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[Topher]

Places like Asus will handle those

but the competition raised prices first? Xbox's price increase was even more than this

Yeah, but the pricing isn't due to competition. Microsoft doesn't care if you buy XBS or not. It is ambivalence vs complacency.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Last ditch effort at survival imo

 

[PropellerEar]

Icon-era right now:

...

"Chumdawg IE socks are in the mail"

 

[Topher]

Last ditch effort at survival imo

I think their expectations for hardware sales, at this point, are pretty low. If they can minimize their own investment then all the better, but the days of taking losses on every unit sold are over.

 

[skyfinch]

And this was the year I was finally going to buy PS5 to play Forspoken.

 

[ReBurn]

Because that extra cost that their products now cost them, wasn't created by some inefficiency on their side or some market purpose. It was artificially created by a politician and they have no reason to help a politician out if it's not in their best interest. Plus the extra 20-30% could go away over night with a snap of the fingers.

Well, their profit margins aren't accidental or incidental. Consoles aren't commodities like corn or gasoline where the market decides the price and they have to somehow be profitable producing it in spite of having no control over what they can charge. They're making a proactive decision to set the price and charge consumers record amounts more than it costs to deliver their products and services to market. They aren't simple helpless victims of economic conditions.

They have buffer to absorb additional costs by reducing their profit margins and there's no reason why consumers shouldn't expect them to do so. They weren't our buddy because they didn't reduce prices when they are making record profits. We don't need to be their buddy and just agree to higher prices to protect shareholder value.

 

[Rentahamster]

Tariffs seem like a convenient excuse because if it were truly tariffs they wouldn't have raised prices significantly elsewhere.

Just because one event happened in Country A doesn't mean a similar event in Country B needs to require the same reason.

Let's not forget Sony raised the prices of PS5's in Canada, Mexico, Europe, the U.K., Australia, Japan, and China back in 2022, long before the threat of tariffs existed.

They did. The China-US trade war started in 2018, during the first Trump administration. Inflationary effects due to COVID, tariffs, and straight up corporate greedflation are all contributors.

Tariffs are a scapegoat. As it is with both Nintendo and Microsoft, this is greed and seeing how far they can push the envelope before consumers push back.

"Scapegoat" would imply that they had nothing to do with it. Global supply chains and marketing a product on a worldwide basis in different markets is complicated, and while there are many contributing factors for these price hikes, tariffs do have an inflationary effect, and are most likely a contributing factor. Many companies in many industries, Sony included, arguably raise their prices more than they really need to. However, even if tariffs in a vacuum aren't 100% the sole cause of these hikes, they are a significant contribution. If the tariffs didn't exist, these companies would have one less smokescreen to hide behind and they would not be able to push price hikes through as easily. There is a very delicate balance at play and even small nudges can have significant consequences if it creates a domino effect in a particular direction.

 

[Felessan]

They have buffer to absorb additional costs by reducing their profit margins and there's no reason why consumers shouldn't expect them to do so. They weren't our buddy because they didn't reduce prices when they are making record profits. We don't need to be their buddy and just agree to higher prices to protect shareholder value.

Why would they? Consensus is that at least 75-80% of tariff impact will be passed down to consumers.
US is the richest market (see survey where US gamers spend twice as much as EU) - so they have quite a room to swallow the cost.
Whether consumers agree or not doesn't really matter, gaming is a hobby and it's inelastic enough for it to work.

 

[reinking]

I was there for like a minute and realized it wasn't the place for me

If you are a hardcore PS fan in almost like a cult like status than it's the place for you

I shunned that forum thus they labeled me an Xbot

I am a PlayStation fan and that site is too much for me.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I am a PlayStation fan and that site is too much for me.

Once I saw some of the posters there and with my interactions with them here I knew

 

[reinking]

I think their expectations for hardware sales, at this point, are pretty low. If they can minimize their own investment then all the better, but the days of taking losses on every unit sold are over.

My concern for Microsoft is they seem to be half in/half out on a dedicated console. It's like their heart is no longer in it. I am not 100% out on the next Xbox traditional console but I am leaning much more into the PC space for their games. I am already gaming on PC so it is not really a leap for me. I just hope they can deliver substantial improvements for gaming with their streamlined OS.

I am curious to see what the landscape is going to look like midway into the next generation. So much is happening with multiplatform releases, mini/handheld PCs, Steam OS and Windows Gaming. Fun times ahead.

 

[ReBurn]

Why would they? Consensus is that at least 75-80% of tariff impact will be passed down to consumers.
US is the richest market (see survey where US gamers spend twice as much as EU) - so they have quite a room to swallow the cost.
Whether consumers agree or not doesn't really matter, gaming is a hobby and it's inelastic enough for it to work.

That's exactly my point. They are raising prices because they can, not just because they're helpless in this economy as has been suggested.

 

[Topher]

My concern for Microsoft is they seem to be half in/half out on a dedicated console. It's like their heart is no longer in it. I am not 100% out on the next Xbox traditional console but I am leaning much more into the PC space for their games. I am already gaming on PC so it is not really a leap for me. I just hope they can deliver substantial improvements for gaming with their streamlined OS.

I am curious to see what the landscape is going to look like midway into the next generation. So much is happening with multiplatform releases, mini/handheld PCs, Steam OS and Windows Gaming. Fun times ahead.

I think they are slowly stepping away from consoles entirely. At some point, I think it will just be Xbox PC and so that's why we are seeing more done with handhelds.

 

[splattered]

I think they are slowly stepping away from consoles entirely. At some point, I think it will just be Xbox PC and so that's why we are seeing more done with handhelds.

I know they don't "need" to but do you think Sony will follow suit?

I feel like if they see MS get out from under the 1st party burden of its own console and just make fist loads of cash selling software and endorsing 3rd party hardware with their name on it... Sony could also be tempted to go this direction. Even with their generation after generation of hardware sales success. It could just possibly be the direction the industry is headed and we don't know it yet.

(If any of this has already been said in this thread i apologize - i am lazy and dont want to go scan through 15 pages of arguments haha)

 

[StreetsofBeige]

My concern for Microsoft is they seem to be half in/half out on a dedicated console. It's like their heart is no longer in it. I am not 100% out on the next Xbox traditional console but I am leaning much more into the PC space for their games. I am already gaming on PC so it is not really a leap for me. I just hope they can deliver substantial improvements for gaming with their streamlined OS.

I am curious to see what the landscape is going to look like midway into the next generation. So much is happening with multiplatform releases, mini/handheld PCs, Steam OS and Windows Gaming. Fun times ahead.

I'm surprised they've lasted this long. There is no way since Xbox OG they have made big money on it. Every other division they got seems to be making bank so Xbox has got to be a drag on earnings. But they seem gung ho to stick with it for 25 years, and soon to still have more with PCs, handheld and I'm assuming a dedicated console too.

They got servers and surface laptops, but typically any low margin/low selling hard products they bail.... Zune, phones, that MS fitness watch thing etc... But Xbox lives on.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I know they don't "need" to but do you think Sony will follow suit?

I feel like if they see MS get out from under the 1st party burden of its own console and just make fist loads of cash selling software and endorsing 3rd party hardware with their name on it... Sony could also be tempted to go this direction. Even with their generation after generation of hardware sales success. It could just possibly be the direction the industry is headed and we don't know it yet.

(If any of this has already been said in this thread i apologize - i am lazy and dont want to go scan through 15 pages of arguments haha)

Sony branded 6090 level PC next gen that lets me play everything? Outside of Nintendo of course

 

[nial]

In an open palm slap to the rest of the world, Sony has REDUCED the price of PS5 in China.

I'm pretty sure that the PS5 version of Lost Soul Aside hasn't been approved for release in China, so I don't see the correlation.

I am a PlayStation fan and that site is too much for me.

Lol, that site hates PlayStation now.

 

[reinking]

I think they are slowly stepping away from consoles entirely. At some point, I think it will just be Xbox PC and so that's why we are seeing more done with handhelds.

I am actually okay with that. I have always liked (and owned) Xbox consoles but I recently unloaded my XBSX because it hardly got used. Years ago, I wanted them to make an Xbox branded line of PCs with set specs while maintaining their consoles. At the time, I felt it would give PC developers a target for optimization. With Microsoft's new approach with Xbox, maybe those targeted specs for optimization will be a thing.

 

[reinking]

Lol, that site hates PlayStation now.

I might need to check it out.

 

[tr1p1ex]

Hardware pricing went down if you look at real pricing.

PS5 launched at $500. Since then at least 25% inflation in most areas. Without the fact that computing hardware gets cheaper to manufacture over time...the PS5 would be $625 at least. And that's before factoring in this latest bout of tariffs that drove the price another 10% higher.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I think they are slowly stepping away from consoles entirely. At some point, I think it will just be Xbox PC and so that's why we are seeing more done with handhelds.

Honestly they should just rip off the Band-Aid and just kill it but I guess there are enough GP subs yet to make another gen worth it

 

[Topher]

I know they don't "need" to but do you think Sony will follow suit?

I feel like if they see MS get out from under the 1st party burden of its own console and just make fist loads of cash selling software and endorsing 3rd party hardware with their name on it... Sony could also be tempted to go this direction. Even with their generation after generation of hardware sales success. It could just possibly be the direction the industry is headed and we don't know it yet.

(If any of this has already been said in this thread i apologize - i am lazy and dont want to go scan through 15 pages of arguments haha)

Honestly, I have zero feel for what Sony wants to do anymore, but they don't have a Windows to fall back to so I think they have to stick with consoles. If they give up the foundation they built with PlayStation hardware then there might as well not be a PlayStation. Why win the console war only to stop making consoles?

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

I know they don't "need" to but do you think Sony will follow suit?

Sony doesn't have Windows

This makes infinitely more sense for MS than Sony

 

[Topher]

I am actually okay with that. I have always liked (and owned) Xbox consoles but I recently unloaded my XBSX because it hardly got used. Years ago, I wanted them to make an Xbox branded line of PCs with set specs while maintaining their consoles. At the time, I felt it would give PC developers a target for optimization. With Microsoft's new approach with Xbox, maybe those targeted specs for optimization will be a thing.

I'd rather have a healthy Xbox console in competition than complete PlayStation dominance. I just think it makes for a healthier market for gamers.

 

[dragonyeuw]

Hardware pricing went down if you look at real pricing.

PS5 launched at $500. Since then at least 25% inflation in most areas. Without the fact that computing hardware gets cheaper to manufacture over time...the PS5 would be $625 at least. And that's before factoring in this latest bout of tariffs that drove the price another 10% higher.

The kicker this gen, unlike prior, is that 5 years into the current cycle the consoles would have probably been $300 by now. The PS4 in 2018 was like $299 and you could grab $199 Black Friday deals with Spider-man. So if the PS5 was at this point, let's say $350, and 'market conditions' forced them to bump up to $400, that's better optics than the price-points being what they were at launch 5 years ago( or higher). The PS5 digital was $400 in 2020; It's now $500. So the math works out in that sense because the slim wasn't ever dropped to have wiggle room for 'market conditions'; anyone buying a PS5 digital now is paying what someone in 2020 paid *adjusted for inflation*. The problem is that consumers wages haven't gone up 25% so $500 hits us harder now than it did 5 years ago, taking into account that literally everything else is going up as well. There's just no more blood to get out of the stone anymore. Covid and now tariffs has us in a perpetual state of 'market condition' price increases. What it all amounts to, is a section of people are going to be priced out. The people who bought a PS4 last gen when it hit $299, and a bunch of $20 first party titles? They're priced out completely. I'm actually in an 'ok' position right now and I don't have a single PS5-centric game. My PS5 is pretty much a PS4 Pro PRO. Last gen I got a ton of Sony games off PSN for under $10, we're light-years past those days.

 

[Dafegamer]

I'll wait for the Defense Force explain me why PlayStation is reducing the Price in China
According to ZhugeEx

 

[Dafegamer]

In an open palm slap to the rest of the world, Sony has REDUCED the price of PS5 in China.

Waiting for the excuses for this

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[tr1p1ex]

The kicker this gen, unlike prior, is that 5 years into the current cycle the consoles would have probably been $300 by now. The PS4 in 2018 was like $299 and you could grab $199 Black Friday deals with Spider-man. So if the PS5 was at this point, let's say $350, and 'market conditions' forced them to bump up to $400, that's better optics than the price-points being what they were at launch 5 years ago( or higher). The PS5 digital was $400 in 2020; It's now $500. So the math works out in that sense because the slim wasn't ever dropped to have wiggle room for 'market conditions'; anyone buying a PS5 digital now is paying what someone in 2020 paid *adjusted for inflation*. The problem is that consumers wages haven't gone up 25% so $500 hits us harder now than it did 5 years ago, taking into account that literally everything else is going up as well. There's just no more blood to get out of the stone anymore. Covid and now tariffs has us in a perpetual state of 'market condition' price increases. What it all amounts to, is a section of people are going to be priced out. The people who bought a PS4 last gen when it hit $299, and a bunch of $20 first party titles? They're priced out completely. I'm actually in an 'ok' position right now and I don't have a single PS5-centric game. My PS5 is pretty much a PS4 Pro PRO. Last gen I got a ton of Sony games off PSN for under $10, we're light-years past those days.

A lot of wages have gone up quite a bit.

And I pointed out >= 25% inflation already.

What some don't understand is without the computing hardware getting cheaper to manufacture over time you would be seeing even higher prices for the PS5. Then of course there is also tariffs contributing to more inflation in the form of a higher sales tax essentially.

 

[dragonyeuw]

And I pointed out >= 25% inflation already.

Yes, I wasn't disagreeing with what you were saying on that front. All I'm saying is, if this gen followed 'historical' trends( obviously it isn't for the reasons we already know), these systems would have been slashed by now. They've basically stayed the same and the companies are adjusting the prices as tariffs and inflation aka 'market conditions' dictates. We're getting fucked every which way across all sectors of life.

 

[mckmas8808]

Well, their profit margins aren't accidental or incidental. Consoles aren't commodities like corn or gasoline where the market decides the price and they have to somehow be profitable producing it in spite of having no control over what they can charge. They're making a proactive decision to set the price and charge consumers record amounts more than it costs to deliver their products and services to market. They aren't simple helpless victims of economic conditions.

They have buffer to absorb additional costs by reducing their profit margins and there's no reason why consumers shouldn't expect them to do so. They weren't our buddy because they didn't reduce prices when they are making record profits. We don't need to be their buddy and just agree to higher prices to protect shareholder value.

I don't think you have to be a company's buddy to understand that they aren't going to eat tariffs. We can be emotionally neutral and come to that conclusion. I wouldn't expect Sony to do anything differently than what Walmart, NIKE, Home Depot, etc are doing at the same time.

Just because it's a video game console in a hobby I love, doesn't make it any less a business.

 

[mckmas8808]

Yes, I wasn't disagreeing with what you were saying on that front. All I'm saying is, if this gen followed 'historical' trends( obviously it isn't for the reasons we already know), these systems would have been slashed by now. They've basically stayed the same and the companies are adjusting the prices as tariffs and inflation aka 'market conditions' dictates. We're getting fucked every which way across all sectors of life.

Keep in mind......In America the Nintendo Switch launched for $299.99 on March 3, 2017. It's August 21, 2025 (8.5 years later) and it's still $299.99!!! It legit blows my mind that we are leaving in these times. I would have never thought any of this would be possible.

 

[Ebrietas]

Keep in mind......In America the Nintendo Switch launched for $299.99 on March 3, 2017. It's August 21, 2025 (8.5 years later) and it's still $299.99!!! It legit blows my mind that we are leaving in these times. I would have never thought any of this would be possible.

Switch is now $339.

I fully expect Switch 2 to increase once existing inventory runs out btw. Nintendo were about to increase the launch price after the April 1 tariff announcement but held back after the 90 day pause. They are the last company on earth who will eat the cost.

 

[mckmas8808]

Switch is now $339.

I fully expect Switch 2 to increase once existing inventory runs out btw. Nintendo were about to increase the launch price after the April 1 tariff announcement but held back after the 90 day pause. They are the last company on earth who will eat the cost.

GOT DA.......you right! Some people in this thread legit needs to come to grip with the new reality in video game hardware costs. Maybe the PS6 will be $699 at launch.

 

[CLW]

These moves by Sony are going to hurt PS6 launch

 

[VGA-Games]

I personally wouldn't want a PlayStation 5 Pro for free because of Sony's absolutely terrible and unappealing 1st Party Support this Generation.

 

[Topher]

I personally wouldn't want a PlayStation 5 Pro for free

 

[VGA-Games]

Okay, maybe I would take a PlayStation 5 Pro for free, but I would imidieatly sell the PlayStation 5 Pro

 

[drganon]

I personally wouldn't want a PlayStation 5 Pro for free because of Sony's absolutely terrible and unappealing 1st Party Support this Generation.

Says the nintendork.

 

[PSYGN]

2020s suck ass

 

[Omnipunctual Godot]

A few of you have been waiting for this day. No need to celebrate the increased cost in gaming. It is hitting everyone and it is only going to keep going up up up…

Not for me. My backlog is insane.

 

[dragonyeuw]

2020s suck ass

It really does, right out the gate in 2020 and its been shit since.

 

[PeteBull]

These moves by Sony are going to hurt PS6 launch

Strongly diseagree here, even if ps6 is literally 999$/€ with disc drive(which i strongly believe it will be) first wave of hc console gamers aka early adopters(so first 20-40m ppl) will buy it ezpz in holidays 2027 or latest holidays 2028, problem comes after, when more budget oriented customers wanna jump on playstation train, in previous gen we had 299, 199 pricepoints, looks like not anymore...

 

[DenchDeckard]

These companies are literally sitting on their most profitable performance metrics ever and telling us times are hard.....

Times are hard for multi billion dollar businesses but its ok...us lowly individuals can find the money.

They are all as bad as each other.

I feel we are reaching the point that its time for us consumers to just say fuck it. And force them to be competitive again.

 

[Felessan]

I feel we are reaching the point that its time for us consumers to just say fuck it. And force them to be competitive again.

What will you do? Quit gaming? Go play Fortnite on mobile?
These threats are of no substance and companies know that.

 

[dragonyeuw]

Keep in mind......In America the Nintendo Switch launched for $299.99 on March 3, 2017. It's August 21, 2025 (8.5 years later) and it's still $299.99!!! It legit blows my mind that we are leaving in these times. I would have never thought any of this would be possible.

It's actually $339, remember they increased it a few weeks ago( and the OLED is $399). Now, of course the whole '$339 in 2025 is $257 in 2020' line of reasoning will come up, but the reality is the Switch should have been like $200-250 a few years before all this hyper inflation and tariffs became a thing. Nintendo merely kept the price at full MSRP the entire generation despite economies of scale and now instead of positioning the Switch as a low cost entry point, they raise the price AFTER it's successor is launched.

I remember when Sony was kicking everyone's ass in the 6th gen and still dropped the price multiple times even when there was no pressure on them to do so. As I said before, the people who tend to buy into a generation on the back half when the system and games drop MSRP are being priced out. Gaming is becoming less inclusive, when it was inclusiveness in prior gens that helped the industry grow to what it is in the first place. But the console side isn't growing, and the next round of gamers (Gen Z and subsequently Gen A) aren't spending money on games like in years past. It all feels like maximizing short term profits and kicking the can down the road.

 

[Xbox 360 slim]

Yes you absolutely must buy a stand apparently. It's a necessity of course when you're trying to inflate a price. Meanwhile your favourite console sold wifi separately, a HDDVD drive separately, a HDD separately, introduced mandatory yearly online fees with no included games and the entire console went kaput on you, yet you don its name today as your favourite thing ever.

And it was still so good people kept buying more of them. And sony even copied it. GOAT console.

 

[Xbox 360 slim]

The same people who were saying it was patriotic to pay more for gas a few years ago are now crying about having to pay more for their vidya, lol.

 

[Haint]

Switch is now $339.

I fully expect Switch 2 to increase once existing inventory runs out btw. Nintendo were about to increase the launch price after the April 1 tariff announcement but held back after the 90 day pause. They are the last company on earth who will eat the cost.

It's all but certain Nintendo pre-hiked the console price in advance, that's why there was (very conspicuously) no price announcement in the unveiling event (to everyone's extreme confusion, including media outlets). $399 for the base and $449 for the bundle was almost definitely their original price before tariffs started swirling and liberation day nearly crashed world economies. The reason preorders were delayed was because Drump's big billboard of bullshit had Japan and China at like 50% and 70% or some nonsense, which were obviously many times higher than Nintendo pre-hiked into the price.

Now they may very well feel emboldened by Sony's hike coupled with their own very strong sales to raise it further, but it has nothing to do with tariffs at this point. Their SOC and process node is absolutely ancient (5+year old architecture, 8nm+ node), the screen is dogshit, the battery is tiny, and the controllers are still using 30+ year old potentiometers. Absolutely nothing about the device warrants $500 for the standalone base model, they very literally could not have produced a cheaper product with cheaper components.

 

[ecosse_011172]

It's all but certain they pre-hiked the console price in advance, that's why there was (very conspicuously) no price announcement in the unveiling event (to everyone's extreme confusion, including media outlets). $399 for the base and $449 for the bundle was almost definitely their original price before tariffs. They may very well now feel emboldened by Sony's hike coupled with and their own very strong sales to raise it further, but it has nothing to do with tariffs at this point. Their SOC and process node is absolutely ancient (5+year old architecture, 8nm+ node), the screen is dogshit, the battery is tiny, and the controllers are still using 30+ year old potentiometers. Absolutely nothing about the device warrants $500 for the standalone base model.

This uninformed nonsense again.

"We believe the Switch 2's bill of materials is around $400, meaning Nintendo would still be selling consoles at a loss in the US with the 10% tariff — but the loss would be something Nintendo would be able to absorb."

[Hideki Yasuda of Toyo Securities]