Sony to increase PS5 prices by as much as $150
The hike, Sony's second in less than a year, takes effect April 2 and covers the PS5, PS5 Pro, and PlayStation Portal
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Sony $SONY will raise prices across its PS5 console lineup and the PlayStation Portal remote player beginning April 2, with the PS5 Pro seeing the steepest U.S. increase — $150 — pushing its price to $899.99.
The standard PS5 disc edition will climb $100 to $649.99 in the U.S. The digital edition carries the same $100 increase, bringing its U.S. price to $599.99, according to CNBC. Sony pointed to "continued pressures in the global economic landscape" as the basis for the move, the company said in a PlayStation Blog post.
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The adjustment marks the second PS5 price increase in less than a year, according to CNBC. Sony's previous hike came during a period of elevated inflation and economic uncertainty tied to U.S. tariffs.
Rising memory costs are a key driver, according to CNBC. Memory chipmakers have been channeling production capacity toward AI data center customers, leaving other buyers — including console manufacturers — competing for a tightening pool of supply and paying higher prices for it.
Piers Harding-Rolls, research director of games at Ampere Analysis, told CNBC that Sony likely held component price protections that have since expired. "With no sign of prices easing ... Sony will have made the move to protect its slim hardware margins," he said, adding that Microsoft $MSFT and Nintendo could face pressure to follow with their own increases.
Nintendo has not raised prices on the Switch 2, a console it brought to market last year. Harding-Rolls said the company would be reluctant to raise prices while still working to build out the new platform.
Price increases also apply in the U.K., Europe, and Japan. U.K. customers will pay £90 more per PS5 model — roughly $120 — according to CNBC. In Europe, the PS5 disc and digital editions will reach €649.99 and €599.99, respectively, and the PS5 Pro will rise to €899.99.
The PlayStation Portal remote player will also increase to $249.99 in the U.S., £219.99 in the U.K., €249.99 in Europe, and ¥39,980 in Japan.
A Sony executive said at a February earnings call that the company intends to manage the pressure from rising memory costs by drawing more value from its existing PS5 user base and growing revenue from its software and network services businesses, according to CNBC.