The PS5’s future in the US is uncertain, and yes tariffs are to blame

Sony has already increased the price of the PS5 in the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and it seems that the US may be next on the list.

During the company’s recent earnings call, Sony CFO Lin Tao stated that tariffs will have a 100 billion yen impact on the company (about $681 million), and that the company is weighing different options to cover the cost of tariffs, including passing the price onto consumers.

“In terms of the tariffs, we are not just simply calculating the simple tariffs to come up with 100 billion yen, but are thinking about the current available information and looking at the market trend, we may pass the price [to consumers] and also shipment allocation. So we are taking different measures in managing to come up to the 100 billion yen.”

While Tao didn’t specifically pinpoint the PS5 as getting a price hike, “pass the price” could mean that consumers will bear the burden of the impact that the Trump administration’s tariffs are having on Sony. Given that the PS5 has already faced price hikes in other markets, and the fact that Microsoft has already increased the price of its Xbox consoles, a PS5 price hike seems inevitable.

However, it is also entirely possible that Sony decides not to shift the burden of tariffs onto the price of the PS5 in the US, and instead mitigates it to its other electronics, like its TVs or cameras.