The cost of the PlayStation 5 is set to go up for Irish customers as Sony attributes the price increase to rampant inflation.
Sony announced the price rise on the PlayStation blog today, saying that it will affect customers in Europe, the UK, Middle East, Africa, Asia, South America and Canada. The US seems to be the one market unaffected by the change.
"The global economic environment is a challenge that many of you around the world are no doubt experiencing," the blog said. "We’re seeing high global inflation rates, as well as adverse currency trends, impacting consumers and creating pressure on many industries."
Read More: Hepatitis A found in food products as urgent recall alert issued for popular breakfast items
The PS5 has been plagued by issues since the console was launched in November 2020. On top of the numerous bugs, most of which have now been eliminated after updates and patches, there have also been significant problems with the supply of stock due in large part to a shortage of computer chips.
The new price hike will see PS5s in Europe go from €499.99 to €549.99 for the console that has the Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive. The digital only version of the console will now cost €499.99, up from €399.99.
The blog post did not give any indication as to whether this would be a temporary increase or a permanent one. It concluded with a commitment to address the supply issues which are ongoing.
“While this price increase is a necessity given the current global economic environment and its impact on SIE’s business, our top priority continues to be improving the PS5 supply situation so that as many players as possible can experience everything that PS5 offers and what’s still to come,” the blog post read.
However there is no suggestion that games will be hit by price rises with Fifa23 and the latest Call of Duty set for release in the next two months.
READ NEXT:
