The recent price increase for consoles from Sony, including PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro, may foreshadow a more expensive next generation of gaming systems.
Circana analyst Mat Piscatella noted that the price increase was expected, but its scale was higher than forecasts. According to him, the current market situation makes plans for launching the next console — PlayStation 6 — extremely uncertain in terms of both timing and cost.
New York University professor and industry researcher Joost van Dreunen links what is happening to US economic policy, including the introduction of import tariffs. In his opinion, this has led to an increase in the cost of components: prices for DRAM and NAND have increased by 80–90% since the beginning of 2026. He believes that the market is moving towards consoles for $1,000 becoming the norm, and console gaming equipment itself becoming a luxury.
Serkan Toto, head of the consulting company Kantan Games, believes that the current price increase is Sony's attempt to prepare for further instability. According to his estimate, one version of PlayStation 6 may cost up to $999. At the same time, the company leaves itself room for possible discounts if the market situation improves.
