PS5s are getting more expensive

PlayStation 5 prices are increasing in Australia due to economic inflation and recession fears.

In a recently posted PlayStation blog, Sony announced that all regions except the United States will find prices increasing for the PlayStation 5, including both the Digital Edition and Disc Drive edition.

According to the blog, Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, stated that inflation rates are the cause of this price increase. “The global economic environment is a challenge that many of you around the world are no doubt experiencing. We’re seeing high global inflation rates, as well as adverse currency trends, impacting consumers and creating pressure on many industries,” he states.

“Based on these challenging economic conditions, SIE has made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price (RRP) of PlayStation 5 in select markets across Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), Asia-Pacific (APAC), Latin America (LATAM), as well as Canada. There will be no price increase in the United States.”

PlayStation 5s have been notably hard to acquire due to supply-chain shortages. Picture: Sony

For Australians, that means that the PS5 Disc Drive will now run you AUD $799.95, and the Digital Edition will run AUD $649.95, a price increase of $50 across the board. Addressing the supply and demand concerns, Ryan ends the blog post with the following: “While this price increase is a necessity given the current global economic environment and its impact on SIE’s business, our top priority continues to be improving the PS5 supply situation so that as many players as possible can experience everything that PS5 offers and what’s still to come.”

The lack of a price increase in the States is a little strange, but industry analysts predict that even they may not be safe from future inflation woes.

In other news, Sony is currently objecting to its primary competitor, Microsoft, from acquiring Activision Blizzard for $100 billion AUD. Sony sees no way to compete with Call of Duty, which Microsoft would own if the merger goes through. Microsoft responded, stating that Sony’s objection is questionable, claiming that Sony is paying developers to avoid rivals, such as Xbox’s Game Pass.

Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF.