PS5 Pro price could hit $1200 due to Trump's tariffs - new report finds

A new report from the Trade Partnership Worldwide paints a bleak picture for gamers once reciprocal tariffs kick in after the current 90-day pause.

PS5 Pro price could hit $1200 due to Trump's tariffs - new report finds
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TL;DR: A new Consumer Technology Association report warns that President Trump's tariffs could raise U.S. tech product prices significantly, reducing consumer purchasing power by $123 billion. Video game consoles may see price hikes up to 69%, with the PlayStation 5 Pro potentially costing $1200, impacting sales and overall tech affordability.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organization behind CES, has posted a summary alongside a new report looking into the potential impact of President Trump's tariffs on technology products. In partnership with Trade Partnership Worldwide LLC (TPW), the report "assesses the impact of his actual tariffs on the technology products purchased every day by Americans."

After the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends, the price of tech could go through the roof.
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After the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends, the price of tech could go through the roof.

The report's findings are based on a scenario where the planned reciprocal rates are implemented after the current 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends. It factors in the 145% or 45% tariff on imports from China, a tariff increase on lithium-ion batteries, and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. It also models its data and findings on the assumption that the U.S.'s trading partners do not retaliate.

The report covers ten of the most popular consumer tech products and predicts that significant price increases will "reduce American consumers' purchasing power by $123 billion." President Trump's tariffs could hit video game consoles the hardest, with consumers paying 69% more for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo hardware.

This could mean that the PlayStation 5 Pro's price increases from $699 to around $1200, which would be catastrophic for its sales. With the Xbox Series X recently getting a price increase of $100 in the U.S., it too would face an additional price increase from its new $600 price tag to around $850 at best. By their very nature, tariffs are taxes passed onto consumers, so the expectation is that everything tech-related will cost a lot more.

Here's the summary from the report covering ten consumer tech product imports, including how much more you can expect to pay. The only segment that doesn't look bad is Televisions, which will see a potential average price increase of around $57.

Consumer Tech ProductPotential Increase in Consumer PricePotential Average Retail Cost Increase
Smartphones30.8%$255
Laptops and Tablets34.0%$269 (Laptops), $152 (Tablets)
Connected Devices22.4%$10 - $81
Computer Accessories24.8%$58 (Printers)
Desktop Computers24.0%$287
Video Game Consoles69.4%$428
Monitors31.8%$111
Speakers and Heapdhones22.3%$60 (Speakers), $5 (Headphones)
Lithium-Ion Batteries17.9%Up to $16
Televisions10.7%$57

Gamers are among the most vocal online communities across most social platforms, so a PS5 price increase to over $1000 would cause an absolute avalanche of negative posts. Although the report doesn't single out gaming GPUs, PC gamers face serious price increases. GPUs and motherboards, like video game consoles, are primarily sourced from China, so a $500 GPU could see its price increase to over $1000.