Sony and Microsoft request dismissal of consumer lawsuits over tariff refunds

Sony and Microsoft have submitted motions to dismiss consumer lawsuits claiming they failed to pass on tariff refunds to buyers. The legal action stems from price hikes for PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles in 2025. Consumers argue these increases were tied to US tariffs, which a US Supreme Court deemed unlawful, entitling them to refunds.

Sony's legal team contends the claims are speculative and that factors like inflation, currency fluctuations, and component costs drove the price hikes. They also note Sony raised prices again after the Supreme Court overturned the tariffs. If tariffs were the cause, Sony would have lowered prices post-elimination, which it did not.

Similar arguments were made by Microsoft in a separate case in Washington State. Both companies maintain that consumers received exactly what they paid for and there's no evidence of a pricing differential due to tariffs or any possibility of recreating dollar-for-dollar tariff-related pricing. Sony's stance mirrors Nintendo's July dismissal request, where the company argued consumers could choose not to buy or seek alternatives if they didn't want to pay the advertised price.

Nintendo also clarified it didn't uniformly increase prices by the tariff amount or impose a tariff surcharge. So far, only Panic, a Playdate maker, has refunded tariff surcharges to customers.