Sony fights class action seeking $508M tariff refund for PS5 buyers

Sony has asked a California federal judge to dismiss a class action demanding that PlayStation 5 buyers get a share of the $508 million it expects to recover in tariff refunds, according to a motion filed Monday and reported by Game File. The lawsuit, filed on May 6 by Amorey Walker and Bryce Foster-Quarles, seeks reimbursement for U.S. buyers since August 1, 2025.

“Paying fair market price for voluntarily purchased consumer goods is not a legally cognizable injury in fact,” Sony’s lawyers wrote, calling the claim that tariffs caused the August 2025 price rise “speculative and illogical.” The company pointed to inflation, currency moves, component costs, logistics, competition and demand as alternative explanations, though it did not provide a breakdown of these factors. PlayStation prices went up again in March, five weeks after the tariffs fell, taking the standard PS5 to $649.99 in the U.S. — a move Sony argues contradicts the claim that tariffs drove the initial increase.

Meanwhile, Microsoft filed a near-identical motion on August 21 in Washington federal court against a suit brought by gamer Trevor Hastings. Its lawyers argued there is “nothing unjust about Plaintiff purchasing an Xbox at an advertised price,” adding that no one can now calculate what share of the price was tariff. Microsoft is also pushing to move the case into arbitration. Nintendo went first in late July, telling a court that it or its retailers set a price and consumers decided whether to pay it.

Panic, maker of the Playdate handheld, refunded the 19% tariff it had charged customers, so far the only gaming hardware manufacturer to do so. The Supreme Court ruled in February that the emergency powers act does not authorize a president to impose tariffs, invalidating the 2025 duties and triggering the refund requests from major hardware makers. No judge has ruled on the Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo motions.

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