Hello, and welcome to this week’s edition of The Game Business Micro.
It’s Easter break/Spring break time. But that doesn’t prevent us from diving into the big stories of the week. Especially when those big stories are about major pricing shifts for both PlayStation and Nintendo.
Plus, there were those Epic cuts, a UK trade body shared alarming data, and Savvy prepares to spend big on mobile games… again.
Let’s take a look.
DRAM crisis deepens as PS5 price jumps $100
In Brief: Sony has significantly increased the price of PlayStation 5 globally. All models have increased by at least $100.
What You Need To Know:
In the US, the PS5 will rise from $549.99 to $649.99. In Europe, it’s jumping from €549.99 to €649.99. In the UK, it’s gone from £479.99 to £569.99.
In the US, the PS5 Digital Edition will rise from $499.99 to $599.99. In Europe, it’s also up from €499.99 to €599.99. And in the UK, it’s gone from £429.99 to £519.99.
In the US, the PS5 Pro goes from $699.99 to $899.99. In Europe it’s $699.99 to $899.99. And in the UK, it’s gone from £699.99 to £789.99.
The price hike has also hit Japan, with the digital model at ¥97,980, the standard model at ¥89,980 and the Pro edition at ¥137,980.
In addition, the PlayStation Portal has increased in price from $199.99 to $249.99, £199.99 to £219.99 and €219.99 to €249.99.
PlayStation said on its blog: “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 Digital Edition PlayStation 5 console has seen its price jump by $200 since its release.
The situation is caused by rising memory and storage costs. DRAM prices have reportedly increased by over 170% year-over-year.
Leading game analyst Piers Harding-Rolls from Ampere Analysis told The Game Business: “It wouldn’t be a surprise if Microsoft and Nintendo followed suit in the not-too-distant future.
“Aside from a direct impact on hardware companies, I think this will cause some general industry concern about what the broader impact will be on market activity. The console and the AAA PC gaming markets rely on hardware investment to bring in new active players and drive market momentum, so if this weakens it might soften demand for new games. These pressures come at an awkward time for Sony and Microsoft with Take-Two’s GTA 6 arriving at the end of 2026, as both companies will want to take full advantage of the positive impact of this system seller release. Likewise, it’s awkward for Nintendo as it won’t want to raise the price of the Switch 2 when it is trying to establish the new platform.”Elsewhere, the family console Nex Playground has increased the price of its machine from $249 to $299.
Microsoft raised the prices of its Xbox consoles twice last year. A standard Xbox Series X now retails for $649.99, up $150 since launch. The Series S is $399.99, an increase of $100.
My Take:
Regular readers and listeners will know I’m generally an optimistic person. But the situation facing video game hardware gives me a knot in my stomach. It feels almost existential.
