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Sony has failed to rule out a potential PS5 price increase, as it said there is “nothing specific to share” on the subject. Speaking to investors in an earnings call earlier in the week, the company was asked about a hypothetical hike after it bumped the MSRP of a number of its home electronics, including cameras, headphones, speakers, and more. The semiconductor shortage has been blamed for the changes, alongside increased costs of raw materials, manufacturing, and distribution.

“About a potential price increase for the PS5, at this point in time there is nothing specific I can share with you about prices,” said the firm’s financial bigwig Hiroki Totoki, as reported by VGC. Earlier this week, Meta made the unprecedented move of increasing the price of its various Meta Quest 2 headsets by $100, citing similar cost increases to those mentioned above.

However, PlayStation has been bullish with its plans for PS5, sticking to its 18 million units shipment target for the coming fiscal year – and presumably it intends to sell every single one of those. To be fair, the company has been forcing bundles on consumers of late, with the $549.99 Horizon Forbidden West console now the de facto option – although this does, of course, include the game. Aloy’s sophomore adventure has been topping various sales charts around the world as a result.

The reality is that Sony probably could get away with increasing the price and still selling through its inventory, but the optics would be bad – especially if Microsoft doesn’t make any adjustments to the Xbox Series X|S’ price. Ultimately, these are tough challenges for the manufacturer to navigate: the PS5 is healthy and selling strong, but for reasons outside of the company’s control, we get the distinct impression this generation isn’t quite going according to plan. It’s going to take nimble decision making moving forward to maintain the brand’s position of strength.

[source videogameschronicle.com]