, we would not be surprised to see Sony follow suit with price increases on the PS5 in the U.S."

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James McWhirter, senior analyst at Omdia, provided further context on the situation. "PS5 hardware is predominantly manufactured in China, exposing Sony's supply chain to greater risk from tariffs originating from the U.S. Yet what we consistently observe in the console market is that up to half of consoles are typically sold during Q4, the final quarter of the year. This bought both Microsoft and Sony more time to rely on existing inventories. In 2019, consoles were granted an exemption from tariffs on goods from China, but this ruling did not come into effect until August."

"With Microsoft having blinked first with price readjustments this week, it now opens the door for Sony to follow with PS5. This is going to be a particularly tough decision in the U.S., the world's largest console market, which has historically been spared — save for PS5 Digital rising by $50 in late 2023," McWhirter added.