Sony Hikes PlayStation 5 Price To Cover Tariffs And Gamers Are Furious: 'Trump Is 100% To Blame'

LOADINGERROR LOADINGSony has announced a $50 price hike for all three versions of its flagship video game console, the PlayStation 5, in the United States — and social media is furious.The company previously confirmed President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war could lead to rising prices.Sony’s vice president of global marketing, Isabelle Tomatis, broke the news Wednesday.“Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,” she wrote.

“As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S.starting August 21.”Advertisement Buyers will now have to shell out $549.99 for a base model, which originally cost $500 when it hit stores in 2020, and spend almost $500 for a “Digital Edition,” which doesn’t contain a disc drive and initially cost $450 — or spend about $750 for the coveted “Pro” version.The Japanese company didn’t mention Trump’s tariffs on U.S.

imports Wednesday, but it did acknowledge them in May — when Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao confirmed in an earnings call with investors that Sony might “pass on” the cost of the tariffs to consumers.Gamers on social media were shocked by the ramifications of Trump’s trade war.“The first console generation that I can ever remember in my lifetime where prices of consoles have been raised over time instead of lowered,” one user wrote Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, with another person commenting: “Thank a Trump voter for this.”Advertisement Trump announced a sweeping 10% baseline tariff in April on all imports, with levies on dozens of countries set even higher.While he has defended his tariff policies as a just crusade to revive American manufacturing, they have sparked fears of a global recession — or worse.Sony confirmed during an earnings call in May that Trump's tariffs factored into their pricing.Alex Brandon/Associated PressTrump’s exec...