Sony is raising the price of the PS5

The price hike impacts practically all areas except the United States.

Sony is hiking the price of its current-generation system, the PlayStation 5, nearly two years after it was released. Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan announced Thursday that the PS5’s retail price will be increased in Canada, Mexico, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, and China, but not in the United States.

According to Ryan, rising global inflation rates and negative currency trends are “impacting customers and putting pressure on various businesses,” according to a post on Sony’s PlayStation Blog. In making the announcement, Ryan cited “difficult economic conditions.”

“While this price increase is necessary given the current global economic environment and its impact on SIE’s business,” Ryan explained, “our top priority remains improving the PS5 supply situation so that as many players as possible can experience everything that PS5 has to offer and what’s yet to come.”

With the exception of Japan, the following are the revised pricing for Sony’s two PlayStation 5 models:

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 – AU$799.95 (+AU$50 from launch price)
• PS5 Digital Edition – AU$649.95 (+AU$50 from launch price)

Canada

• PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – CA$649.99 (+CA$20 from launch price)
• PS5 Digital Edition – CA$519.99 (+CA$20 from launch price)

Europe

• PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – €549.99 (+€50 from launch price)
• PS5 Digital Edition – €449.99 (+€50 from launch price)

U.K.

• PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – £479.99 (+£30 from launch price)
• PS5 Digital Edition – £389.99 (+£30 from launch price)

Japan (effective Sept. 15, 2022)

• PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – ¥60,478 yen (including tax)
• PS5 Digital Edition – ¥49,478 yen (including tax)

In the United States, the normal PlayStation 5 costs $499.99, while the discless PS5 Digital Edition costs $399.99.

Sony’s action follows a similar price increase by Meta, which upped the price of its Quest 2 virtual reality headsets in the United States by $100 in August. However, as previously said, the move is rare. Console hardware prices are typically reduced over time by hardware makers in an effort to attract more price-conscious customers. However, Sony has failed to match supply to demand for the PS5, and component costs, notably semiconductors, remain supply tight. However, weak currencies such as the euro, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, and British pound provide consumers in such countries less purchasing power when compared to the strong US dollar.