Sony Institutes ‘Necessary’ PlayStation Price Hikes
In a brief post on the PlayStation blog, Sony on Friday announced the PlayStation 5 family soon will be more expensive. The change goes into effect next week, on April 2.
“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,” Isabelle Tomatis, vice president of global marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, wrote in the lede. “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.”
Here in the United States, the impending price ladder works thusly:
PlayStation 5: $649.99
PlayStation 5 Digital Edition: $599.99
PlayStation 5 Pro: $899.99
As of this writing, the three consoles go for $549, $499, and $749, respectively.
In addition, the PlayStation Portal will jump to $249.99 from $199.99.
Today’s news is bad for accessibility. Like Apple products, Sony’s aren’t cheap; if you’re a disabled person who’s on a fixed income and have been saving to upgrade your trusty old PS4, for example, the extra $100 is going to really hurt. (On the flip side, if you are someone with disabilities with means, the PS5 digital version may be worth it if only because no discs means no hand-eye coordination friction.) I write about these socioeconomic winds because, obviously, buying tech costs money and most in the disability community don’t have much of it. Nonetheless, Sony does invest considerable resources into accessibility. You have to pay more to get your shiny new console, but at least the actual gaming experience should be as high as the price tag.
Today’s news comes six months after Microsoft announced similar plans for Xbox.
