PS5 sales spike as players raced to beat global price rises

US weekly unit and dollar sales of PlayStation 5 hardware spiked last week, even as Sony announced global price rises for its PlayStation 5 consoles due to “continued pressures in the global economic landscape.”

At the end of March, Sony announced that from April 2, the base and digital PS5 price would increas by $100, and the PS5 Pro by $150. “We found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide,” SIE vice president Isabelle Tomatis said at the time.

According to Circana director and video game industry advisor Mat Piscatella, US spending on video game hardware was almost double that of the same week a year ago as players raced to upgrade ahead of the price hike.

In February, Sony reported its financial results for the nine months ended December 31, 2025, with operating income rising 21%. Its Game & Network Services segment similarly saw a significant increase in operating income, rising 27% to ¥409.1 billion ($2.6 billion). However, the platform holder experienced a decline in hardware revenue, with unit sales of PlayStation 5 dropping 15.7%.

It follows a prior price hike last April, too, when Sony increased the price of its PS5 consoles in Europe, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. At that time, the cost of the PS5 Pro remained unchanged across all regions, while prices for the PS5 digital edition changed in the UK and Europe, and for the base PS5 in Australia and New Zealand.

Last month, reports suggested Sony was considering delaying the rollout of its next-generation console due to the ongoing memory shortage crisis.