Sony as a company (and gaming division on its own) are at record profits last few years. It's not like 10 years ago when they were losing money.
But the business strategy is simple. If their sales and brand are strong enough, you pump up the price knowing people will still buy. Their situation is a complete opposite of any company or division struggling with money. They are at peak financials. They are just going for more.
On the other hand when Sony was at it's weakest (PS3 era). You got deals and value everywhere. BR system for dirt cheap (PS3 was like $500 cheaper than standalone Panasonic or Samsung BR players. I remember seeing them for $1,000-1,200), free online, new PS+ option with good monthly games.
The second PS turned it up a notch and took off, that's when pricing managers at Sony jacked everything up. Even $10 next gen upgrades.
A lot of these guys are probably too young to remember the PS2 era Sony. The PS3 reveal was pure hubris. They were declaring console wars were over. They thought shoving blurays down everyones throat for $599 was a good idea. I remember my PS3 came with like 6 different memory/sd card slots. There was one for the PS2 memory card because they literally decided to put the entire PS2 emotion engine chip in there to achieve BC. Then there were several diffrent sd card slots for cameras photos. I never used them. ever. lmao.
My brother bought his $400 PS3 a year or so later which was stripped of all of these ridiculous features. No BC chip, no memory card readers. 40 GB vs 60 GB at launch. It was insane to see how they were able to cut $200 off of a console in just a year without removing the bluray drive. The PS3 even with the cell couldve potentially launched at $299. crazy to think about.
I see the same Sony today. A company detached from its userbase. Thinking shutting down PS3 and vita stores is a good idea. Thinking charging $10 for upgrades everyone is offering for free is a good idea. Charging $70 just because they think their first party games are GOTY worthy and people will pay whatever. Same mentality as the people who thought gamers would pay $599 for a console. Misleading statements about cross gen games. Misleading statements about PC ports. Spending millions on PC ports while refusing to patch cult classics like Bloodborne, DriveClub and The Last Guardian. TLOU2 still doesnt have a PS5 sku which means i have to wait 2 minutes for each chapter to load.
I got so much shit from my fellow Sony stans for the last two years for pointing this out. I exhausted all the goodwill i had generated shitting on xbox and phil spencer for years lol. I was invited and then secretly expelled from a ps discord. All because I pointed out these anti consumer policies and that Sony no longer gave two shits about their legacy of pushing graphical fidelity and famously offering their userbase freedom to trade in games. Even at their worst during the early PS3 era, Sony had an incredible first year lineup of next gen games that screamed next gen. Resistance, Motorstorm, Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Ratchet Future Tools of Destruction and of course Uncharted. All in the first 12 months. I have no idea how any true PS fan can be satisfied with just Demon Souls, Ratchet and Returnal in the first 24 months of the PS5. Unless they only became a PS fan 3 years ago when they hit puberty.