Sony Raises The Price Of The PS5 Again In UK, Europe, Australia and NZ – GPlayr

For the second time in the console’s history, Sony has increased the price of the PlayStation 5. The new pricing effects the UK, mainland Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Somewhat surprisingly, the US remains untouched. But hey, at least the RRP of the disc drive has dropped, so that’s nice, I guess.

In the UK and Europe, the PS5 Digital Edition is going up by £40/€50, bringing the RRP to £429.99/€499.99. The normal PS5 with disc drive has not had its price increased.

For more context, the digital-only PS5 launched in the UK and Europe for £359.99/€399. The price of both versions of the console was then increased in 2022, raising the digital to £389.99/€449.99.

In other words, in the UK and Europe, the digital PS5 now costs £70/€100 than it did when it launched.

Meanwhile, New Zealand and Australia face price hikes on both the regular and digital PS5s.

In Australia, the regular PS5 will see a AUD $30 increase, while the digital edition is being raised by a whopping AUD $70.

In New Zealand, the regular PS5 will have its price raised by NZD $50, while the digital edition goes up by NZD $90.

But Why?

The price increase were announced on the official PlayStation blog where Isabelle Tomatis, Vice President of Global Marketing, attempted to explain the reasoning: “With a backdrop of a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates, SIE has made the tough decision to raise the recommended retail price (RRP) of the PlayStation 5 console in select markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Australia and New Zealand. “

Surprisingly, the recent economic chaos caused by the United States’ tariff hikes (which have been paused for now) were not cited as one of the reasons for the PS5’s RRP being increased. However, it would be difficult to imagine that it has not played at least some role in the decision.

Also worth noting is that the US has not seen any price increases. It has been reported that Sony has been stockpiling consoles in the US in a bid to avoid the tariffs.

Whatever the reasoning, another price increase is a massive blow for consumers in a time when consoles are already expensive and the cost of living has risen to insane levels. Gaming has always been a luxury hobby, but at least we always benefited from the idea that consoles usually decrease in price. The PS4, for example, saw a $100 dollar price cut three years after it launched. But now we live in a world where our consoles actually cost significantly more than when they first came out.

PS5 Disc Drive Price Drop

As part of the console price hike, Sony also revealed that it’s knocking down the RRP of the standalone disc drive that can be added to the PS5 digital edition. The price drops are actually quite large, such as the UK getting a £30 decrease.