The PS5’s Price May Be Going Up, But At Least It’s Losing Weight Again

Games The PS5’s Price May Be Going Up, But At Least It’s Losing Weight Again Paul Tassi Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. News and opinion about video games, television, movies and the internet. New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Aug 30, 2022, 07:59am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin PS5 Sony Sony has issued around a 10% price hike for the PS5 in many non-US regions around the world, drawing the ire of many who feel like Sony is pushing its luck with the move, as its competitors Microsoft and Nintendo are content to leave prices alone, despite economic factors. But Sony is doing something else with the PS5 too. Press Start , via The Verge , reports that Sony is rolling out yet another even more lightweight model of the PS5 in Australia, as of this week.

The disc model is down to 8. 7 pounds, dropping from 9. 2 pounds in 2021 when it first cut weight, down from 9.

9 pounds of the original. The digital PS5 has also dropped down to 7. 5 pounds, down from 8.

6 pounds. So the new disc version weighs as much as the original digital version. What changed to make both systems lighter? Nobody knows yet.

Sony has not issued a comment about this revision, and no one will know until these new Australian models (presumably going wide later) are torn down and the insides are inspected. Last time it was because the heatsink changed, this time? Who knows. A Sony PlayStation 5 home video game console, taken on October 29, 2020.

(Photo by Olly . . .

[+] Curtis/Future Publishing via Getty Images) Future Publishing via Getty Images via Getty Images MORE FOR YOU ‘Demon Slayer’ Season 2 Finally Has An Actual 2021 Release Date Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Not A Sure Thing, Says Director ‘Genshin Impact’ Still Refuses To Increase Anniversary Rewards, Despite Fan Outcry Sony is in hot water among fans because the PS5 very quickly went from being a loss leader to being profitable, and now the second that’s at risk, those costs are being passed on directly to consumers with these price hikes. Sony cites global inflation and currency issues around the world, but again, Microsoft and Nintendo have both stood firm in leaving their prices alone, issuing new statements that they would not raise prices even as Sony was upping theirs. Sony believes that demand is high enough for the PS5 where people will pay the extra surcharge and they can still hit all their sales targets for the year.

Analyst estimates put the PS5 sales at not quite at 2:1 over the Xbox Series X and S, but somewhat close to it, though we have no firm confirmation of that with Microsoft not releasing console sales numbers anymore. It is not unusual for consoles to get slimmer over time, it’s just usually that they also get cheaper, and it’s hard to remember a time when prices have actively been raised before. Elsewhere in the gaming world, Meta also raised prices on its Quest headsets by $100 each, but those units were thought to be selling at somewhat significant losses as Mark Zuckerberg attempts to make VR mainstream.

I do wonder if Sony’s current position could affect the price of PSVR 2, due out relatively soon. Follow me on Twitter , YouTube , Facebook and Instagram . Subscribe to my free weekly content round-up newsletter, God Rolls .

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