Sony raises PS5 prices by up to $150 citing ‘pressures’ in economy
PlayStation DualSense controller and PlayStation 5 console.
Jakub Porzycki | Nurfoto | Getty Images
sony It will raise prices for its flagship PlayStation 5 consoles for the second time in less than a year, it said on Friday, citing “pressures in the global economic landscape.”
In the US, the PS5 disc version will go from $549.99 to $649.99, a $100 increase from when Sony last increased the console’s prices last year. The digital version of the device will also increase from $100 to $599.99. The PS5 Pro, Sony’s most powerful version of the console, is up $150 to $899.99.
Price increases will be effective from April 2.
“We know the price changes impact our community, and after careful consideration, we found this to be a necessary step to ensure we can continue to deliver innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to gamers around the world,” Sony said in a blog post.
When Sony raised prices worldwide last year, it did so against a backdrop of persistently high inflation and uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs.
The company is currently struggling with an unprecedented rise in memory prices. Memory is a key component of the PS5, and prices have increased significantly as memory manufacturers divert their stock to massive demand from AI data centers and supply remains tight.
Sony also increased the prices of the console in Japan, the UK and Europe. In the UK, the price of each PS5 model will increase by £90 (about $120).
‘Inevitable’ price increases?
Piers Harding-Rolls, director of gaming research at Ampere Analysis, told CNBC that price increases are inevitable due to the increase in memory prices.
“It’s possible that Sony had price protections for its components for a period of time, and that may now have ended,” Harding-Rolls said.
“With no signs of easing in prices… Sony will be taking action to protect weak hardware margins. Microsoft And Nintendo’s He did the same in the not too distant future.”
Nintendo has so far kept the prices of its flagship Switch 2 console, which was released last year, stable.
“It’s odd that Nintendo doesn’t want to increase the price of the Switch 2 while they’re trying to build out the new platform,” Harding-Rolls said.
During its February earnings call, a Sony executive said the company aims to mitigate the impact of high memory costs by focusing on monetizing the install base of existing PS5 users and further growing software and network service revenue.
Harding-Rolls said there could be further pressure on parts prices due to the war in the Middle East.
“A new wave of inflation is expected due to the war in the Middle East, and this will increase the impact of component price increases,” Harding-Rolls said.
