Sony has said it is considering price rises in response to the huge impact of tariffs on its business.
The Japanese hardware and software company reported its financial results for the year ending March 2025, and in an investor-focused Q&A session that followed, its executives discussed the impact of Trump’s tariffs.
Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao said tariffs will have a 100 billion yen (approx. $685 million) impact on Sony, assuming the tariffs already announced remain. Tariffs impact Sony because of its heavy involvement in hardware manufacturing, which of course includes video game consoles such as the PlayStation 5.
Tao then suggested Sony is considering passing some of the cost on to the price of its hardware, which would potentially include the PS5 itself.
“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 said, as translated live during the investor webcast.
“So we are taking different measures in managing to come up to the 100 billion yen impact.”
Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki spoke about PlayStation specifically, saying Sony is considering making consoles in the U.S. to avoid the tariffs.
“These hardware of course can be produced locally,” Totoki said. “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 Tarrifs. “It needs to be considered going forward” pic.twitter.com/c1cEQIwXA4
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Analysts have told IGN that they expect Sony to follow Nintendo and Microsoft’s lead and make the jump to $80 games. Could the PS5 family of consoles also see a price rise? Most expect the PS5 Pro in particular to see a jump, something that has caused some to rush out and buy one before Sony makes an announcement.
Daniel Ahmad, director of research and insights at Niko Partners, told IGN that Sony had just raised its console prices in certain regions, but the U.S. might be next.
“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.”
James McWhirter, senior analyst at Omdia, added. “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.”
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
