Sony just raised the prices for all its PS5 models in the United States starting today, August 21, 2025. Now the PlayStation 5 will retail with an additional 50 US Dollars to its base price, including the PS5 Disc, PS5 Digital, and the PS5 Pro models. Sony has stated the price hike is only for the PS5 and not for any accessories. Inflicted due to the recent hike in prices across the gaming industry due to the ongoing tariffs. Read further and learn exactly why Sony raised the price for the PS5.
PlayStation 5 Price Hike in the United States
Henceforth from August 21st, 2025, the PS5 will retail at the following prices for all its models in the United States of America:
- PlayStation 5 Disc Edition: $549.99 (New Price) – $499.99 (Old)
- PlayStation 5 Digital Edition: $499.99 (New Price) – $449.99 (Old)
- PlayStation 5 Pro: $749.99 (New Price) – $699.99 (Old)
This is to note that the PS5 Price hikes are only for the console itself; PlayStation products like the DualSense Controller, Headset, and other accessories stay the same. As announced by Sony via their blog post:
“The recommended retail prices for PlayStation 5 accessories remain unchanged, and we have no other price changes to announce for additional markets.”
The price hike in the United States comes after the initial PS5 price increase in other regions across the world, including Europe, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Why Sony Raised the Price of the PS5?
Officially, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the division in charge of the PlayStation, has stated that due to the ongoing Tariffs, aimed at all consumer products, and rising challenges in the “economic” environment. The company has decided to raise the price of all PS5 models in the US. The tariffs are, of course, the result of Liberation Day, with the Trump Administration imposing reciprocal tariffs with a baseline of 10% on all imports and much higher rates, particularly targeting China and Japan (some as high as 145%).
Sony’s direct competition in the gaming industry, Microsoft and Nintendo, have already taken similar steps in the past by raising the prices of their Xbox and Nintendo products. Both companies have justified the price hikes by pointing to the rising trade tariffs and higher production costs.
The new tariff trend reflects broader issues that stretch far beyond just the gaming industry, but also affect major industries across different sectors.
Tariffs on the Japanese Video Games Industry
In early April, Japan saw the first glimpse of the Reciprocal Tariffs announced by the Trump Administration in the USA. With a 24% reciprocal duty on Japanese imports to the United States, these tariffs spanned across different industries, including the likes of Sony, Nintendo, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Konami, and more. While digital sales of video games and other DLCs are currently exempt from these tariff changes, many physical goods are, of course, part of the new tariff changes.
Nintendo was the first to assess these changes in early April 2025 and delayed the Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-orders by a couple of weeks. The physical gaming merchandise industry also stepped in to delay some pre-orders and announced the new prices for all their products.
But Why Sony’s PS5 Price Hike Matters
These price hikes do matter, as this will be the first on-shelf US price change that electronic goods consumers will face immediately. Currently, the majority of these Trade Tariffs are faced by companies in Japan; now it’s the buyers who will face these costs directly in international markets. With every other week a new deal or tariff announcement, it is rather unclear where the prices will go, but it is for sure that the average day consumer will have challenges in maintaining expensive hobbies and interests.
For consumers, however, this frustration remains the same. No matter how justifiable the reasons are from the corporates, players rarely welcome higher prices or costs. One internet user even stated:
“Has there ever been a console that increased in price as time went on? Every other console I can remember had steady decreases in price as time went on.”
Summary
Out of the three giants of the Gaming Industry, Sony has joined Microsoft and Nintendo in raising prices, announcing a $50 increase for the PS5. While PlayStation accessories remain unaffected for now, the long-term outlook for pricing in the gaming market is still uncertain.
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