Sony hikes PlayStation 5 price by 25% as Trump tariffs bite

Sony has increased the price of its PlayStation 5 by 25% as the video game industry reels from the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The Japanese game developer said it had made the “tough decision” to raise the price of the console’s digital edition to £429.99 in the UK and €499.99 in Europe, starting from Monday. There will be no price change for the standard PS5, which comes with a disk drive.

The company cited “a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates” behind its decision to increase the retail price of the PS5 in some markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania.

In Australia, the standard PS5 will rise to A$829.95, while the digital edition will increase to A$749.95. In New Zealand, the standard console will increase to NZ$949.95, and the digital to NZ$859.95.

The technology industry has been grappling with the possible impact of President Trump’s tariffs on its supply chains. Rival Japanese game developer Nintendo unveiled its new handheld console, the Switch 2, the day before Trump launched his barrage of “reciprocal” tariffs on foreign goods on 2 April. A few days later, the company postponed preorders of the device in the US, as it said it would need to assess the potential effect of tariffs.

Japan was hit with a 24% tariff on its exports to the US on Trump’s “liberation day” on 2 April. Like most of Trump’s new tariffs, they have been paused for 90 days. However, the Japanese prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said on Monday that his country did not plan to make big concessions in negotiations with the US and that it would not rush to reach a deal. Talks between the two governments are due this week.

Companies such as Apple, whose products are largely assembled in China, are also bracing for higher costs. Analysts at the investment bank UBS have warned that the price of an iPhone 16 Max, with 256GB of storage, could rise 79% from $1,199 (£915) to about $2,150 (£1,600), based on a total tariff of 145%.

While there is still a great deal of uncertainty around Trump’s trade policy, Japanese shares rose on Monday after the US said it would pause levies on some electronics, including smartphones. Tokyo’s index of blue chip stocks, the Nikkei 225, closed up 1%.

However, US officials said on Sunday that the pause on smartphones, laptops and other electronic products from import tariffs on China will be short-lived, with Trump warning on Sunday that no one was “getting off the hook”.

In a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, the president promised to launch a national security trade investigation in the semiconductor sector and “the whole electronics supply chain”.

“We will not be held hostage by other Countries, especially hostile trading Nations like China,” he wrote.