The Conversation (0)
News
Getty Images, iStock
Donald Trump has been slammed over the emergence of a “gamer tax”, as the price of Sony’s PlayStation 5 console is hiked up in the United States amid his tariffs.
People have been left outraged after it emerged that Japanese firm Sony, PlayStation’s parent company, is raising the price of all PS5 consoles in the US by $50 (£37) to account for “the “challenging economic environment”, which has come about in part due to Trump’s tariffs on various goods entering the US from countries around the world. This includes a 15 per cent tariff on Japanese goods.
In a blog on its website, PlayStation confirmed: “Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic 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.”
Effective almost immediately, the price of a PS5 in the US has been raised from $499.99 to a new price of $549.99.
The price rise has been dubbed a “Trump gamer tax” online by Democrats and Trump critics, and people aren’t happy.
Congressman Jamie Raskin wrote: “GREAT WORK, DONALD TRUMP, RAISING PRICES FOR ALL AMERICANS AND MAKING GOODS AND SERVICES MORE EXPENSIVE!
“IF NOT FOR YOUR NEGOTIATING SKILLS AND MANY BANKRUPTCIES, HOW WOULD WE ALL MANAGE?! THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK INCREASING THE COST OF LIVING SIR!”
California Governor Gavin Newsom commented: “Great work, @realDonaldTrump!!”
Someone else argued: “All this dude does is come up with new ways to cost you money. I mean, a gamer tax?!?! That’s as DUMB as it gets!”
The Democrats’ X/Twitter page wrote: “We got the Trump gamer tax before GTA 6.”
Another account mocked: “Trump’s Golden Age is awesome….love paying more for literally everything!”
Why not read…
- Trump’s tariffs are harming US chocolate firms in one unfortunate way
- Dad’s reaction to surprise gift from his family may be the sweetest thing you’ll see this week
Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings