One for the ages, it will be really odd if consumers lose this lawsuit.
Both companies have moved against class actions from consumers who want a share of refunds from tariffs the Supreme Court ruled illegal.
Sony filed in California's Northern District around 1 September. Microsoft filed in Washington State on 21 August. Nintendo filed first in July. Same argument same lawsuit.
Sony's framing "Paying fair market price for voluntarily purchased consumer goods is not a legally cognizable injury in fact."
Microsoft's: "There is nothing unjust about Plaintiff purchasing an Xbox at an advertised price and getting exactly what he paid for, regardless of whatever theory he devised months later about Microsoft's cost structure."
The argument that actually works
Sony's lawyers made a unique point the others can't.
If tariffs caused the August 2025 price rise, why did Sony raise prices again after the Supreme Court struck the tariffs down?
"If the original price increase were attributable to tariffs, SIE would have had no reason to raise prices again after the Supreme Court invalidated the IEEPA tariffs. If tariffs were the cause of the price increases, one would expect SIE to lower prices once the tariffs were eliminated, not raise them again."
The PS5 price increased from 500 dollars to 550 in August 2025, then to 650 in April 2026, after the tariffs were gone. Sony's position is that pricing is based on "inflation, currency fluctuations, component costs, logistics, competitive dynamics, or demand," and the filing declines to break down which contributed what.
Prices went up twice, and the second one had nothing to do with tariffs which is a negative point for the case.
Why the plaintiffs are probably losing
The legal reality is unfavourable regardless of how it feels.
According to lawyers, when the government refunds a tariff, the money goes back to whoever paid it at the border in this case that's Sony and Microsoft, not you. No law says a company has to hand any of it down to the people who bought the product.
Microsoft is also pushing for arbitration as an alternative to court.
The money
Sony told investors in July it expected around 508 million dollars in refunds, most of it landing in gaming, with roughly 70% already collected by the end of June. Q1 operating income rose 37%.
So tariff's increased the prices, these guys earned extra money from it and now they want to keep it.
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