Sony recently held its earnings call with investors, where the electronics giant announced its financial forecast for the next year. The company said that it expects President Trump's tariffs to impact its business, costing it around 100 billion yen (around $680 million), according to Nikkei Asia.
During the call, Sony CFO Lin Tao said that the company is mulling "passing on" the taxes from President Trump's tariffs to consumers, mostly to protect its own profits. This would mean higher prices on Sony products.
It should be noted that Tao didn't specify that the price increases would impact the PS5, and Sony may want to protect pricing in the US, as it's one of the largest markets for its video game division.
And Sony has already increased the price of the PS5 in Australia, Europe, the U.K. and New Zealand this year.
US manufacturing
Sony's CEO Hiroki Totoki mentioned during the call that the company is considering moving some of its manufacturing to the United States to avoid most of President Trump's tariffs. He said the PS5 could be "produced locally," adding that it would be "an efficient strategy."
If Sony plans to move some production to the US, it's unclear when or how long it would take for the company to get new plants up and running. Presumably, Sony could bulk essential components to the US and then finish assembly here, which might save money.
Like many major companies, Sony has moved some of its production to countries like Vietnam and India. Still, a majority of the PS5 is built in China. Despite the recent 90-day tariff pause and reduction of tax rates, the tariffs between China and the US are still high. The current 30% rate is still higher than the 10% rate other countries face.
Additionally, game consoles are not included in electronics exemptions like various smartphones and semiconductors.
Microsoft has already raised prices by $100 for Xbox consoles, with $80 games coming this fall. Recently, Nintendo admitted that prices could go up for Switch 2 depending on what happens with the tariffs.
As for Sony's plans for pricing, we could learn more this week when Sony releases its flagship WH-1000XM6 headphones. The excellent WH-1000XM5s launched at $399, but rumors point to Sony charging $449 or even $499 for the new headsets.
More from Tom's Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
