Sony on the PlayStation Blog announced the PS5 has gone up in Price in Europe, UK, Canada, China, Japan, Australia and Mexico

https://blog.playstation.com/2022/08/25/ps5-price-to-increase-in-select-markets-due-to-global-economic-environment-including-high-inflation-rates/

Here is the link if you wish to know more

I wonder what factors about the US market made Sony decide to not push the price up over there.

This reminds me of the PS3 era.

Here in Canada, this is not the first time they've done this. PS4 was $399 at launch, and it went up to $449 after 1-2 years because our currency value crashed. (Also, games went from $60 to $70 to $80. Right now, a $70 USD game is $90 here.)

We are now in unprecedented times, with multiple factors causing scarcity and cost increases. I'm not surprised this is happening. The price of essentials like food and gas increased, so why not the price of a luxury entertainment product too?

Personally, I got my PS4 and PS5 at launch so I'm not affected.. but I do feel bad for those who wanted to get one earlier but couldn't get one, and are now being forced to pay a bit more.

Look, I get it: demand still far exceeds supply for the PS5 and the overhead costs are probably wack right now because of the supply chain.

But also this is approaching “599 US dollars” meme status, in every market but the US. Guess I’ll go get my 2nd job, as Kutaragi-san suggested.

Earlier this year I read that luxury entertainment products were actually the only thing to drop in price, because fewer people were buying them.

Everywhere except the USA, honestly just fuck off

Hey, man. We need some fucking good news around these parts!

Is anyone seeing PS5's in stores? A couple gaming groups I'm in says they've seen some in stores but maybe that's Walmarts in the middle of nowhere.

not surprising- i've read 'inflation is coming for your consumer tech' headlines for what feels like weeks now.

also-with everything the GPU market has been through over the last few years- i feel like this isn't as controversial as it might have once been.

still a bummer though.

@eccentrix: For sure, however the PS5 specifically remains in high demand and, by most reports, is very difficult to find if you aren't in the US. If demand craters because of this price increase and PS5s start piling up in stores and everyone buys Xboxes instead, I guarantee the price will go back down.

I think the entire purpose of this change is to bring the price back in line with US prices.

For example, the european price for PS5 with disc drive is EUR 550. If you purchase that in the Netherlands you're paying about $455 for the PS5 itself and $95 in VAT.

Sales tax in the US varies by state/county, but I guess it's often less than 10%?

With 10% sales tax you're paying $550 for a PS5 with disc drive, which is the same as EUR 550 at current rates.

@isomeri: The US is the only real place where the Xbox is genuinely competitive, outside maybe the UK which is a much smaller market.

All the more reason to have those PC versions sooner rather than later.

@thepanzini: That was my first reaction as well. They want to stay competitive in a market where the Xbox is running neck and neck with them.

My rhetorical questions about this are 1) will people pay more for game systems when AAA development is still suffering from the ongoing effects of the pandemic and there's still not much reason to, and 2) any chance whatsoever we see those prices come down when supply issues aren't a problem as per usual in a system's life cycle? I don't honestly know the answer to either of those. I suppose there will always be the market for the newest, shiniest toy, but I wonder how long rereleases and indie games can prop up sales of new consoles.

Stagnant wage and 20% avg rent increase within a year (Toronto), sure, might as well pile it on.

I live in Japan and get paid in yen and I don't know how this affects the other countries getting a price hike but. While it sucks that I might have to pay an extra 5000 yen for a PS5 that I still don't own yet, it's still better than paying $499 USD for it. The yen is the weakest, or the dollar is the strongest, it's been in 20 years. The dollar is so strong here at 133 yen per $1 USD that before the price hike, if I had dollars and exchanged them into yen, I would only need $414 USD to get a PS5. After the hike, I'd need $450 USD. If I paid the equivalent of what people in the US were paying for theirs it'd cost me over 66,000 yen where after the price hike it would be around 60,000 yen.

Yeah the price hike sucks, but I understand why Sony doesn't increase the price in the states. Cuz comparitively, the US PS5 is still worth more as far as I see it.

Edit: Now, for comparison's sake, in January 2021, the US dollar to yen rate was roughly equal at 100 yen to $1, meaning at 55,000 yen I would be paying the equivalent of $550 USD for a PS5.

Now I totally understand if and when the yen rate goes back to what it was last January then it's gonna suuuuuuuuuuck.

Microsoft's response is partly them saying "Our supply chain is better" but there's also something else at play. They have been pivoting to a services company for a decade now. If they gotta sell Series S units at a loss to get you in the subscription pipeline, that probably works in their favor.

Just like the UK. Household energy prices going up from £1500 a year to £4000 a year in the space of 9 months.

This is fine

@ultimaxe: so does everywhere else!

@zombiepie: The slight profit they were making on the hardware at the start of the new generation is likely become a loss with inflation and other rising costs.

Sony has often been more bullish on producing hardware over MS, especially with the rumoured switch to 6nm.

It's more likely that Sony's scope for loss is much greater with wanting to produce more units, given the relative weaker yen and strong dollar it's even harder for Sony to swallow the costs.

I definitely don't know what to do. Spend $2,500 on a beefy computer rig to last me 5-6 years and hopefully get some Sony game along with MS stuff?

Maybe get a PS5 by the end of 2023 (still not able to be found in Canada)?

Get an Xbox series X and miss out on the Sony exclusives?

I think the more important point is that hardware margins are becoming irrelevant to how Microsoft makes money on their console division. Microsoft is getting their money back with X months the minute you sign up for Gold or Game Pass. That's kind of been their bread and butter dating all the way back to the 360 era.

@zombiepie: Before the generation started we had plenty of stories about Sony buying more waffers to make more hardware, the estimates put Sony about ~5m units ahead atm and the gap between has also been increasing. So far MS hasn't shown any desire in taking a bigger loss to grab market share.

It's worth noting moving consoles will be one of the primary drivers in acquiring new subs especially for game pass, MS has missed its target more than once over the last few quarters.

@brendan: Get a PC. Sony's launcher is an eventuality based on those who data-mined Spider-Man, and prices for GPUs are reasonably sane these days, so getting a decent desktop for $1,500 is possible again.

Clarification.Everyone missed their quarterly targets in the console field. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have all struggled to meet sales targets at some point during the pandemic this year or last. Sony and Microsoft missed their targets for 2021 and 2022,

Also, Sony isn't the only one rumored to be buying 5-6 nm SOCs. Everyone is. The rumors for Sony have been active since 2021 and the issue continues to be that Samsung and TSMC are prioritized to sell to Apple and other mobile companies first. Not saying it is impossible, but it is still going to require more patience.

@zombiepie: Was purley referring to subs not overall health, MS has appeared more causes compared to Sony with hardware losses even before the rising costs.

f them

They shouldn't do this but the last few years have been very, very buggered. You hope pricing reverts back soon-ish but it just reiterates how much I don't want my PS5 to break on me.

We're not seeing a PS6 until 2030 so play the long game. If you haven't got one, don't fret. It's just a Playstation. One less thing to bother with buying.

"Just pay $1500" is a tough sell for a lot of people though

@sombre said:

Yes Album Club Daddy, I'm aware. But I was talking to someone who mentioned $2,500 as a specific budget, so...

@shindig:

Interesting PS6 would release in 2030 though I would predict 2031.