Sony has reached the impressive milestone of selling 100 million units of the PlayStation but it sees dark clouds ahead as it looks towards the future. The company has warned that the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China could result in the price of its consoles going up.
Sony’s financial boss Hiroki Totoki has said that if the United States expands tariffs on Chinese products, it would likely result in a price increase for PlayStation consoles. Totoki says that Sony is considering a number of options to deal with this eventuality and that passing that additional cost on to the customers is one such option.
A firm decision has not yet been made about the tariffs being expanded to other products. Sony wouldn’t have to worry about the prices rising if the negotiations between the two countries go well and the possibility of additional tariffs is averted.
This remains a matter of concern for Sony, though, since consoles are sold on thin margins as it is. The expectation is always that the company will be able to make its money back on service and game sales. That might not leave Sony with much room to either absorb the price hike because of the tariffs itself or simply move the production of the PlayStation consoles to another country. Sony would obviously prefer this was all sorted out before it launches the PlayStation 5 next year.
Filed in . Read more about PlayStation and Sony. Source: wsj