Sony and Microsoft seek dismissal of consumer lawsuits regarding tariff refunds
Sony and Microsoft have submitted legal motions to have class action lawsuits against them dismissed. These lawsuits claim the companies did not return tariff refunds to consumers.
According to Game File, the suits came in response to price hikes in 2025 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles. Consumers allege these increases were driven by unlawful tariffs as determined by the US Supreme Court, who have since declared them illegal, suggesting customers are owed refunds.
Sony has asked a California Northern District judge to dismiss the case, asserting there’s no legal obligation to pass tariff refunds to consumers.
The company’s attorneys argued that the reasons behind the price hikes were not related to tariffs but rather to factors such as inflation, exchange rates, component costs, logistics, market competition, and consumer demand.
Furthermore, they highlighted that Sony has continued to raise hardware prices following the Supreme Court’s decision on tariffs.
“Had tariffs been the reason for the original price increase, there would have been no justification for raising prices again post-tariff invalidation,” stated Sony’s legal team.
“If tariffs solely influenced price alterations, price reductions would be expected after their removal. Instead, the pricing strategy reflects various input costs.”
In a July announcement, Sony projected a $508 million refund on tariffs, which resulted in a 37% increase in Q1 operating profits according to reports.
Microsoft mirrored Sony’s rationale in a separate legal filing in Washington State Federal Court, seeking case dismissal as well.
“There is nothing unfair about a customer buying an Xbox at the stated price and receiving what they paid for, irrespective of later claims about Microsoft’s pricing strategy,” argued Microsoft.
Microsoft further stated the lawsuit lacked evidence supporting any price variation linked to tariffs, nor any feasible way to retrospectively compute tariff-related cost assessments.
Nintendo similarly sought dismissal of a class action lawsuit in July, highlighted in legal filings.
Nintendo’s defense argued that consumers had the option to refrain from purchasing or to explore alternatives instead of accepting the listed prices. Nintendo emphasized that it did not uniformly apply tariff costs across all products but rather implemented targeted pricing changes, opting to absorb some tariff costs on popular products like the Switch 2.
To date, Panic, the Playdate producer, remains the sole hardware firm to return tariff surcharges following a refund from the government.