Customers in California are suing Sony, alleging that the company is set to obtain “a double recovery windfall” as a result of the Trump administration’s IEEPA tariff refunds.
As first reported by Kotaku, the case in question is Walker et al v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, and the plaintiffs believe the refunds should be passed on to consumers. They argue that that the price of PlayStation consoles was increased in the same period, specifically to counter said tariffs.
The price hike was announced back in late March, and became effective in April and May across multiple regions. For the US specifically, this marked the second increase since August of last year.
The lawsuit, which has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses the company of “retention of a substantial windfall generated by unlawful tariffs imposed by the federal government under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.”
As Kotaku notes, on April 20, following the U.S. Supreme Court decision that the IEEPA tariffs were unlawful, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made a tariff refund website to facilitate refunds for said tariffs to affected importers.
Now, this case is classified as a “Nationwide Class” suit. Should the plaintiffs win, “all individuals” who purchased a PlayStation console during the class period, which began in August 1 of last year, are included.
Nintendo of America was also sued by two customers who claim they are entitled to tariff refunds from the company. This took place in April, with plaintiffs claiming Nintendo also passed costs onto consumers via price hikes before itself becoming entitled to refunds after the Supreme court decided those same tariffs were unlawful.
“Major U.S. importers—including Nintendo—responded by increasing prices on consumers goods to offset the cost of these tariffs. As a result, American consumers paid higher retail price for consumer goods reflecting the economic burden of those tariffs,” reads the filing.
As noted in Sony’s earnings report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, the company sold 1.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles during Q4. Year-on-year, it was a substantial decline, compared with the 2.8 million console sales it amassed this time last year.
The Japanese company added that it is now proactively utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to “drive efficiencies and enhance player & creator experiences, and experimentation of potential applications.” Those remarks come mere months after Sony shuttered internal studios Bluepoint Games and Dark Outlaw Games.
Source link
#Sony #sued #alleged #tariff #double #recovery #windfall
