You may not yet have personally felt the impact of the tariffs the US has placed on China, but if you plan on picking up a PlayStation 5 when it launches next year, you may want to hold out hope that they are lifted by then. According to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said that the retail price of PlayStation consoles will rise if the US government opts to impose a higher tariff on Chinese-made video game machines.
Totoki said the following in regards to the potential tariffs: “We believe, and therefore have told the U.S. government, that higher tariffs would ultimately damage the U.S. economy.”
As the WSJ notes, Trump increased import tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods in May, and is now considering placing an additional tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese exports, which happens to include PlayStation consoles. In June, Sony teamed up with Microsoft and Nintendo to send a letter to the US government in an effort to fight back against the tariff. Talks between the US and China will pick up again this week.
Totoki admitted that “tariffs haven’t affected us that much,” but says the company wants to “remain vigilant.” Sony has yet to decide exactly how it would respond to the tariff, should it come to pass, but asking consumers to take on some of the added cost was certainly among the options under consideration.
This is especially relevant in the coming months, as Sony’s next-generation console is expected to be a significant upgrade over the PS4, and is likely set to launch at a price point approaching $500 without the tariff.
