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Sony<\/a> has announced a $50 price hike for all three versions of its flagship video game console, the PlayStation 5<\/a>, in the United States \u2014 and social media is furious. The company previously confirmed President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s ongoing trade war could lead to rising prices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sony\u2019s vice president of global marketing, Isabelle Tomatis, broke the news Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cSimilar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,\u201d she wrote<\/a>. \u201cAs a result, we\u2019ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. starting August 21.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Buyers will now have to shell out $549.99 for a base model, which originally cost $500 when it hit stores in 2020, and spend almost $500 for a \u201cDigital Edition,\u201d which doesn\u2019t contain a disc drive and initially cost $450 \u2014 or spend about $750 for the coveted \u201cPro\u201d version.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Japanese company didn\u2019t mention Trump\u2019s tariffs on U.S. imports Wednesday, but it did acknowledge them in May \u2014 when Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao confirmed in an earnings call<\/a> with investors that Sony might \u201cpass on\u201d the cost of the tariffs to consumers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gamers on social media were shocked by the ramifications of Trump\u2019s trade war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI want to point out that while trump is 100% to blame, Sony could 1000000% just eat those tariff charges if thats all they\u2019re bumping it up to,\u201d one person argued Thursday<\/a> on X, while another wrote plainly<\/a>: \u201cGamers who voted for Trump did this to you all. Dummies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The debate seems entrenched in these camps, with one side blaming Sony for passing the buck and another lambasting Trump for his trade war. Another faction, meanwhile, is just plain baffled<\/a> that a five-year-old console can be so darn expensive in the first place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 20 Years Of<\/span>Free<\/span>Journalism<\/span><\/p>\n Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n