The PlayStation 5 gaming console will celebrate its fourth anniversary this November, and prices for electronics usually decline at this stage of the life cycle. But Sony was forced to take unpopular measures in anticipation of the potential release of an updated version of the platform. Starting September 2, the price of the PlayStation 5 in the Japanese market will increase by 19% to approximately $550 for the version with an optical drive. The difficult situation in the country’s economy forces the company to take this step.
Image Source: Sony
Four years is quite an age for a game console, and at this stage of its life it should have stimulated sales by lowering prices, but rising costs are forcing Sony to move in the opposite direction. The console version without an optical drive will rise in price to $505 from September. At the same time, the cost of the DualSense wireless controller and the Pulse wireless headset will increase.
The company justifies the price increase based on “harsh external circumstances.” At the same time, Sony expects to sell 18 million PlayStation 5 consoles worldwide by the end of the fiscal year, which ends in March, compared to 20.8 million units a year earlier.
Sony is not the only one forced to raise prices for its game consoles in Japan. This month, Microsoft raised the retail price of the Xbox Series X family of consoles by 12% to $463. It is possible that such unpopular measures will have to be taken outside Japan, although there is no official information on this yet.