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[ZehDon]

...We'll see more price increases within and outside of the gaming industry...

Tariff's are definitely a factor, but don't believe for a second these companies won't use any disruption as an excuse to jack their prices well above covering the difference. The PlayStation 5 has made more profit than all other generations of PlayStation combined - and Sony is still raising prices. They don't want to cover the difference, they don't want to deliver value, they don't want happy players - they want every single fucking cent their customers have and they're done playing nice. Tariffs or not - if Sony can get away with it, everyone else will follow suite and they'll all keep going until the market crashes.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Please no icon era images

We can be better

 

[Tchu-Espresso]

It's simple chuds, Trump's tariffs were so bad that they retroactively went back in time and caused Sony to up the PS5 price back in 2022 so that's his fault too!

Try again.

 

[Topher]

 

[OccamsLightsaber]

If tariffs disappeared next week, would the prices come back down?

No because Microsoft is effectively dead, there's no competition. And corpos love taking advantage of a chaos of make money especially when they have a convenient excuse.

 

[nial]

I do agree that Sony should have waited until Q1 2026 to do this increase, if they HAD TO DO IT.....Soak up as many PS5s now. And then ride the GTA6 wave in 2026.

They only had 3 months worth of pre-tariffs hardware shipments for the US back in May.

 

[PaintTinJr]

Tariff's are definitely a factor, but don't believe for a second these companies won't use any disruption as an excuse to jack their prices well above covering the difference. The PlayStation 5 has made more profit than all other generations of PlayStation combined - and Sony is still raising prices. They don't want to cover the difference, they don't want to deliver value, they don't want happy players - they want every single fucking cent their customers have and they're done playing nice. Tariffs or not - if Sony can get away with it, everyone else will follow suite and they'll all keep going until the market crashes.

To be fair above all else PlayStation have always looked after the publishers to knock the install base number out of the park - as they did with the PS1 and PS2 to start that trend - and I doubt they would put these prices up if they were seeing any slowdown in delivering the largest high-end home console install base they can this gen.

Switch 2 has also cast shade at them indirectly with their pricing. If the SW2 had undercut PS5 then it wouldn't look like a competitor, but PS5 clearly being able to deliver far better gaming experiences on a TV, and yet to the untrained eye the PS5 might look inferior because it is priced at parity and older. It sucks, but in relative terms a PS5 should cost more than a hybrid handheld IMO. Ideally everyone would be charging £200 less, but TSMC, end of Moore's law, inflation and tariffs have killed the £130 4-5year old console pricing

 

[Mattyp]

SERIOUSLY!!!! But watch some dopes in this thread blame Sony and say they are just being a greedy corporation. As if a 20-30% tariff increase wouldn't change the cost of an imported product.

What was the reason behind the price rise in the rest of the world a few months ago without tariffs then?

 

[drganon]

No Ryan, there is no redemption for you.

 

[Topher]

No because Microsoft is effectively dead, there's no competition. And corpos love taking advantage of a chaos of make money especially when they have a convenient excuse.

Yep. If the console war were a thing then both MS and Sony would happily eat these costs just as they have done in years past.

 

[adamsapple]

Even JamesSawyer isn't defending this shit. That should tell you something…

James and thick fighting?

 

[nial]

Yep. If the console war were a thing then both MS and Sony would happily eat these costs just as they have done in years past.

I really don't think so, that has never been how they have traditionally operated.

I don't recall any console that was being subsidized 5 years into the generation.

 

[Bernardougf]

 

[Topher]

I really don't think so, that has never been how they have traditionally operated.

I'm talking about selling consoles at break even or a loss to compete for market share.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Yep. If the console war were a thing then both MS and Sony would happily eat these costs just as they have done in years past.

Not to mention MS raised their own prices to asinine levels and people still want them to bow out of next generation

Do people really think Sony would play good guy and release a PS6 at a great price if its the only game in town?

 

[Bernardougf]

oh and somehow fake tits got bigger.

Hey dont bash bigger fake tits.. some people make a very good living out of those.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

I'm not gonna do what PlayStation players did when Xbox and Nintendo raised their prices earlier this summer due to tariffs. Not. Gonna. Do. It.

I could! It would be deserved! Major "I told you so!". But… I won't.

 

[nial]

I'm talking about selling consoles at break even or a loss to compete for market share.

Yup, and it's extremely weird for any of them to do that this late into the generation. Both the PS4 and Xbox One were already very profitable by 2018.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Not to mention MS raised their own prices to asinine levels and people still want them to bow out of next generation

Do people really think Sony would play good guy and release a PS6 at a great price if its the only game in town?

I recall making this identical point back when Xbox raised prices and again when Nintendo did. And, crickets. Curious what will happen now. Like seriously, PS owners thought they would be permanently immune from economics and tariffs unlike the other two hardware makers? Sheesh.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Yup, and it's extremely weird for any of them to do that this late into the generation. Both the PS4 and Xbox One were already very profitable by 2018.

It's not weird at all. They've been warning they might have to do it for over a year. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have all been quietly raising prices all over the world for the last year or two. It's just now that they are now all doing it in the US. Tariffs. Freight costs. Manufacturing pressure. Geo-political uncertainty. And did I mention tariffs?

And why the hell would Sony not do it for PS5 when Xbox and Nintendo have already taken the brunt of public criticism? That's the best cover ever.

 

[nial]

It's not weird at all. They've been warning they might have to do it for over a year. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have all been quietly raising prices all over the world for the last year or two. It's just now that they are now all doing it in the US. Tariffs. Freight costs. Manufacturing pressure. Geo-political uncertainty. And did I mention tariffs?

And why the hell would Sony not do it for PS5 when Xbox and Nintendo have already taken the brunt of public criticism?

Did you even read the entire conversation?

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I recall making this identical point back when Xbox raised prices and again when Nintendo did. And, crickets. Curious what will happen now. Like seriously, PS owners thought they would be permanently immune from economics and tariffs unlike the other two hardware makers? Sheesh.

I remember team blue having members who danced in the streets like their city won the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Championship and the Stanley Cup all in one year saying how dumb those companies were

Now its political when their company making record profits wants to squeeze more blood out of them

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Did you even read the entire conversation?

No, I figured I'd for once be like the majority of users on here and not read all the way back for context. People rarely do it when commenting on my posts so I dunno why I would continue to go above and beyond for no gain whatsoever.

 

[nial]

No, I figured I'd for once be like the majority of users on here and not read all the way back for context. People rarely do it when commenting on my posts so I dunno why I would continue to go above and beyond for no gain whatsoever.

If you acknowledge the issue, what you should try is to not be like that. Weird ass response.

 

[ecosse_011172]

Yup, and it's extremely weird for any of them to do that this late into the generation. Both the PS4 and Xbox One were already very profitable by 2018.

Have you read the news at any time in recent years?

 

[jm89]

Not to mention MS raised their own prices to asinine levels and people still want them to bow out of next generation

Do people really think Sony would play good guy and release a PS6 at a great price if its the only game in town?

Ms are irrelevant really.

Rumors from some are they are making a more expensive console then sony, yet from those same rumors sony is still going for an affordable option in comparison with both the console and handheld.

Ms are trying to sell people a asus handheld that doesnt even play their purchased Xbox gamea locally priced at a premium, whilst the rumoured Sony handheld is gonna play local games purchases for PS4/ps5. Ms have cancelled theirs.

Yeah I think will be fine without ms.

 

[Deficit]

5090 - $4500

I get your point but yeah, GPUs are expensive

You don't need a 5090 lmfao. A used 3080 for 300-400 bucks and you're set. 6800xt as well.

 

[Deficit]

James and thick fighting?

 

[Lokaum D+]

At least is a price increase of PS5 and not PS4

 

[nial]

Have you read the news at any time in recent years?

Did you even read the entire conversation?

What's up with you people, seriously.

 

[Topher]

Not to mention MS raised their own prices to asinine levels and people still want them to bow out of next generation

Do people really think Sony would play good guy and release a PS6 at a great price if its the only game in town?

Yep. All about pricing strategy. Everything changes when there is a lack of competition. Folks can disagree but I firmly believe the end of the console war has as big a part to play here as anything else going on in the world.

 

[Barakov]

Really don't care about the reason. Sony can eat a bag of dicks for doing this.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

If you acknowledge the issue, what you should try is to not be like that. Weird ass response.

Interesting.

 

[ecosse_011172]

Really don't care about the reason. Sony can eat a bag of dicks for doing this.

 

[nial]

Interesting.

Guess you're not better than them.

 

[Lokaum D+]

Really don't care about the reason. Sony can eat a bag of dicks for doing this.

The same goes for Nintendo?

 

[Brucey]

Oh no, don't get it twisted...... HeisenbergFX4 is the man when it comes to knowing his stuff. I'm going to assume plans will change, because how can they not? What price will Microsoft legitimately release a next-gen console for in 2026 at this point? The Switch 2 is $450 and the Xbox Ally X is $900 without a charger dock and $1,000 with a charger dock.

Is this next-gen Xbox 720 gonna be more than $700, since they said it'll be the biggest leap in console history? Most of us are expecting them to not eat the cost anymore also (which they ate between $100 and $200 per console on the Xbox Series consoles), so how is this going to happen successfully?

If the Surface team is in charge of the next xbox "console" as many seem to have reported it's easily going to be $1000+.

What I see from the price bump is that there's no ps6 coming anytime soon, time to just focus on the games. Give us something worthy of the ps6 name in 2030. Don't faff about with some gutless portable ps5.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Yep. All about pricing strategy. Everything changes when there is a lack of competition. Folks can disagree but I firmly believe the end of the console war has as big a part to play here as anything else going on in the world.

100% agree this has way more to do with Xbox being dead and greed kicking in more than anything political

People wanted a dead Xbox, this is what happens

 

[jm89]

If the Surface team is in charge of the next xbox "console" as many seem to have reported it's easily going to be $1000+.

But we need ms to keep sony in check

 

[Kerotan]

Tariff's are definitely a factor, but don't believe for a second these companies won't use any disruption as an excuse to jack their prices well above covering the difference. The PlayStation 5 has made more profit than all other generations of PlayStation combined - and Sony is still raising prices. They don't want to cover the difference, they don't want to deliver value, they don't want happy players - they want every single fucking cent their customers have and they're done playing nice. Tariffs or not - if Sony can get away with it, everyone else will follow suite and they'll all keep going until the market crashes.

Yeah Sony's biggest regret was not laughing this thing $100 dearer to bo begin with. Billions in profits left behind. Maybe even €200 more expensive as scalpers were reselling for $1000.

They won't make the same mistake again. €699 PS6 digital minimum.

 

[ComputerBlue]

Scumbag Sony.

 

[Barakov]

The same goes for Nintendo?

Yup. Same goes for MS.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

At least is a price increase of PS5 and not PS4

Well they don't make the PS4 anymore, so.

 

[nial]

At least is a price increase of PS5 and not PS4

PS4 was discontinued back in March 2024.

 

[yogaflame]

Sony already mentioned that they are moving away from China, and in a few months we shall see that price will stabilize possibly next year. It is even possible for price cut this coming Christmas season.

Once all companies have move away from China towards other countries with lesser tariffs, and more factories are build in USA, the supply and price will stabilize, due to better negotiations with the government, which will receive more tax incentives, and easier source of raw materials. It will be better in the long run.

 

[TrueGrime]

DCG admitting that MS and Nintendo have raised prices themselves, but he's extra hurt because Sony is doing it while they're making record profits is insane levels of LOL. Why do fanboys threat these companies like they're your best friend looking out for your interests?

 

[PaintTinJr]

Yep. All about pricing strategy. Everything changes when there is a lack of competition. Folks can disagree but I firmly believe the end of the console war has as big a part to play here as anything else going on in the world.

I don't see that happening at console launches, maybe more into the 80m sales like it is now... but replacing one console and starting over still requires PlayStation to kiss the hand of gamers for publishers to kiss their hand, and even with built up digital libraries by some the PS5 will remain a competitor to the PS6, just like the PS4 remains to the PS5.

PlayStation's primary goal at hardware launch and beyond is to sell hardware to get their 30% software cut from publishers, maintain their PS sub revenue and to eventually get their additional profits from hardware.

 

[ecosse_011172]

Sony already mentioned that they are moving away from China, and in a few months we shall see that price will stabilize possibly next year. It is even possible for price cut this coming Christmas season.

Once all companies have move away from China towards other countries with lesser tariffs, and more factories are build in USA, the supply and price will stabilize, due to better negotiations with the government, which will receive more tax incentives, and easier source of raw materials. It will be better in the long run.

How do you think the labour costs to assemble the consoles in the USA will compare to the Chinese and Vietnamese factories?
2x,3x,4x, more?

 

[TrueGrime]

Once all companies have move away from China towards other countries with lesser tariffs, and more factories are build in USA, the supply and price will stabilize, due to better negotiations with the government, which will receive more tax incentives, and easier source of raw materials. It will be better in the long run.

LOL!!! This is the same shit a certain group of people were saying to rationalize tariffs in order to force companies, consumers, etc... to buy American. It will NEVER cost less for this to happen than to import from China. Sorry to tell you.

 

[ZehDon]

To be fair above all else have always looked after the publishers to knock the install base number out of the park - as they did with the PS1 and PS2 to start that trend - and I doubt they would put these prices up if they were seeing any slowdown in delivering the largest high-end home console install base they can this gen.

Switch 2 has also cast shade at them indirectly with their pricing. If the SW2 had undercut PS5 then it wouldn't look like a competitor, but PS5 clearly being able to deliver far better gaming experiences on a TV to the untrained eye might look inferior because it is priced at parity and older. It sucks, but in relative terms a PS5 should cost more than a hybrid handheld IMO. Ideally everyone would be charging £200 less, but TSMC, end of Moore's law, inflation and tariffs have killed the £130 4-5year old console pricing

Excellent post and a good line of discussion.

According to Sony's financials, the fee it take for games sold on its platform constitutes a smaller percentage of its profits every year - though, still a good amount of money overall. The keys to its record breaking success are subscription fees from PS+ and microtransaction revenue from re-occurring purchases made on their PlayStation platforms. As we've also recently heard from their VPs, Sony is looking to move away from a hardware centric model. Both of these pieces of information together mean console install size is no longer their chief priority, which is why I believe Sony will shift away from subsidizing hardware and move to a for-profit hardware business like Nintendo: there's no need to take a loss anymore because they don't have any competition. That alone will lead to a smaller install base overall.
However, I think Sony's new core belief is that they can have their cake and eat it too - PlayStation 5 is the "default" home console, afterall. They haven't put out a large number of first party titles, and half of them haven't performed as well as they expected, and yet, their hardware is doing just fine. In short: Sony won the console war, and now they know it. That's bad for everyone because I think it means Sony believes they can't lose, so why not make as much money as possible. Today's price increase is evidence of that, in my opinion. (Note: the Xbone is a wonderful example of what happens when a console maker thinks it can't lose - hence my concern for next gen.)

Because Sony is de-prioritizing console adoption - they believe it'll come on its own regardless of what they do - this opens up all kinds of business moves that might seem counter-productive. Higher software prices, higher hardware prices, higher service prices. But also less of everything - less capable hardware, less exciting software, less useful services. And Sony will keep doing it until the market turns on them, because that's how capitalism works in 2025. Unfortunately, Sony won the console war - so if the market turns on PlayStation, then it'll either gravitate to Xbox (not likely) or it'll contract entirely as people simply walk away from new consoles and games altogether.