Inflation hits the PS5 just in time for Christmas

As if getting your hands on a PS5 wasn't hard enough.

By Fergus Halliday

Aug 26, 2022

2 min read

Sony is raising the recommended retail pricing for the PlayStation 5, citing concerns around inflation.

Aussies looking at picking up the next-generation home console ahead of the holiday season will have shell out an extra $50 on what it would have cost to buy a PS5 in the first half of 2022. The new Australian pricing for the PlayStation 5 is as follows:

PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – AU $799 (was $749)
PS5 Digital Edition – AU $649 (was $599)

The company announced the move via a statement on their blog earlier this week, with Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan attributing the price hike to changing economic conditions.

Those in Europe, the UK, Japan, Mexico and Canada are looking at a similar price-hike while PS5 prices in the United States are set to remain stable.

A post-launch price hike for gaming hardware like this isn't entirely unheard of, but it is exceedingly rare in modern times. Typically, the cost of a gaming console like the Playstation 5 is at its peak when it launches and then gradually becomes cheaper over time.

Earlier this year, Meta attracted a the ire of consumers by raising the price of the Oculus Quest 2. At the time, Meta said that "the costs to make and ship our products have been on the rise."

While that's not quite an apples-to-apples comparison as the economics of a VR headset and home console are slightly different, the similarity in timing and rationale between the two examples may suggest that inflation is having an impact on the bigger players in the consumer tech conversation.

In the statement, Ryan acknowledged what anyone who has attempted to buy a PlayStation 5 over the past two years already knows: that supply and availability of the console continues to be an ongoing issue.

"While this price increase is 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," he said.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has pushed back on speculation that the Xbox Series X and Series S might be due for a similar price-hike. In a statement sent to WindowsCentral, a Microsoft spokesperson said the company are constantly evaluating their business but that the suggested retail price for both products remains where it is.

Assuming you can find local stock, the new PS5 pricing kicks in from today.

Next-gen need-to-know

Looking for more of our local coverage on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X? Check out these guides.

Xbox Series X: Microsoft's eXciting new console eXplained
Xbox Series S: Cheaper at what cost?
PS5 vs Xbox Series X: Nitpicking next-gen
Xbox Series X Games: Best on the box
PS5 Games: What we're playing

Written by

Fergus Halliday

Fergus Halliday is a journalist and editor for Reviews.org. He’s written about technology, telecommunications, gaming and more for over a decade. He got his start writing in high school and began his full-time career as the Editor of PC World Australia. Fergus has made the MCV 30 Under 30 list, been a finalist for seven categories at the IT Journalism Awards and won Most Controversial Writer at the 2022 Consensus Awards. He has been published in Gizmodo, Kotaku, GamesHub, Press Start, Screen Rant, Superjump, Nestegg and more.