To most of them, they hear the sound of a PlayStation 5 starting as an escape. It is the gateway between the stressful working day and the neon-bathed and sprawling streets of Cyberpunk 2077 or the snow-covered mountain peaks of God of War. However, recently, the entrance point to the digital worlds is receiving a substantially higher price.
Sony has already raised the prices of its flagship console once again in a development that has caused ripples of frustration among the global gaming community. This will be the second increase in the same year in which the hardware giant has changed its MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) upwards in some of its major markets. These corporate press releases talk of bad economic times, and the global inflation, but the real situation on the ground is much more simple: the next-gen gaming dream is getting even further and further out of reach by many families and hobbyists.
The Silent Burn of the New Normal
By the time PS5 was released at the end of 2020, it was already a luxury product. It cost a lot, at $499 in the disc version, would be saved up over many months, or even received as a present at a milestone birthday. Take the same piece of plastic and silicon and fast forward to today, and it is a moving target.
The most recent increase is not some few dollars on a receipt, it is a symbolic change. We are in a time of technology that historically becomes cheaper with age but is going against the gravity of the consumer laws. Typically at the fourth year of the life cycle of a console, we would see a Slim console model at a reduced price or a holiday package. Rather, Sony is encouraging players to pay more in the same hardware that they would have purchased two years ago at a lesser price.
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Sony is just not operating in a vacuum. The global chain of supply, which, however, overcame the complete paralysis of the years of the pandemic, is still a thin web. Shipment fees have not been very stable, and the cost of the high-end semiconductors, which are the brains of PS5, has been unusually high.
Reasons why the decision was made:
- Exchange Rate: The Yen and other international currencies have been not doing well against a powerful US Dollar and Sony has had to re-price its products to ensure that it does not lose out on profits.
- Logistics Inflation: Millions of heavy boxes are transported across the ocean, and the cost has not gone back to the time before 2020.
- The Component Crunch: The chips are more accessible, but the advanced nodes needed to meet the high-speed SSD and the graphics card of PS5 are a high-value product.
In terms of the shareholders, it is a sensible move. Sony is a company and its best asset is the gaming department. The optics, however, are grueling to a player. It produces an image of a market leader which is aware that it has the must-have product and is not hesitant to milk its core base to fill a balance sheet.
Gaming Community Impact on Human Life
Gaming has never been about playing with toys. It is a social lifeline. In the recent years of isolation, PlayStation Network has been the digital town square where people could meet their friends online to talk about life. When you raise entry barrier, you are not only raising the cost of a machine; you are possibly eliminating that community.
The wall is taking the form of a wall to the younger gamers. The free-starving student that used to save money to purchase a console by missing out on a few nights out no longer sees that the math is not adding up. We run a danger of creating a subculture of the so-called boutique gaming, where the best experiences are enjoyed only by people with a substantial disposable income, leaving the rest of the population behind on outdated hardware.
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