Pretty soon, you’ll need another job to purchase a PlayStation 5.
It’s been quite a ride for consumers in late 2021 and for all of 2022. The cost of living is going up, inflation, lack of job raises, and now, to add one more thing in the way, PlayStation has revealed that it is raising the price of the PlayStation 5 in certain regions. We’re still not two years into the life of the PlayStation 5, and yet here comes the price increase.
This price increase will go into effect in Canada, Mexico, Europe, the U.K., Australia, Japan, and China. However, the United States, at least for now, is immune to the pricing increases, which have gone into effect starting today.
According to a post from Jim PlayStation’s president and CEO, Jim Ryan, on the PlayStation Blog, these changes were made as ” 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.”
So, you’re telling me that a billion-dollar company couldn’t eat the production costs for the PlayStation 5, and would rather pass the adjustments over to its potential customers? That seems a bit much to me. This is also from the same company that acquired the developers of Destiny and Destiny 2, Bungie. It doesn’t seem like a good move anymore, does it?
Sadly, given the price increases, people will still try their best to purchase a PS5. Even if it means putting themselves into a financial crisis. I’m not ok with that at all. Couple that with PS5 games hitting the $70 mark, while Xbox Series X|S and PC games are still sitting at $60. Granted, it seems all games will eventually be priced at $70, sooner or later.
Here is the new pricing for both models of the PlayStation 5, which will already go into effect as of today.
- Europe
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – €549.99
- PS5 Digital Edition – €449.99
- UK
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – £479.99
- PS5 Digital Edition – £389.99
- Japan (effective Sept. 15, 2022)
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – ¥60,478 yen (including tax)
- PS5 Digital Edition – ¥49,478 yen (including tax)
- China
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – ¥4,299 yuan
- PS5 Digital Edition – ¥3,499 yuan
- Australia
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – AUD $799.95
- PS5 Digital Edition – AUD $649.95
- Mexico
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – MXN $14,999
- PS5 Digital Edition – MXN $12,499
- Canada
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – CAD $649.99
- PS5 Digital Edition – CAD $519.99
This sucks, and there’s no other way to say it. I’m ashamed of Sony and PlayStation for making this move, and yet another move that shows they’re out of touch with “The Gamers.” Combine this with the crappy PlayStation Plus tiers, gating much of the good stuff being the highest tier of the service, and it just seems like PlayStation just wants to extract more money from the consumers.
Of course, money talks, and the only way for people to voice their opinions is via their bank accounts. But will they?
Another question is, why is North America the only market not affected? While I’m happy, we don’t have to pay more for a console that’s already hard to find. What kind of signal is PlayStation sending by excluding North America? Especially given that Canada and Mexico are markets that were subjected to the pricing changes?
PlayStation, what’s going on?