France: In an industry move experts say will continue, the US tariffs storm and the dashing costs of producing games have prompted manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft to proclaim price increases for consoles.
Sony’s 2020-vintage Playstation 5 has seen its value increase increase by hundreds of dollars abroad in recent months, which is in line with Microsoft’s Xbox Series X.
Analysts in the gaming industry believe that the impact of US President Donald Trump’s boundary levies on big trading partners is obvious despite the fact that digital products typically decline as their release date fades into the background.
In an April word, market research firm Niko Partners reported that “75 % of all computers shipped to the US… were made in China” last year.
Niko Partners scientist Daniel Ahmad claimed that Microsoft’s world rate increase is intended to” loosen the exact price increase in the US, which is Xbox’s largest business,” and that it is the only one affected by Trump’s swinging tariffs on imports from China.
Nintendo’s eagerly awaited Switch 2 unit is currently unaffected by a significant price increase forward of its June 5 launch.
In 2019, the Chinese power moved some of its production to Vietnam, which has been hit by Trump’s 46 % more tariffs, which have been postponed for 90 days.
If Vietnam is subject to such a high business expenses, economy expert Christopher Dring warned last month on his site” The Game Business,”” we’re looking at expenses increasing by hundreds of dollars” for every system.
The impact of the momentary pause on the game industry is still undetermined, but the United States and China reached an agreement on May 12 to reduce significant tit-for-tat tariffs, which will also be for 90 days.
broad-based increases
Games technology is getting more expensive as well as console hardware.
When Nintendo announced that the Switch 2 game Mario Kart World would have the highest-ever retail price tag of$ 80 ( RM345 ) in the US and up to €90 ($ 1022 ) across the Atlantic, fans were furious.
Microsoft intends to raise the cost of games created by its studios to as much as US$ 80 ( RM345 ), or US$ 10 ( RM43 ).
According to Niko Partners,” These amount items are set to be industry standards over the next two years.”
Behind the badge shock is a slump in the gaming industry’s growth over the past two years, which has made developers scrambling to defend their success.
For some players, especially the younger generation, that does think cutting back.
Nassim Amegrissi, an 18-year-old high school student in Paris, said,” I’m going to have to be a lot more choosy” about buying.
He claimed he had already made a decision to “pass” on the$ 470 ( RM2, 263 or US$ 450 ) Switch 2 purchase.
Matthieu Rodolphi, a 31-year-old French officer, said that cost may be” the deciding factor” when choosing titles.
Some players are turning to discharges from smaller productions that are frequently less expensive, like Split Fiction and the surprise hit Clair Obscur: Mission 33, both of which have sold millions of copies.
Other gamers are signing up for subscription services from major console manufacturers that offer access to a library of titles on demand for about €15 ( RM72 ) per month.
Prices is delayed
Most experts concur that activities are generally generally economical when looked at in actual terms despite the price soaring, even with this price.
In addition to the PlayStation 3’s €600 release price, which is now valued at over €700 ( RM3, 371 ), many other consoles were significantly more expensive in the past.
In a report on the state of the game market in 2025, Matthew Ball of firm Epyllion said,” Match charges have never been lower in genuine terms than they are now.”
In contrast, according to Dring, “development prices have as much as tripled over the past five times.”
Grand Theft Auto VI, which is the standard price for new video games in the US, “would be the cheapest-ever GTA,” according to Ball, if it were sold for US$ 70 ( RM302 ), the standard price.
However, the game cost significantly more to produce than the previous installments, so Ball anticipates breaking the US$ 100 ( RM431 ) psychological barrier when it is released in May 2026.  , – AFP