Gamer Backlash Hits Sony After PlayStation Price Hike: "Older Stuff Should Get Cheaper, Not Expensive"
Gamers, already upset over rising memory, CPU, and GPU prices, woke up to more bad news this morning. This time, Sony posted a new entry on the PlayStation Blog announcing price hikes for the PS5, PS5 Pro, and PlayStation Portal, blaming “continued pressures in the global economic landscape.”
"We know that price changes impact our community, and after careful evaluation, we found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide,” Isabelle Tomatis, Vice President of Global Marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, said in the blog post.
In the U.S., that means the base PlayStation 5 (disc version) will see its recommended retail price rise from around $499 to $649, an increase of about $150.
What Sony meant by “continued pressures in the global economic landscape” to justify the console price hike was not defined. There was also no mention of whether the memory shortage influenced the price increase.
Backlash on X was instant:
Hot take but I think things should get cheaper the more old that they are, crazy idea!
— Synth Potato🥔 (@SynthPotato) March 27, 2026
My PS5 is now worth $200 more than when I bought it. That's nuts.
— Wesley ✨ (@wesleytypes) March 27, 2026
Wow… at this point it’s easier to just build a full PC than buy this piece of hardware. pic.twitter.com/e9DBAGWnaP
— Mike (@mikeindiee) March 27, 2026
Not fucking really pic.twitter.com/1PUNlEiwOz
— Gavin Roberts (@GavinLee5001) March 27, 2026
We told readers in late January: "If you want to buy any consumer goods, PCs, or smartphones ... do it now, as it is for sure all the prices will be increased. Take an average PC, for example. The ratio of memory chips in the BoM [bill of materials] cost has increased from some 15% to almost 40%."
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