PS5 could be super expensive as Sony hints customers “bear the burden” of US tariffs

Sony Interactive Entertainment has opened up about the potential impact proposed tariffs on goods manufactured in China could have on the PlayStation business. 

According to an article published by the Wall Street Journal, Sony has said it will likely need to raise the price of its console hardware in response to tariffs on China from the United States. Yet another thing we have to thank President Trump for…

The company, alongside Microsoft and Nintendo, have already warned the United States Government that such a move will be damaging to consumers, causing them to pay more for consoles than previously thought, or lead the companies to move manufacturing elsewhere. 

“We believe, and therefore have told the U.S. government, that higher tariffs would ultimately damage the U.S. economy,” said the company’s chief financial officer, Hiroki Totoki.

Totoki has said the company is yet to make a definitive decision on how it will approach these tariffs if they go ahead, but is studying options, including customers “bearing the burden” of an increased price, which might well affect the release of PS5 in 2020. 

“[Tariffs] haven’t affected us that much, but we should remain vigilant about the potential risk,” Totoki explains. Given the next-generation of hardware will likely launch in the realm of £400-500 or more, a further increase won’t go down well with consumers. 

Concrete details on PS5 and Xbox 2 including the release date, inner workings and line-up of games remains unconfirmed. Only a small amount of specs have been confirmed, with each platform confirmed to support faster loading times, ray-tracing and full backwards compatibility.

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