Sony has announced that it's increasing the retail PS5 price in various countries due to the global economic environment.

　　Sony President and CEO, Jim Ryan, announced the price increase on the official PlayStation Blog just now. Various markets will be affected, including Europe, UK, Japan, Canada, China, Mexico and Australia. According to Ryan, there will be no PS5 price increase in the US.

　　“The global economic environment is a challenge that many of you around the world are no doubt experiencing”, Ryan writes on the PS Blog. “We’re seeing high global inflation rates, as well as adverse currency trends, impacting consumers and creating pressure on many industries. Based on these challenging economic conditions, SIE has made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price (RRP) of PlayStation 5 in select markets across Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), Asia-Pacific (APAC), Latin America (LATAM), as well as Canada. There will be no price increase in the United States.”

　　When looking at the European retail price, we're looking at a 10% price increase, which can be considered quite substantial (the PS5 disc model previously sold for €499.99). In his post, the PlayStation CEO refrains from explaining why the price in the US hasn't been increased.

　　According to Ryan’s post, the price increase will be in effect immediately, unless mentioned otherwise. Down below you’ll find the new retail prices in the affected countries:

　　EuropePS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – €549.99PS5 Digital Edition – €449.99UKPS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – £479.99PS5 Digital Edition – £389.99Japan (effective Sept. 15, 2022)PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – ¥60,478 yen (including tax)PS5 Digital Edition – ¥49,478 yen (including tax)ChinaPS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – ¥4,299 yuanPS5 Digital Edition – ¥3,499 yuanAustraliaPS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – AUD $799.95PS5 Digital Edition – AUD $649.95MexicoPS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – MXN $14,999PS5 Digital Edition – MXN $12,499CanadaPS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – CAD $649.99PS5 Digital Edition – CAD $519.99Ryan adds, “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.”

　　A major price increase for Sony’s console, and although this decision has likely not been made easily, we’re pretty sure that fans won’t like it.