Depreciating for some time now, the European currency continues to fall. Imports are increasingly expensive, inevitably leading to higher consumer prices. But while the purchasing power of the French continues to decline, some companies have no choice but to review their prices. And this is the case today for Sony, which has announced to increase that of its PS5.
The new PS5 prices around the world
However, Europe is not the only continent affected by this decision. The Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Canada are seeing console prices rise. Depending on the region, this represents an increase of 10 to 20% of the original price. Despite everything, Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, remains confident about the future of his machine.
| PS5 Standard Edition | PS5 Digital Edition | Increase | |
| Europe | €549.99 | 449,99€ | + 50€ |
| UK | £479.99 | £389.99 | + £30 |
| China | ¥4,299 | ¥3,499 | +¥400 |
| Japan | ¥60,478 | ¥49,978 | +¥5,000 |
| Australia | $799.95 | $649.95 | +AUD$50 |
| Mexico | MXN$14,999 | MXN $12,499 | +MXN$1,000 |
| Canada | $649.99 | $519.99 | +CAD $20 |
While this price increase is a necessity given the current global economic environment and its impact on SIE’s business, our top priority remains to improve the PS5 supply situation so that as many players as possible can experience everything the PS5 has to offer and what’s yet to come.
Jim Ryan, official announcement on the PlayStation Blog
What future for the electronics industry?
Seeing Sony increase the price of its PS5s around the world, many questions have arisen about its competitors. If Nintendo has not yet spoken on this subject, Microsoft hastened to respond. No price increase is planned for their consoles, despite the loss that this may represent on their side. However, this is only a short-term vision, which in no way excludes the possibility of a future increase.
But with this declaration, Microsoft plays the card of the good Samaritan who thinks above all of others. This is in addition to the many declarations of Phil Spencer for a few years, but especially since the beginning of the ninth generation. The latter recently recalled that exclusives will become increasingly rare, and that the industry should break away from them. A logical but above all strategic choice, which had already been mentioned for the takeover of Activision-Blizzard.
However, Sony’s decision is not an isolated case. Earlier in the year, the firm had already increased the price of certain products including Blu-ray players, cameras and helmets. This is also the case for Meta, having added $100 to the price of the Quest 2 headset during the month of August. The cost of production and distribution having exploded, the replenishment of materials is not yet enough to compensate for the excessive demand.