As if the recent price increase of the Ps5 It would not have been a blow hard for the public, Sony does not rule out it again. But this time it could be to compensate for the potential impact of Donald Trump's tariffs against China, a country in which the company manufactures most of its consoles.
During the presentation of its results from the previous quarter, and when referring to financial projections for next year, from Sony they warned that the impact of rates could be around 100,000 million yen; Something like 682 million dollars to the current change.
The head of Finance of Sony, Lin Tao, He did not explicitly appoint To the PS5 during the conference, but it did mention the company's hardware business. And he said they could try to mitigate the impact of tariffs passing these costs to consumers. That is, increasing the prices that the public must pay when buying their products to compensate for the potential losses that could be generated.
A hypothetical new increase in the price of PS5 has not been formalized so far, so it cannot be taken for granted. However, it is an option that is on the table and that can directly impact the players' pocket. Especially, considering that just a month ago a rise was announced in several markets, including Europe.
The final decision regarding whether or not to raise the price of PS5 Surely depend on how the relationship between China and the United States evolves. Earlier this week, both countries signed a kind of truce: the Americans reduced their tariffs against the Chinese from 145 to 30 %, while the Asians did the same against the Americans from 125 to 10 %. However, this is for 90 days, so the situation could climb again if the parties do not reach a more definitive agreement.
Sony does not rule out manufacturing the PS5 in the United States
Beyond a possible increase in the price of PS5 to compensate for tariffs, from Sony they opened the door to get their manufacture from China. At least partially, of course. In respect of take the production of the console to the United StatesHiroki Totoki, president and CEO of the company, acknowledged that it is not crazy.
The Executive remarked that the device can be produced locally and that adopting such a measure could be an “efficient strategy.” Of course, he also made it clear that for now there is no final word about it. “Whether or not it is manufactured, it is something that should be considered towards the future,” he said.
Just a month ago, Sony announced a price increase that the PS5 increased in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. In this sense, the only version of the console that was affected in European markets was the digital edition; That is, the PlayStation 5 that does not include a record reading unit. This model is now achieved in exchange for 499,99 dollarswhen it was previously offered for 449.99 dollars.
Waiting for a definition, there is no choice but to be patient. Of course Sony is not the only technological one that must navigate the current tariff framework. Nintendofor example, it has also had to take extreme measures to address the matter. And yet it is likely to lose money with each Switch 2 that sells in the US.
