Just after the internet went haywire over the price of the Nintendo Switch 2, Sony has dropped new price hikes for PlayStation 5 consoles.
Affecting the United Kingdom, Mainland Europe, Australia and New Zealand for the time being, the cost of the PS5 Digital Edition has seen a substantial rise which has been blamed on the “challenging economic environment”.
PS5 consoles get a new price hike
Confirmed by Sony in a recent statement, the cost of a PS5 Digital Edition console has jumped by £40/€50. The expected price of £390/€450 is now £430/€500. For comparison, the new Nintendo Switch 2 console costs £395 in the UK.
This is the second price hike for the Digital Edition console this generation. Back in August 2022, the console jumped in price from £360/€400 to £390/€450, a £30/€50 increase for customers.
Sony is attempting to soften the blow by reducing the price of the PS5 Disc Drive for Digital Edition customers with a slight reduction from £90 to £70. However, it’s worth noting that both the base PS5 with a disc drive and the PS5 Pro console have not seen price increases in most regions.
With that said, In Australia and New Zealand have been hit doubly hard as the Digital Edition and base console see new price increases. Now, the Digital Edition will cost AU $750 or NZ $860 while the disc-capable version will cost AU $830 or $950.
The price hike for PS5 consoles also comes alongside a slew of new PS Plus subscription price increases in a number of regions.
This means that the now-five-year-old console is not only more expensive than it was on launch, but also costs more than the new, upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.
“With a backdrop of a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates, SIE has made the tough decision to raise the recommended retail price (RRP) of the PlayStation 5 console in select markets,” Sony said in a blog post.
It used to be that consoles would drop price after their launch with cheaper variants also releasing to save costs. That appears to no longer be the case.
