Trump’s Tariffs Hit PlayStation, Xbox and Switch: See How Much Prices Surged
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Gabrielle Olya
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Molly Sullivan
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President Donald Trump’s tariffs are now hitting gamers hard, with console prices jumping across the board. Sony is the latest brand to announce price increases to its PlayStation consoles, following in the footsteps of Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s Switch.
Here’s how much tariffs have added to the price of PlayStations and other popular consoles.
PlayStation Consoles Cost $50 More
Sony announced that it would be raising the prices on its PlayStation devices effective Aug. 21.
“Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,” the company stated in a blog post. “As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S.”
According to Forbes reporting, the new prices reflect a $50 increase:
- PlayStation 5: Formerly $499.99, now costs $549.99
- PlayStation 5 Digital Edition: Formerly $449.99, now costs $499.99
- PlayStation 5 Pro: Formerly $699.99, now costs $749.99
Xbox Prices Rose More Than 20%
Prior to Sony’s announcement, Microsoft announced that it would be increasing the costs of its Xbox games and devices in May.
“We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development,” the company stated on its site.
In addition to bumping the price of some Xbox games to $79.99 — up from the standard of $70 — Microsoft also increased the costs of some of its consoles by more than 20%:
- Xbox Series S with 512 GB of storage: Formerly $299.99, now costs $379.99 (26% increase)
- Xbox Series S with 1 TB of storage: Formerly $349.99, now costs $429.99 (22% increase)
- Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Special Edition: Formerly $599.99, now costs $729.99 (21% increase)
- Xbox Series X Digital: Formerly $449.99, now costs $549.99 ($100 increase)
- Xbox Series X: Formerly $499.99, now costs $599.99 ($100 increase)
Nintendo Switch 2 Costs 50% More Than the Original
In April, Nintendo announced that it would be releasing the Nintendo Switch 2 with a suggested retail price of $449.99. That marks a 50% increase from the price of the original Switch, which was released in 2017. The company also hiked the prices of Switch 2 accessories by $5 to $10 each that month, Forbes reported.
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