Featured Image Credit: Sony
Topics: PlayStation, PlayStation 5, Sony, Tech
Donald Trump may have hit pause on several of his new tariffs, but that doesn’t mean that the effects aren’t still being felt.
The world economy is in a precarious position, with tariffs affecting a number of sectors including gaming.
If you thought that US consumers were the only ones who might feel the bite of this, you thought wrong.
Citing a “challenging economic environment”, PlayStation has formally announced that it’ll be increasing its PlayStation 5 pricing across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
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The PS5 Pro is Sony’s latest console release.
“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,” read a blog post.
These changes will come into effect from today, 14 April.
In Europe, the PS5 Digital Edition will now set you back €499.99; there are no pricing changes for the standard PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive.
In the UK, the PS5 Digital Edition will now cost you £429.99; again, there are no pricing changes for the standard PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive.
In Australia, the standard PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive has been raised to AUD $829.95, while the PS5 Digital Edition will now cost AUD $749.95.
Finally, in New Zealand, the standard PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive will set you back NZD $949.95 from today, with the PS5 Digital Edition coming in at NZD $859.95.
The PS5 Pro is unaffected by this change.
There is a slither of good news as the PS5 Disc Drive has fallen in price, also from today.
It will now cost as follows: €79.99 / £69.99 / AUD $124.95 / NZD $139.95.
In the UK, these launched at £99.99, so that’s a £30 saving.
However, the PS5 Digital Edition previously cost £359.99 in the UK, so this is a whopping £70 increase.
This late into the PlayStation 5’s lifecycle, I can’t imagine this news is going to go down well at all.