Image: Push Square
Sony raised the price of the PS5 in the US this week blaming a “challenging economic environment”.
Look, we don’t want to get too deeply into the politics of it all, but we know the uncertain situation caused by tariffs is playing a huge role in all of this. PlayStation did shield itself from the turbulence for a little time by increasing console shipments to the US before the tariffs went into action, but that was only ever going to buy it time, which has now run out.
The irony is that while the price has gone up in the US, the platform holder is running a promotion in China to coincide with the release of the locally developed Lost Soul Aside.
Meanwhile in China…
Sony is discounting the PS5 through the end of the month, with the PS5 Digital Edition priced at RMB 2,799 ($390) and the PS5 Disc Edition priced at RMB 3,399 ($470).
This is to coincide with the release of Lost Soul Aside (Aug 29).
No tariffs in China pic.twitter.com/V0EVDEFQpd
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) August 21, 2025
From now through the end of the month, you’ll be able to get a PS5 Digital Edition for RMB 2,799 (~$390) and a PS5 with a Blu-ray drive for RMB 3,399 (~$474). That’s obviously a fair bit less than the new US prices, and should help Sony sell a few extra consoles in the region.
Some games and controllers are also discounted.
Of course, the PS5 is still extraordinarily expensive for a system that’s nearing its fifth anniversary. This has been a challenging generation for Sony, starting with the turmoil of the pandemic and now these new tariffs. It’s going to be fascinating to see how the manufacturer keeps hardware sales flowing with the prices now so abnormally high around the world.
As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.