PS5 Hardware Sales Surge Following Price Increase Announcement

Last month's announcement of a significant price hike for the PlayStation 5 led to a sharp increase in console hardware sales, as customers rushed to purchase units before the new prices took effect.

Mat Piscatella, senior director and video game industry advisor at Circana, shared on social media that U.S. weekly unit and dollar sales of PS5 hardware hit their highest levels since 2026 during the week ending April 4. The price adjustments were implemented on April 2.

Sony raised the prices for the PS5, PS5 Pro, and PlayStation Portal, citing "continued pressures in the global economic landscape." In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Isabelle Tomatis, vice president of global marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, emphasized that this move was "a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide."

Tomatis added, "With continued pressures in the global economic landscape, we’ve made the decision to increase the prices of PS5, PS5 Pro, and PlayStation Portal remote player globally. We know that price changes impact our community, and after careful evaluation, we found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide."

The standard PS5 with a disc drive and the PS5 Digital Edition both saw a $100 increase, while the PS5 Pro jumped by $150, bringing its price to $900. The PlayStation Portal rose by $50. As a result, the starting price for a new PS5 is now $600, up from $500 when the standard model launched in November 2020.

The updated recommended retail price for the PlayStation Portal remote player is as follows: