Sony increases PS5 costs by up to $150, blaming 'pressures' in the global economy.

Sony PS5 costs increases

Sony announced Friday that it will hike pricing on its flagship PlayStation 5 systems for the second time in less than a year, blaming “pressures in the global economic landscape.”

In the United States, the PS5 disc edition will cost $649.99, up $100 from the previous time Sony raised the console’s costs last year. The device’s digital variant will likewise be priced $100 higher at $599.99. Sony’s most powerful console, the PS5 Pro, is now priced at $899.99, up $150.

The pricing increases take effect on April 2.

“We know that price changes impact our community, and after careful evaluation, we found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide,” the company wrote on its blog.

Sony boosted global prices last year amidst persistently high inflation and uncertainty prompted by US tariffs.

The company is currently dealing with an unusual spike in memory prices. Memory is a critical component of the PS5, and costs have risen dramatically as memory manufacturers allocate their stock to meet high demand from AI data centers, while supply remains tight.

Sony also boosted prices for the console in Japan, the United Kingdom, and Europe. In the United Kingdom, each PS5 model will cost £90 (about $120).

‘Inevitable’ price increases?

Piers Harding-Rolls, research director of games at Ampere Analysis, told CNBC that pricing increases were unavoidable given the growth in memory prices.

“It is likely that Sony had price protections for its components for a set period and this may well have come to an end,” according to Harding-Rolls.

“With no signs of price reductions, Sony will have made the decision to safeguard its thin hardware margins. It would be unsurprising if Microsoft and Nintendo followed suit in the near future.

So far, Nintendo has kept prices stable for its flagship Switch 2 console, which was only released last year.

“It’s awkward for Nintendo as it won’t want to raise the price of the Switch 2 when it is trying to establish the new platform,” Harding-Rolls told reporters.

During an earnings call in February, a Sony executive stated that the company intends to mitigate the impact of rising memory costs by focusing on monetising its existing PS5 install base and boosting its software and network service income.

The war in the Middle East could put more pressure on component prices, according to Harding-Rolls.

“A new wave of inflation is expected from the war in the Middle East, and this will compound the effect of the component price increases,” according to Harding-Rolls.