Unlike past consoles, the ninth-generation of consoles (Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5) hasn't gotten cheaper over time. Rather, it's the complete opposite, with price increases making the consoles more expensive than they were at launch.
Now, one French insider believes that yet another price increase could be on the way to the European market. Taking to social media, GyoJvfr shared that "drastically" increased prices are on the way and will be announced shortly.
If these prices were to go into effect, it would be the second such increase in less than a year. Previously, Sony revealed price hikes last April, citing "a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates," before calling it a "tough decision."
Following that increase in non-U.S. markets, Sony revealed price hikes for the United States, making the PlayStation 5 Pro in particular one of the most expensive pieces of hardware.
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By Black Friday, the prices of the consoles temporarily decreased, though they were basically returned to where things originally were, making the savings more of a facade.
Price Increases And Stock Shortages Have Hit Gamers Hard
The PlayStation 5 isn't the only piece of tech that has seen a price increase, much to the dismay of gamers. The Xbox Series X also had a price hike, not once but twice, pushing the Series X to a near $700 price tag. Recently, targeted offers have been sent to try and move stock and get people to upgrade, albeit at a loss for Microsoft most likely.
So far, the Nintendo Switch 2 has avoided a price hike. However, recent reporting suggests that Nintendo might not be able to withstand the increased component costs for much longer. These price increases have had an out-sized impact on the market as a whole, with consoles having their worst month on record since 1995 back in November.
It's not even just the big players that are being hit hard by the current market, as the viral dual-screen OLED handheld that's meant to emulate games was also hit with a price increase, as was the Nex Playground, a console that was particularly popular during Black Friday sales.
Elsewhere, the largest video game preservation project around was forced to shut its doors, in part, because of rising costs that can be attributed to the storage and RAM boom. Whether these "drastic" increases for Sony's flagship consoles end up happening remains to be seen, but if they do, they wouldn't be all that surprising considering the current market we're in.
- Brand
- Sony
- Original Release Date
- November 12, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $499, €499, £449, ¥49,980 (Base) // $399, €399, £359, ¥39,980 (Digital),
- Operating System
- Orbis OS
- Processor
- Custom 8-core AMD Zen 2
- Resolution
- 720p - 8K
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