Sony raises PlayStation 5 console prices in many regions, effective immediately

In the early hours of Thursday morning, Sony announced some big news for its PlayStation 5 family of consoles. Around the world, console prices are rising.

The price increase for both PlayStation 5 models (one with a disc drive and one without) is effective immediately in at least six regions, with Japan joining the fight over the price increase on September 15. sony ad it lists specific price increases for some of its largest gaming territories, but also warns that “select markets” may see their own price increases in the coming days. These include territories in the Asia-Pacific region, Central and South America, and the massive group of nations that make up the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa).

Somehow, one region in particular is out of Sony’s sights for now: the United States.

* Japan’s price hike will not take effect until September 15, 2022.

The price increase appears to be a fixed amount of currency in each affected region for both PS5 models. So, on a percentage basis, the more affordable PS5 models without disc drives are more affected by today’s news. Canada comes off easier with today’s increase on a percentage basis, while Europe, Japan, and China are tied for the most severe PS5 price increases.

Sony attributes price jumps across the board to two main economic factors: rising inflation and record lows for the Japanese yen. US purchasing power doesn’t seem immune to any of those problems, so it’s not clear whether Sony’s guarantee of “no price gouging in the US” is ironclad.

Bad news for the next PSVR2?

The price increase follows similar news from Meta’s virtual reality division, which opted to raising prices on its Quest 2 VR system late last month. Meta tried to soften the impact of its $100 price hike across the board by including a free download of its popular rhythm action game. beat saberwhich normally retails for $30.

At the time of publishing, Sony has not suggested that it will include any downloadable gifts as part of its own price increase plan, though its price increase currently does not appear to exceed 13 percent in any region, unlike the price increase. of Meta. reaching 25 or 33 percent, depending on the model.

Interestingly, Sony Announcement in the launch window on Tuesday about its next virtual reality system, PlayStation VR2, did not suggest a retail price. Perhaps Sony is keeping that news under wraps so it can buy more time to price the PS5 add-on amid current market realities. (This may cause you to rethink our recent guesses on PSVR2 pricing.)

Ars Technica’s Kyle Orland recently researched the history of console pricing., although his analysis mostly revolved around the Nintendo Switch, a 2017 console that has had more years to grow a lot in terms of its price-performance ratio. Had that console mega-sale followed historical console price trends, Orland’s analysis suggests its price could already have dropped to somewhere between $150 and $180 in the US. However, a combination of economic factors, including chip shortages and unusually high demand for a years-old gaming system, has helped the Switch maintain its original MSRP worldwide.

Orland’s report was due in part to Nintendo recently assuring investors and financial watchdogs in its home country of Japan that the price of the Switch would not increase in the near future. Neither Sony nor Microsoft’s Xbox division had made similar promises before Thursday’s PS5 news. Microsoft enjoys some advantages over Sony in the same inflation-ridden market: namely a more diverse financial portfolio, more than double Sony’s cash reserves, and much less reliance on the Japanese yen. Time will tell whether Microsoft will continue to absorb the inflation-related costs of keeping the prices of its own Xbox console stable.