The price of the PlayStation 5 increases: Sony responds to the global crisis, but with what consequences?
– Reviews News
It was in the air and the official confirmation has finally arrived: both versions of PlayStation 5 will suffer an increase in the sale price. From today, therefore, the cost will increase by €50 for both versions of the current generation console, more precisely the standard edition with player will cost €549,99 instead of €499,99, while the Digitale will cost €449,99 instead of €399,99.
What happened is without a doubt a historic event within the industry and normally we would never have imagined seeing the price of a hardware increase two years after its release. But the current economic situation in different countries is far from normal, influenced by shortages of raw materials, critical components and rising energy prices. We have increases and we suffer them in our daily lives, from grocery shopping to the gas station, so much so that Sony's choice shouldn't surprise us too much.
Let's be clear, with this we do not want to pretend to be indifferent to what this bonus represents for us, the players, also taking into account that the Japanese company hardly experiences financial difficulties comparable to those of many other companies. hard hit in recent years. of crisis. There is no doubt that PlayStation could have continued to sell units without risking bankruptcy and avoiding this surplus, so as not to trigger a media tsunami that will hold the bench for days on specialized and non-specialized newspapers.
Jim Rayn, CEO of Sony, with a very short article explains how global inflation rates led to this sensational choice.
Jim Ryan, responsible for bringing this news to the world, tried to explain the reasons for this important choice, citing the high rates of global inflation currently prevailing in the market as the main motivation. What has been said is very important because it explains even to the less economically savvy why rising prices are introduced in many markets but not all, such as the United States. In short, the US dollar currently remains a very strong currency in terms of the exchange rate, while the euro, the pound and many others, at the moment, fluctuate daily, discouraging transactions.
Another reason Sony isn't changing the price on US soil has to do with a simple, pure strategy: staying competitive on cost on Xbox land might actually benefit sales. In fact, these days many are wondering whether this policy in our market can be a disadvantage for the company or not.
Considering the very high demand for the product, an increase of around 10%, despite the current market conditions, is not high enough to discourage determined players from buying. In Italy, we are still witnessing the phenomenon of sales of "obligatory" bundles by the most famous electronics chains and users, with more or less heaviness at heart, have not hesitated to spend even 900 € to grab a PlayStation 5. As much as one can like the video games, consoles as well as PCs and various components are not among the basic necessities and therefore, anyone who is able to meet this expense in order to grab the new Sony console may not see in these 50€ a reason to abstain.
The PlayStation 5 price hike comes in a rather favorable time window: with God of War: Ragnarok just around the corner, even €50 more can hardly stop demand for units.
What is certain is that this choice implies taking a strong position, in full conviction of its position on the market. As much as users and fans may complain, PlayStation has built a seemingly unshakeable reputation over the years. Sure, psi can always make missteps, but that won't stop the relentless demand for units and the buying of more expensive products.
The Sony CEO also added that they are actively working to resolve the inventory issue and ensure that increasing disc availability is their top priority. Another factor to consider in this story, which at first glance may seem unrelated, is the hardware itself. PlayStation, unlike its more direct competitor Xbox, absolutely needs to sell "the plastic box" to put in the living room or office. If the American house pushes for a future in complete mobility free of all hardware, Sony is still a few lengths behind and needs the console to bring its IPs to the player.
With the advent of the new PlayStation Plus which now incorporates PlayStation Now, albeit belatedly, the Japanese front has begun to look lukewarm to the future with a full-bodied catalog of games to stream even on PC. We are far from the cloud Gaming from Microsoft but sooner or later even Sony will have to think seriously about the evolution of this sector and this hardware alone in a few generations will not be enough to maintain its dominant position. What better time than now to consider embracing the cloud given rising production costs? Some of the finest IPs ever produced will have to find space beyond the console since its debut and raising the price to continue generating revenue is just a small temporary fix.
Could the competition take the ball? Microsoft and Nintendo seem to be saying that there will be no increases for their part.
In conclusion, the global economic situation appears rather precarious and both the most important companies and us in our daily lives have to deal with increases. Obviously, it's more understandable to expect it from the trusted grocery store close to home than from a business that, despite inflation, appears to be quite thriving given the latest acquisitions and investments made. This choice, although already undertaken by other large companies such as Meta for example, with the increase of the Quest 2, will cause much discussion but it will hardly affect the sales and the strength of PlayStation.
Raising the price after two years is not a pleasant move in the eyes of the user and the reasons given by the CEO of Sony are a bit "cunning" given that this increase comes shortly before the release of the remake of TLOU and God of War: Ragnarok, two titles capable of significantly moving console sales. Unfortunately, however, we will have to resign ourselves one way or another until the economic and production framework for semiconductors regains its stability and geopolitical situations such as the war in Ukraine cease. In fact, other big companies such as Nvidia and Intel have already announced that the new 4000 series and new processors, which will probably arrive by the end of the year, will have a higher starting price than current productions. .
We stand helpless at the window, watching how this industry in the space of a year has gone from 70 billion acquisitions to upswings two years after its release, curious and a little scared of what more surprises lie ahead. in the near future. And who knows if the competition will not take advantage of this to do the same thing or exactly the opposite, by offering offers that can seduce the disappointed.
SOURCE: Reviews News
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