The US-China Tariff War Can Destroy PlayStation But Sony May Already Have a Genius Solution

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The US-China Tariff War Can Destroy PlayStation But Sony May Already Have a Genius Solution

To say that the US tariff war has been quite disruptive would be an understatement. President Trump’s policies are set to change things forever in America – for better or worse, and the video game industry might be caught in the crossfire.

In particular, hardware sales for video games consoles and PC parts might be affected quite negatively, as hikes on overseas manufacturing facilities begin to take place. All in all, it is quite a negative, and puzzling

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, but partners such as Sony and Nintendo might already have ways to counter it.

Sony could simply shift production elsewhere to work around Trump’s tariff war against China

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Trump declares a tariff war on China | Image Credit:

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/Donald J Trump

For the uninitiated, President Trump recently announced a series of hikes to tariffs imposed upon China, and other nations such as Canada and Mexico. In particular, China is set to receive a 10% tariff, which is being directed as a way to get more companies on board with the idea of manufacturing directly on US soil.

Naturally, this also affects all manner of electronic devices – including video game consoles. After all, most of the manufacturing is done in China, and this abrupt disruption will only result in both an increased price and artificial demand for these units. The initiative is particularly ham-fisted, and it might be a while till we see prices normalize for good, if ever.

Interestingly, Nintendo was also hit by Trump’s trade war against China (back in his first term as President) during which they opted to find a way to divert 50% of its Switch production to Vietnam instead. This let Nintendo sell units in the US without major issues.

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Sony will likely have to switch up its production facilities | Image Credit: PlayStation

Sony could also likely follow suit – assuming these tariffs do stay in place.

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, and thereby ‘bypass’ the regulation. Vietnam and Malaysia remain great centers for production, and Sony could very easily direct their efforts into these locations.

Obviously, this would all change if Trump enforces an international tariff law (which would thereby extend to these countries as well), but that move seems quite unlikely. Either way, do not expect Sony to make these changes for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro anytime soon – these consoles are already in production.

The PS6 and beyond could see some radical changes in this regard though, as Sony (and other players) are not likely to withdraw from the US market.

Expect consoles (and games) to get pricier soon

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Video game media could get very expensive, very soon | Image Credit: Naughty Dog

With the tariff war showing no end in sight, the prices of general goods – especially electronics – are going to get a lot worse before they get any better. Additionally, due to increased hardware costs, publishers might find it better to push out pricier games as a way to recoup their losses.

Things are about to change, and quite quickly. While next-gen consoles are expected to compensate for these issues by simply shifting production plants, these things take time. As such, current-gen consoles will most certainly inflate in price, and gaming might become quite an expensive hobby, at least in the US.

All in all, it is a pretty bad situation for gamers, and with the current state of the video game industry things look bleaker than ever. Only time will tell how things pan out.

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