Home PlayStation 5 price surge in Japan: West to follow suit? 

PlayStation 5 price surge in Japan: West to follow suit? 

Sony’s PlayStation 5 console has received a price increase according to a recent Sony Japan blog article with hardware and accessories all seeing their RRPs go up.

The blog post title translates to “Notice regarding suggested retail price revisions for PS5® and related peripherals in Japan.” Which has resulted in a substantial shift in pricing for the flagship console.

The changes for the Japanese markets will kick in on September 2nd, with notable upward pricing shifts for most of the recent Sony hardware. The company said, “We appreciate your understanding so that we can continue to provide our customers with the best gaming experience and operate a stable business.”

Sony Japan increases PlayStation 5 price

“Given the recent challenging external environment, including the current fluctuations in the global economic situation, and the impact it will have on our business, we have reached this decision,” said the article.

The change in price for the marquee console is around 13,000 yen or a $90 increase. It remains to be seen if the change in the price point will trickle over to the West, but an increase in Japan may lead to an increase in Europe and the USA. At the time of publishing. there has been no official correspondence or a similar blog post on the Sony U.S or EU sites to suggest any immediate movement.

Sony has had a strong showing this year with several record-breaking titles that have propelled the popularity of the Japanese console maker, such as Helldivers 2’s Steam stats. And as Readwrite recently reported, Black Myth: Wukong has sold over 10 million units across Steam and PlayStation 5.

Game Science, the developer, was known for mobile-centric games and is now responsible for launching a title that has the second-highest debut figures after GTA 5’s 16.5 million in 2013.

The game, based on the Chinese fable, Journey to the West has also racked up an impressive two million concurrent player count according to SteamDB.

Image: Sony Japan.

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The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Brian-Damien Morgan
Tech Journalist

Brian-Damien Morgan is an award-winning journalist and features writer. He was lucky enough to work in the print sector for many UK newspapers before embarking on a successful career as a digital broadcaster and specialist. His work has spanned the public and private media sectors of the United Kingdom for almost two decades. Since 2007, Brian has continued to add to a long list of publications and institutions, most notably as Editor of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, winning multiple awards for his writing and digital broadcasting efforts. Brian would then go on to be integral to the Legacy 2014,…

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