Sony announced there may be an increase in the price for their lineup of consoles thanks to tariffs placed by the United States government on China. This is an update on the current status of the trade war with China and the United States in relation to the video game industry. Sony may be hit harder than expected with the new trade tariffs by the US if they happen.
Sony, specifically, warned the US government of the increasing cost to American consumers if the trade tariffs get enacted. Sony’s chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki has this to say in a statement about the tariffs (via The Wall Street Journal).
“We believe, and therefore have told the U.S. government, that higher tariffs would ultimately damage the U.S. economy.”
The United States and Chinese governments have set a meeting date again later this week to try to find a solution to the trade issue. Previously the three big names in hardware manufacturing, i.e. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft, all put aside their differences to come together to tell the US government of the mistakes they were making by putting tariffs on Chinese imports. Included in the letter they sent to their state representatives was the need to remove video games from the affected list of items. The trio stated in the letter that they understood wanting to protect America’s high tech leadership and intellectual properties. They did state, however,
“…the disproportionate harm caused by these tariffs to U.S. consumers and businesses will undermine, not advance, these goals.”
Specifically for the video game manufacturers, these trade tariffs would mean higher prices for the consumers who buy these consoles. The tariffs would most likely bring a 25% increase on video game consoles, controllers, arcade machines, and board games. Currently, the trade tariffs would affect current-gen consoles but with the next-gen consoles coming around very shortly, the could be the next affected. Hardware would not be the only affected avenue of the video game industry. The developers who make the games we play would also be affected. With more money being needed to offset these tariffs, the publishers who work with the developers to get their games out to the public would ultimately be needing more money. The more money really coming then from the consumers buying the games. With a meeting set next week for another talk about the trade tariffs on China, we will just have to wait and see what the verdict is.
