Sony’s PlayStation 5 Gets More Expensive, Except in the US

Sony is raising the price of its PlayStation 5 consoles in most markets. In a surprise announcement, Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Interactive emphasized that “the global economic environment is a challenge that many of you around the world are no doubt experiencing.” The video games industry, which has also been hit by chip shortages since the beginning of this console generation is certainly no exception.

“We’re seeing high global inflation rates, as well as adverse currency trends, impacting consumers and creating pressure on many industries. Based on these challenging economic conditions, SIE has made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price (RRP) of PlayStation 5 in select markets across Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), Asia-Pacific (APAC), Latin America (LATAM), as well as Canada,” Ryan explained today

There will be no price increase for the console in the US, but both the Standard and Digital Edition PS5 now cost €50 more in Europe, and £30 more in the UK. Here are the new prices in the affected markets, which are effective immediately:

• Europe
  • PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – €549.99
  • PS5 Digital Edition – €449.99

• UK
  • PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – £479.99
  • PS5 Digital Edition – £389.99

• Japan (effective Sept. 15, 2022)
  • PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – ¥54,980 yen
  • PS5 Digital Edition – ¥44,980 yen

• China
  • PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – ¥4,299 yuan
  • PS5 Digital Edition – ¥3,499 yuan

• Australia
  • PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – AUD $799.95
  • PS5 Digital Edition – AUD $649.95

• Mexico
  • PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – MXN $14,999
  • PS5 Digital Edition – MXN $12,499

• Canada
  • PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – CAD $649.99
  • PS5 Digital Edition – CAD $519.99

Sony has now sold 21.7 million PlayStation 5 consoles since the beginning of this new console generation, and the company sold 2.4M PS5 units in the past quarter. It will be interesting to see if the PS5 getting more expensive is going to impact sales, though demand for the console remains so high it probably isn’t going to matter much.

“While this price increase is a necessity given the current global economic environment and its impact on SIE’s business, our top priority continues to be improving the PS5 supply situation so that as many players as possible can experience everything that PS5 offers and what’s still to come,” Ryan said today.

Could Microsoft follow Sony’s footsteps and raise the price of its Xbox Series X|S consoles? It’s too early to tell, but the company is certainly not spared by the difficult economic environment that currently affects most companies across the world. However, Microsoft’s $299 Xbox Series S console has certainly become more attractive than ever.