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New Delhi: Sony has announced a price hike for its PlayStation 5 consoles in the United States, citing a tough economic climate and fresh tariffs imposed on Japanese imports by the Trump administration. The move takes effect immediately, marking the second major round of cost adjustments for the PlayStation brand in under a year.
For players, this means paying $50 more on every PS5 model. The entry-level Digital Edition will now retail at $499.99 (₹43,500 approx), the standard disc version at $549.99 (₹47,800 approx), and the PlayStation 5 Pro at $749.99 (₹65,200 approx). Accessories like controllers will remain at the same prices for now.
The decision comes on the heels of a 15 percent tariff on goods imported from Japan, announced by the White House on July 31 and enforced earlier this month. In addition, the US already has a 30 percent tariff on imports from China, which has complicated supply chains for gaming hardware makers.
Sony acknowledged the strain, writing in its official blog post, “Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment.” The company has also been working on diversifying production away from China, though executives admitted it was difficult to lay out a long-term hardware pricing plan given shifting trade policies.
Microsoft and Nintendo have made their own adjustments this year. Microsoft increased Xbox console and accessory prices in May, while Nintendo delayed Switch 2 pre-orders in April and quietly raised prices of some original Switch units.
This price hike is not the only challenge facing Sony’s gaming business. Last year, the company laid off around 900 employees, or nearly 8 percent of its PlayStation workforce, in what CEO Jim Ryan described in an internal email as an “extremely difficult but necessary” decision.
The layoffs cut across celebrated studios like Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, and Guerrilla Games. Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios, had confirmed at the time that the reductions were spread across “our studios, support teams throughout PlayStation and interactive entertainment.”
The combination of tariffs, higher prices, and workforce cuts highlights the pressure on Sony to balance growth in gaming with global economic shifts.
The PlayStation 5 was first released in 2020 at $499 (₹43,400 approx) for the disc version, which means US players will now pay $50 more for the same model five years later. While these increases are being restricted to the American market for now, Sony has already raised PS5 prices earlier this year in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
For gamers, the hikes may sting, but Sony officials told analysts they are keeping a “flexible approach” by monitoring consumer price sensitivity while weighing manufacturing costs, content sales, and long-term console lifecycles.
Whether that flexibility helps soften the blow remains to be seen. For now, American players who have held out on buying a PlayStation 5 will be looking at higher price tags, thanks in large part to Trump’s latest tariffs.
