With Sony having recently announced a price hike for PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles, industry analysts believe that this may be a sign of things to come for next-gen consoles. Speaking to GamesRadar, Circana’s Mat Piscatella noted that while the price hike was inevitable, “this one is a bigger price jump than I had been anticipating.”
NYU video game professor and industry researcher Joost van Dreunen believes that this is essentially the result of US policies that were designed to disrupt the global economy having backfired. Citing moves like imposing import tariffs, van Dreunen pointed out that indications of hardware costs rising were already becoming evident as far back as 2024.
“The relentless effort by the US administration to disrupt the global economy is backfiring exactly as expected,” said van Dreunen. “Already in 2024 did console manufacturers signal that any tariffs would have a major impact on pricing. The cost for DRAM and NAND have surged 80-90 percent since the start of 2026.”
CEO of consultancy firm Kantan Games, Dr. Serkan Toto, believes that with its recent price hikes, Sony has started preparing for further pricing fluctuations in the future. He noted that this also gives the company “some leeway to lower prices and offer ‘deals’ if things surprisingly get better.” As for the next-generation of console hardware, Dr. Toto believes that there will be at least one PS6 SKU priced at $999. van Dreunen agrees, saying “we’re quickly moving towards a world in which a $1,000 console will be the norm, and console gaming will become a luxury expenditure.”
“They really don’t want to raise prices on their hardware, because that part is usually a heavily subsidized part of the equation and the sale of games is the gravity point of their revenue model. I predict that the next generation of console hardware will start at a 50% higher price point than the current one did.”
Piscatella thinks that Sony’s plans for the launch of the PS6, both the timing and the pricing, “must be considered to be in flux,” owing to “far too much volatility and uncertainty.”
“Could we see $1k+ pricing? Sure, that’s possible,” he continued. “Would really hate to see that, but it’s possible. Could it be 2027? Maybe. Could it be 2028? Sure. Later? Why not. I do not think that current market conditions allow for much certainty at all in the hardware market. Hopefully the conditions improve. They could get worse. Who knows.”
Sony’s recent price hikes were announced just last week, and will affect markets in the US, UK, Europe, and Japan. The base PS5’s price is going up by $100, while the PS5 Pro is going up by $150. The PlayStation Portal hasn’t been forgotten by Sony either, with its price going up by $50. The new prices will apply from April 2nd onwards.
The announcement led to Ampere Analysis’ Piers Harding-Rolls stating that Sony’s move might be followed by Microsoft and Nintendo for their own current-gen consoles—the Xbox Series X/S and the Switch 2. “With no sign of prices easing largely due to demand for AI infrastructure, Sony will have made the move to protect its slim hardware margins,” he said. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if Microsoft and Nintendo followed suit in the not-too-distant future.”
