Citing inflation and other economic challenges, Sony just announced a price increase for the PS5 in several markets (via Android Central). While the United States is immune from the price hike, at least for now, the cost of the PS5 has increased in Europe, Japan, China, Australia, Mexico, and Canada.
Sony isn't alone in raising the price of its gaming hardware. Meta bumped up the price of the Meta Quest 2 by $100 last month.
"The costs to make and ship our products have been on the rise," Meta said. "By adjusting the price of Quest 2, we can continue to grow our investment in groundbreaking research and new product development that pushes the VR industry to new heights."
Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan echoed similar sentiments.
"We’re seeing high global inflation rates, as well as adverse currency trends, impacting consumers and creating pressure on many industries. 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."
The question of our minds is if Microsoft will follow suit. The Xbox Series X currently retails at $500. Will Microsoft follow in the footsteps of Meta and Sony and bump up the price of its flagship console? We can't say for sure, so we're asking for your predictions.
While it's normal for industry giants to trend in the same direction, Microsoft has set a precedent of not matching Sony's price increases. Sony, EA, and several other companies now charge $70 for AAA titles on new hardware. In contrast, Microsoft has stuck with $60. While some of the best Xbox games cost more than $60, the baseline price of titles on the Xbox Series X is $60.
Please let us know your predictions in the poll above and hop on over to our official Discord server to discuss the pricing of the Xbox Series X.
Our Senior Editor Matt Brown already weighed in on the topic and discussed how Microsoft and Sony approach gaming differently.
