Sony offers a vague answer on a PlayStation 5 price increase

The query of Sony growing the value of its PlayStation got here up throughout Sony’s first quarter earnings name, and the reply from chief monetary officer Hiroki Totoki was noticeably imprecise on the matter. 

“A few potential worth improve for the PS5, at this cut-off date there’s nothing particular I can share with you about costs,” mentioned Totoki. 

It is a query price asking if you take a look at the remainder of Sony’s enterprise. In April, Sony raised the Japanese prices of a number of of its shopper digital units, together with Blu-Ray gamers and residential theater methods. The rise in worth was made as a result of a number of exterior points, together with the continuous scarcity of semiconductors that has effects on the production of games consoles for all console makers, together with Sony. 

Throughout its earnings name, Sony revealed the PS5 has sold 21.7 million units to this point since its 2020 launch. Although numbers relating to playtime and first-party software program gross sales have had a slight decline throughout the quarter, Sony nonetheless expects the PS5 to promote 18 million items by the top of the yr. 

You are gonna carry that price

The potential of a PS5 worth improve comes days following Meta saying its plans to increase the price of each fashions of its Quest 2 VR by $100. Meta’s argument was that the value hike would profit VR, however reactions to this have been skeptical on that entrance. 

Totoki added that Sony was unable to ship sufficient PS5s to satisfy shopper demand throughout Q1, calling the provision points and lack of obtainable components “the 2 huge constraints we had been imposed with.” Although he is hopeful that enhancements to manufacturing will include the supply of elements, he was much less positive concerning the provide chain. 

“For provide chain disruption, we really took fairly a success within the first quarter,” Totoki admitted. “Within the first quarter, {hardware} quantity for gross sales had been fairly smaller than we anticipated at the start of the yr, so provide chain disruption is one thing that we hope shall be fully addressed.”

Analysts have lately predicted that as a result of semiconductor scarcity, which is believed to proceed by 2022, chip makers will improve their costs, and producers might in flip go on that price to merchandise purchased by shoppers, resembling recreation consoles and vehicles.