The PlayStation 5 has seen a spike in US sales following announced price hikes, according to Circana’s retail tracking service. In fact, it spiked so much that sales from the week ending 4th April have topped out the rest of the year so far.
Senior director and video game industry advisor at Circana Mat Piscatella shared the stats on social media, and added: “US spending on video game hardware for the week nearly doubled when compared to the same week a year ago.”
This came following a recent announcement in late March by Sony indicating the price of all versions of the PS5 would increase due to “continued pressures in the global economic landscape”. In the US, the base PS5 will retail for $649.99, and the PS5 Pro will be on sale for a staggering $899.99.
These pressures are likely due to hardware shortages in the global market, triggered by the generative AI boom which has resulted in ample stress on component manufacturers. These same pressures have already resulted in a delay for Valve’s Steam Machine and price increases in the PC RAM market.
It’s also reportedly causing a delay for the PlayStation 6 release at Sony, as the cost of manufacturing these next generation consoles (and the necessary steep price point to cover costs) could absolutely result in fiscal disaster.
It’s worth noting this announced price hike came prior to rising tensions on the strait of Hormuz, currently blockades and resulting in mass delays and price increases in the global oil market. This market, as you may already have assumed, is integral to global trade in general, and if tensions are not resolved soon, experts worry further cost increases across many different markets could follow.
