Sony announces major PS5, PS5 Pro, and PlayStation Portal price increases starting April 2

Lumstar · Mar 29, 2026

G33ksquad said:
If you factor inflation sure that makes sense. But in terms of actual dollar amount, has anything been this much. Maybe I am forgetting something but I don’t see $900 capturing a lot of new buyers granted that’s the cost of the pro not the base model. For something that has been $300 base with a disc drive at Target these jumps are a lot.

I’m curious what hardware sales will look like after the increase.

Folks have no idea how costly gaming once was. Heck. Comparatively, the Atari 2600 at launch cost more than the PS5 Pro.

shadow1w2 · Mar 29, 2026

You can increase the price all you like I'm still not gonna buy one... wait...huh

At this price just get a PC.
Freedom is more worth the time and money.

Marc_LFD · Mar 29, 2026

Lumstar said:
Folks have no idea how costly gaming once was. Heck. Comparatively, the Atari 2600 at launch cost more than the PS5 Pro.

Quality of life was better back then than it is now I wish I could go back to the 90's. Everything is just stupidly expensive now.

Ettino · Mar 30, 2026

Marc_LFD said:
back to the 90's.

I'm sure you will find something else there to complain too.

szubiennica · Mar 30, 2026

My snapdragon 8 elite handheld created from phone runs cyberpunk so i dont care

Xzi · Mar 30, 2026

Ettino said:
I'm sure you will find something else there to complain too.

There's really nothing to complain about when it comes to the 90s in retrospect, we just had no way of knowing that was the best it was ever gonna get while we were living it. Millennials grew up in the absolute best time to be a kid, and the absolute worst time to be an adult.

tech3475 · Mar 30, 2026

Lumstar said:
Folks have no idea how costly gaming once was. Heck. Comparatively, the Atari 2600 at launch cost more than the PS5 Pro.

Maybe don't pick the console which is widely considered to have contributed to the great NA video game crash

?

On a more serious note, the problem with comments like this is there are different factors to consider.

For example, lifetime sales of the Atari 2600 was roughly 30 million whilst the PS5 (presumably all SKUs) has sold over 92 million.

The PS1 did launch at $299 or $641, but then I believe the price of games also came down due to CDs compared to prior cartridge based systems.

Then we also need to consider that the price of consoles generally came down over it's lifetime or at least you'd find bundles (official or retailer) to create better value. So although the PS1 launched at $299, within a couple of years it was half that and by the end of it's life only $49.

The latter is probably the biggest problem, justified or not, me and my friends mocked the PS3's launch price, but within a few years as the price declined and more games came out we did buy it.

Then on top of this, things like disposable income, costs of other products/services, etc. Can all contribute to how 'expensive' something may feel. Just the other day I saw an article about teens struggling to get weekend jobs these days, so of course these price rises are going to have an even more negative effect if they're trying to save up for a system.

DJPlace · Mar 30, 2026

ChibiMofo said:
Not. Even. Close.

The Panasonic 3DO launched at $699 in 1993, which is $1570 adjusted for inflation. The Neo Geo launched at $650 in 1990, which is about $1625 today. Those are not the only consoles of the past that cost more than a April 2026 PS5 Pro costs. If the Steam Machine ever actually launches, it likely will cost more too. Not only that, but many games of the 90s -- and even 80s -- cost more than Mario Kart World. Don't worry. I'm more than happy to keep correcting you all and putting prices in perspective.

i use to be a game collecter for NES back in the day. and my god seeing these NES cart prices now woo boy.... just search video game price charting and look use cart based games and you will see why. if people are not collecter's for cart base games there's alway's flashcarts you only have to pay 1 time price for it and an sd card or something like that but still...

Marc_LFD · Mar 30, 2026

Ettino said:
I'm sure you will find something else there to complain too.

Even the worst was still the best compared to today. Those are eras we'll never get back regardless of how good technology gets.

DolphinPussy · Mar 30, 2026

BEST. STEAM. MACHINE. MARKETING. EVER.

64bitmodels · Mar 30, 2026

ChronosNotashi said:
But no. Nintendo's the "greedy" one for doing the one thing people have been asking publishers (and Satoru Iwata) to do since the early 2010's when digital games were on the rise.

because people were asking for prices on physical games to rise instead of prices of digital games to fall. Yep. Totally.

doser_14 · Mar 30, 2026

So it's better to just buy a good pc

Hayato213 · Mar 30, 2026

doser_14 said:
So it's better to just buy a good pc

Not really AI also affect RAM and SSD price for PC.

doser_14 · Mar 30, 2026

Hayato213 said:
Not really AI also affect RAM and SSD price for PC.

your right

IRUZZ · Mar 30, 2026

6 years old console btw

Lumstar · Mar 30, 2026

64bitmodels said:
because people were asking for prices on physical games to rise instead of prices of digital games to fall. Yep. Totally.

If that's so, it's because instead of honest pricing that takes into account modern production values (massive worlds, full voice acting, cinematic soundtracks and animations, etc)... we've gotten piecemeal games split up into DLC.

Alagara · Mar 30, 2026

Genuinely thought the release of GTA6 would be what got us to buy a PS5, since we already own a Series X..... I guess this will be the only Sony console we aren't buying during its generation. Just save the money and buy pc parts after the AI bubble pops crashes the markets. We're getting close.

ChronosNotashi · Mar 30, 2026

Lumstar said:
If that's so, it's because instead of honest pricing that takes into account modern production values (massive worlds, full voice acting, cinematic soundtracks and animations, etc)... we've gotten piecemeal games split up into DLC.

Pretty much this, and it's a practice that was performed by Western and Western-leaning AAAs long before Nintendo even considered having any DLC at all. There was a time when Western AAAs were still USD $60 at release...because Western publishers started testing how far they could get away with cutting away pieces of the game to sell as DLC through "Deluxe Editions" or Season Passes. Started with cosmetics, then slowly moved on to core aspects of the game and/or its overarching story. (The latter to the point that for some games, DLC is required to understand what the hell is going on, instead of things being explained - even if not fully should future non-cut story be in the planning stages - at some point in the base game. Looking at you, SquareEnix - you chopped FFXV into pieces, left most of the explanations in the DLC, and then never finished the story in a satisfying way.)

And for the most part, Western and Western-leaning AAAs (like Sony) still stick to this formula in many cases, even at times in the indie realm, to the extent where it feels like only a select few publishers use DLC almost purely to expand an already-solid base game.

ZachariasBarnham · Mar 30, 2026

Well, am I supposed to be pressured into NOT buying a PS5? If so, you're doing a fantastic job, Sony!

Seriously, why is this console generation so messed up?! I've never seen the prices of current gen hardware INCREASE during its lifetime until now. I've only seen them increase after their lifetimes like the 3DS has due to fan demand.

That AI bubble needs to pop already!

Marc_LFD · Mar 31, 2026

ZachariasBarnham said:
Well, am I supposed to be pressured into NOT buying a PS5? If so, you're doing a fantastic job, Sony!

Seriously, why is this console generation so messed up?! I've never seen the prices of current gen hardware INCREASE during its lifetime until now. I've only seen them increase after their lifetimes like the 3DS has due to fan demand.

That AI bubble needs to pop already!

There'll probably be one third and final price increase just to piss off customers.

Will I buy a PS6? Maybe a used one for a reasonable price.

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