Tariffs Could Result In Next-Gen Consoles Being 25% More Expensive

Due to the ongoing trade war with China, the Office of the United States Trade Representative has published a list of goods categories that could be considered for new tariffs, which could be in amounts as high as 25%. These tariffs are expected to be applied to goods imported from China, which will cover “video game consoles and machines”.

Yup, that means that future console generations could be as much as 25% more expensive than we had previously thought. Whether or not companies like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo will be willing to take a loss to prevent the prices of their consoles from being too expensive remains to be seen, but it has been pointed that for the most part, most consoles are sold at a loss.

This is because companies take a loss on hardware sales in order to lock customers into their ecosystem, and then they make their money from services like online subscriptions and also sale of games. It is expected that all the major console makers have a next-gen console in the works. Sony recently demoed the PS5, although it is not expected to arrive for the next 12 months.

It had also previously been rumored that the console might be more expensive than its predecessor at $499. Sony has yet to confirm its pricing, but the company did state that its price will be “appealing”.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gaming
Tags: Microsoft, Nintendo, nintendo switch, ps5, Sony, Xbox