Sony filed a motion Monday in California federal court to dismiss a class action lawsuit seeking to force the company to share tariff refunds with PS5 buyers. The company expects to recover $508 million from the U.S. government after the Supreme Court struck down 2025 tariffs.
In its filing, Sony's legal team argued that "paying fair market price for voluntarily purchased consumer goods is not a legally cognizable injury in fact." The company characterized the claim that tariffs caused a price increase in August 2025 as "speculative and illogical," pointing instead to inflation, currency fluctuations, component costs, logistics, competition, and demand as alternative factors.
Sony raised PS5 prices by $50 in August 2025, citing challenging economic conditions and reporting a tariff bill near $200 million for the autumn quarter. The Supreme Court ruled in February that the emergency powers act does not authorize presidential tariff authority.
The company raised prices again in March, five weeks after tariffs were eliminated, bringing the standard PS5 to $649.99 in the U.S. and increasing prices in other regions. Sony's motion contends that if tariffs had driven the initial price increase, the company would have cut prices once tariffs were removed rather than raising them further.
The class action was filed on May 6 by Amorey Walker and Bryce Foster-Quarles on behalf of U.S. PS5 buyers since August 1, 2025.
Microsoft filed a similar dismissal motion in Washington federal court on August 21, arguing that no party can now determine what portion of a purchase price reflected tariffs. Microsoft also seeks to move its case into arbitration. The company has booked $300 million in expected tariff refunds. Nintendo filed an earlier motion in late July. Panic, maker of the Playdate handheld, has refunded the 19 percent tariff it charged customers, becoming the only gaming hardware manufacturer to do so. No judge has ruled on any of the motions.
