Sony raises PlayStation 5 prices in U.S. as tariffs start to hit
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Sony raises PlayStation 5 prices in U.S. as tariffs start to hit
PlayStation 5 game consoles will cost $50 more in the U.S. starting this week. The price for an entry-level PlayStation 5 Digital Edition will increase from $450 to $500. Sony didn’t attribute the increase to Trump’s tariffs, but consumer companies have been warning for months that higher prices are on the way. In May, Microsoft raised the price of its Xbox video game consoles and Nintendo delayed pre-orders of its Switch 2.
The price for an entry-level PlayStation 5 Digital Edition will increase from $450 to $500, and a PlayStation 5 with a disc drive is going up to $550 from $500. Sony’s high-end PlayStation 5 Pro will cost $750, up from $700. The PlayStation 5 was first released in 2020.
President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plan announced in April went into effect earlier this month on most countries. The U.S. currently has a 30% tariff on imports from China, and higher tariffs on goods from the world’s second-largest economy are currently “paused,” according to the administration. Sony’s home country of Japan was hit with a 15% tariff.
While Sony didn’t attribute the increase to Trump’s tariffs, consumer companies have been warning for months that higher prices are on the way.
“Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,” Sony said in its blog post.
The company said that retail prices for console accessories such as controllers haven’t changed.
Earlier this month, Sony officials said the company was working on supply chain diversification to combat U.S. tariffs, and said that the console hardware it sells in the U.S. is produced outside of China.
“It is difficult to speak to our hardware pricing strategy as that has implications for our future competitive strategy,” ” Sony officials said, according to a translated transcript of a call with financial analysts posted on its website. “But we intend to take a flexible approach to such decision-making by monitoring consumer price sensitivity as we think about total full-year segment profits, lifetime value, manufacturing, units sold in, and our content sales potential.”
In May, Microsoft raised the price of its Xbox video game consoles. Nintendo delayed pre-orders of its Switch 2 by a few weeks in April, attributing the delay to tariffs. Although Nintendo did not raise the price of its new consoles, it hiked the price of the original Switch earlier this month.
WATCH: Nintendo President on the new Switch 2, tariffs and what’s next for the company
Sony Announces PlayStation 5 Price Rises for U.S.
Sony has announced price rises for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Digital Edition and PlayStation 5 Pro that will go into effect tomorrow, August 21. The base PS5 with a disc drive will rise in cost by $50 to $549.99, while the PS5 Digital Edition will similarly cost $50 more, at $499.99. The PS5 Pro, meanwhile, will rise $50 from $749.99 to $799.
The base PS5 with a disc drive will rise in cost by $50 to $549.99, while the PS5 Digital Edition will similarly cost $50 more, at $499.99. The PS5 Pro, meanwhile, will rise $50 to $749.99.
“Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,” Isabelle Tomatis, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Vice President, Global Marketing said in a short statement shared today. “As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. starting on August 21.”
The price rises come amid a turbulent time for global markets due to U.S. tariffs, and similar increases from other video games companies such as Nintendo, which recently increased the price of the original Nintendo Switch. Sony’s specific timing today is also interesting, coming during the ever-busy Gamescom week news cycle.
Sony previously raised the PS5’s price in the UK and mainland Europe, Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, after already increasing the console’s cost once before, back in 2022.
No other changes were announced today by Sony for PlayStation 5 accessories, or for PS5 consoles in other markets.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
PlayStation 5 Price Increases To Hit US Tomorrow
The move follows similar measures taken at Xbox and Nintendo in response to US trade tariffs. The standard PlayStation 5 console retails for $499.99 USD in the US. PlayStation emphasized that retail prices for PlayStation 5 accessories will remain and that the update will not affect any other markets for the time being.
The prices for PlayStation 5 consoles will increase on August 21, taking the original PS5 console from $499.99 USD to $549.99 USD.
The move follows similar measures taken at Xbox and Nintendo in response to US trade tariffs.
Starting tomorrow, US customers may find that PlayStation 5 consoles have increased by roughly $50 USD. The announcement was made on an official PlayStation release, which stated. “Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment.”
On August 21, shoppers can expect PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. to be priced as follows:
PlayStation 5 – $549.99
PlayStation 5 Digital Edition – $499.99
PlayStation 5 Pro – $749.99
Currently, the standard PlayStation 5 console retails for $499.99 USD in the US. PlayStation emphasized that retail prices for PlayStation 5 accessories will remain and that the update will not affect any other markets for the time being.
Earlier in the summer, Xbox increased its console and game prices and rolled back certain changes shortly afterward. Following widespread backlash from the gaming community, full-priced holiday releases, including the highly anticipated The Outer Worlds 2, were brought down to $69.99 USD.
Sony’s move to increase its prices follows Nintendo‘s announcement that it would raise prices for the first-generation Switch, the Switch OLED and the Switch Lite on August 5.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/20/sony-raises-playstation-5-prices-in-us-as-tariffs-start-to-hit.html