This Isn’t Sustainable
Sony PlayStation announced yet another price increase and things aren't looking great for gamers.
The video game community woke up to some shocking, but not surprising news. Sony Playstation announced plans to increase the cost of its current hardware generation. Now, this isn’t deja vu, it is just the second price increase on the five-year old console in less than one year. This isn’t new for video gamers. In fact, seeing prices increase isn’t new for Americans at all. But when it comes to the video game industry, this isn’t sustainable in any fashion.
“With continued pressures in the global economic landscape, we’ve made the decision to increase the price of the PS5, PS5 Pro and PlayStation Portal remote player globally,” Sony announced via a blog post early Friday, March 27. “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 price increase will go into place starting April 2. In the United States, the base PS5 will now cost $649.99, the Digital Edition will be $599.99, and the PS5 Pro is $899.99. Back in August those systems increased $50 once again due to a “challenging economic environment” which many diagnosed to be the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
Gamers are being priced out right before their eyes
Unfortunately, the issue with these price increases is that everyone knows the prices will not come back down. Sony has set the baramoter, and fans will not compitulate or be priced out of the industry. PlayStation is in a position to demand such an action because the company has all but won this and the last generation of the famed “console wars.”
Xbox isn’t in a place to be a true challenge to PlayStation, falling further behind on a monthly basis. Nintendo is doing its own thing, even as fears of a price increase hitting the Switch 2 start to boil over. Whether these changes are blamed on the rising cost of components because of the infusion of AI, Trump’s tariffs, capitalist’s greed or a combination of both - the end result will be the same, players are priced out and these organization’s will boast about increased revenues while enjoying the fruits of the “K” economy the country is facing.
This will be the norm, unless gamers fight back with their dollars
Surging prices and a less than friendly market for consumers is going to continue to be the norm unless gamers push back with their dollars. That means refusing to buy consoles that are nearly a decade old at a higher price point. That means refusing to buy the next consoles that both Microsoft and Sony produces, because it is hard to see either of them launching at less than $1,000.. Until a company is willing to take a step back and produce a quality product that is palpable to the wallet, gamers should simply say “no.” Sadly, that doesn’t seem possible with this administration’s actions and the shareholders remaining as the true target audience for these companies. Video gamers will have to face the collateral damage if they hope to continue enjoying their favorite hobby.
The video game industry isn’t in a good place. Prices are rising. Studios are being closed. Grifters are flooding online spaces with hate. The hobby that millions have come to love isn’t thriving in a way that it once was. Hopefully, this is the start of the turning point that forces a major reset because this is not sustainable in any fashion.