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    PS5 sales reached year highs as consumers raced to beat Sony’s price increases

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    PS5 sales reached year highs as consumers raced to beat Sony’s price increases

    PlayStation 5 hardware sales reportedly reached year highs in the US earlier this month, as consumers raced to beat Sony’s significant price increases.

    Late last month, Sony confirmed plans to increase the price of its consoles by at least $100 across the board. Notably, the premium PlayStation 5 Pro console increased by $150 and now retails for $900.

    According to Circana’s retail tracking service, US weekly unit and dollar sales of PlayStation 5 hardware reached 2026 highs during the week ending April 4, right as the price increases went into effect. So it appears that many consumers impulsively bought hardware before the price jumps.

    “US spending on video game hardware for the week nearly doubled when compared to the same week a year ago,” said senior director Mat Piscatella.

    Both Sony and Microsoft previously raised the price of their game consoles last year, driven by the impact of US tariffs, increased memory costs, and broader macroeconomic conditions.

    Typically, during a console lifecycle, prices go down. At this stage of PlayStation 4’s lifecycle, the console retailed for as little as $200.

    However, the PS5 price increases, which Sony blames on the “global economic landscape”, mean the cheapest Digital Edition PlayStation 5 console has risen by 50% ($200 / £200) since the platform launched in 2020.

    According to Piscatella, this new trend for game consoles means that the space is increasingly becoming a hobby for high earners.

    “A bigger portion of the market is going to people who are more affluent, have higher incomes, and the lower-income parts of the market are really struggling,” he told Edge Magazine. “That premium gaming space is leaning more and more on the affluent consumer.”

    Piscatella noted that, “we’re basically leaving a whole portion of the market to Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, and mobile content.”

    Last year, hardware and software sales in the US had the worst November since tracking began. The average price of new video game hardware in the US in November 2019 was $235, compared with $439 in November 2025.