Donald Trump may have made one of the worst mistakes of his political career. His policies have negatively impacted… gamers. Yes, gamers. Perhaps the most volatile, thin-skinned, emotional, and dramatic community out there.
Gamers are renowned for flying off the handle at the smallest slight, tossing out death threats like most people throw confetti, or just absolutely destroying the lives of those who’ve displeased them.
We’ve known for months that Trump’s tariffs were going to affect the video game console industry. No major game consoles are made within the United States, with manufacturing facilities for PlayStation produced in China, with some assembly in Japan. As of this month, imports from China and Japan are at 30% and 15% respectively.
Deluded optimists argued that corporations would simply eat that cost. But, to nobody’s surprise, they’ve passed it on to you, the consumer. Now, thanks solely to Trump, PlayStation 5s are more expensive:
An update from PlayStation pic.twitter.com/Xgpsnqfcti
— GameStop (@gamestop) August 20, 2025
As PlayStation explains (via GameStop):
“Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging business environment. As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S., starting on August 21.”
From now on, the base PS5 will see its price increased from $499.99 to $549.99, the Digital Edition from $449.99 to $499.99, and the PS5 Pro from $699.99 to $749.99.
It should be getting a price CUT now
It’s worth remembering that this console is coming up to its fifth birthday later this year. In ordinary times, this would usually be the time for a price cut on a console. But Donald Trump has ended that trend, meaning that for the first time in gaming history, early adopters have gotten the best deal.
As you can probably predict, gamers aren’t taking this well:
An update from PlayStation pic.twitter.com/Xgpsnqfcti
— GameStop (@gamestop) August 20, 2025
Republicans have sold their soul to the most petty and venal man to ever live. And given him complete unilateral power.
— Jeff (@Jeff_jizzr) August 21, 2025
Get it?
Lmao
— Rickyh24 (@Rickyh24) August 20, 2025
Incredibly, there are still those who insist that these price rises have nothing to do with Trump, like standing drenched in a thunderstorm and insisting that it’s actually a sunny day. Fortunately, for many, realization is dawning that Donald Trump may not be the economic genius he claims to be.
Expect further price rises across the board, and who knows whether this will be the last one? Could we be looking at a $1000 PlayStation 5 at some point next year? At this point, who even knows? Either way, if you want to play Grand Theft Auto 6 and don’t own a PlayStation, you might have to commit an actual heist to afford it.
