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Trump’s tariff war has sent shockwaves through the tech industry. Although the implementation of new reciprocal tariffs on major electronic products has been delayed by 90 days, price increases are expected to be unavoidable. According to Economic Daily News, the first signs of price hikes are already emerging, starting with graphics card and gaming console manufacturers.
As noted in the report, sources indicate that Gigabyte has issued a price increase notice to customers in the Chinese market for several GPU models. These include NVIDIA’s latest RTX 5090D series designed specifically for China, the previous-generation RTX 4060 series, and AMD’s RX 9070 series. The price hikes reportedly range from RMB 50 to RMB 500, representing an average increase of around 5%.
Gigabyte confirmed the planned price adjustments on Monday, while other graphics card makers such as MSI and ASUS stated that they are closely monitoring market developments, as indicated by the report.
Graphics card vendors state that although the Trump administration has temporarily exempted certain consumer electronics—including graphics cards—from tariffs, a minimum 10% additional duty still applies in practice. With GPU prices in the U.S. expected to rise, vendors are preemptively increasing prices in China to maintain global pricing balance, as highlighted in the report.
Console Makers Brace for Tariff Impact and Regional Price Adjustments
Meanwhile, according to Forbes, Sony has announced a price hike for the PlayStation 5, with the Digital Edition set to rise by up to 15% in select regions—though U.S. pricing remains unchanged. The steepest increases are seen in Europe and the UK, where the console now retails for €499.99 and £429.99, respectively—representing a €50 and £40 jump over previous prices. According to the report, this move may reflect a broader strategy among major tech firms: raising prices overseas to shield key markets like the U.S.
On the other hand, Nikkei reports that game consoles manufactured in China are still subject to a steep 145% U.S. tariff—posing a major challenge for upcoming releases like Nintendo’s highly anticipated new console. This comes despite the U.S. announcing over the weekend that smartphones, laptops, and certain other tech products will be exempt from Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs. The report adds that Nintendo has already postponed U.S. pre-orders for the Switch 2 as it assesses the potential impact of these trade measures.
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(Photo credit: Sony)
