Sony has announced significant price increases for its PlayStation range, starting 2nd April, which will see the cost of a base PS5 climb by around £90 in the UK. The company is blaming the price bump – which it says it’s making “after careful evaluation” – on what it calls “continued pressures in the global economic landscape”.
Announcing the news on the PlayStation Blog, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s vice president of global marketing, Isabelle Tomatis, wrote, “With continued pressures in the global economic landscape, we’ve made the decision to increase the prices of PS5, PS5 Pro, and PlayStation Portal remote player globally. 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.”
In the UK, that means the base PlayStation 5 will see its recommended retail price increase from around £479.99 to £569.99, while the Digital Edition rises from £429.99 to £519.99. As for the PS5 Pro, that’ll cost £789.99 from 2nd April (it was £699.99 previously), and the PlayStation Portable increases from £199.99 to £219.99.
Here’s the new regional pricing Sony has announced so far:
United Kingdom
- PS5 – £569.99
- PS5 Digital Edition – £519.99
- PS5 Pro – £789.99
- PlayStation Portal – £219.99
Europe
- PS5 – €649.99
- PS5 Digital Edition – €599.99
- PS5 Pro – €899.99
- PlayStation Portal – €249.99
US
- PS5 – $649.99
- PS5 Digital Edition – $599.99
- PS5 Pro – $899.99
- PlayStation Portal – $249.99
Japan
- PS5 – ¥97,980
- PS5 Digital Edition – ¥89,980
- PS5 Pro – ¥137,980
- PlayStation Portal – ¥39,980
Sony’s announcement comes at a time when electronics manufacturers are facing sky-rocketing prices for certain components such as RAM, thanks to massive demand from tech giants looking to expand their AI data centres. It’s an issue Bloomberg recently reported had led Sony to consider pushing back the release of the unannounced PlayStation 6 into 2028 or 2029.
Component shortages have already resulted in a delay for Valve’s Steam Machines as the company grapples with memory and storage supplies. And it’s also been reported Microsoft is mulling over an Xbox Series X/S price increase – something the company might be less reticent about now Sony has flinched first. And Nintendo could well follow suit; in February Bloomberg reported a Switch 2 price hike may be on the way.
If you’re curious to learn more about the issues surrounding RAM at present, and what they might mean for the future of gaming, Eurogamer’s Robert Purchese recently took a closer look at what one tech commentator has called a “perfect storm of unpreparedness, panic, and greed”.
