“Europe” also includes the UK. It’s worth noting that GTA 6 will move a lot of PS5s when it releases.
The PS5 was released more than 4 years ago.
The PS4 Slim was released 3 years after the original model and sold for $100/100,-€ less than the original.
The PS3 Slim released ~3 years after the original model and was significantly cheaper (to be fair, it also had a lot of features removed).
The PS5 saw a Slim model release with no price cut at all, and now they’re planning to actually increase the price of over 4 year old tech that is almost certainly a lot cheaper to produce than 4 years ago, especially the Slim model that saw a reduction in cooler size, lower-powered PSU and other cost-reduction measures.
Gaming is becoming less and less accessible and more and more of a luxury.
Gaming is becoming less and less accessible and more and more of a luxury.
The writing has been on the wall for a while that I’m going to have to move away from consoles and game mainly on PC, where there are other options for obtaining games. Walled gardens all having Apple pricing is unacceptable to me.
It’s not like the PC market is in great shape either, though. I mean I’m sure it’s fine if you’re mostly playing indie games that are not too visually demanding and taxing on the hardware, but it is insanely expensive to buy a good computer these days that can play newer games in good quality. Even with the price increases, a GPU alone will run you the cost of a PS5 or more, maybe even double.
Or maybe that’s just it, maybe there won’t be a noticeable gen bump for a long time, since no one can afford it. Time to start focusing on how to make hardware cheaper instead of better.
If you don’t care about bleeding edge 8k visuals at 240fps, the pricing becomes more reasonable. I’m fine with 1080p 60fps, which allows for a cheaper GPU to run games decently. And you can’t deny that as far as game pricing is concerned, PC is far more consumer-friendly than console, even if you don’t take piracy into account.
For me they’re still on par in terms of game pricing because PC still doesn’t have the advantage of physical media that you can buy used or borrow for free. But the console makers seem to be doing everything in their power to kill that advantage, with Nintendo’s “game key card” being the latest move in the all-digital direction.
Not to mention it being a moot point with Nintendo anyways since they’ve figured out the magic formula of keeping their games in a permanent state of high demand and short supply, effectively ensuring they never come down in price.
Gaming is becoming less and less accessible and more and more of a luxury.
Lots of people do their gaming on their phone or PC. And on the subject of phones, look at the top-spec models: they cost thousands, because some people have the disposable income to burn. There are still plenty of affordable options available if you don’t fixate on having the latest best everything.
Uh, newsflash, the Euro appreciated vs RMB and USD to the tune of 10%. GTFO with this “trying times” nonsense. You’re increasing the price because there’s a massive hole in your accounts thanks to Jim Ryan’s regarded chase of live service games. How much did he get as severance and how many consoles do you need to sell for those 50€ to cover that golden parachute?
A 100 euro increase?! Am I reading that right? Did they give a reason for this?
a backdrop of a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates
I think that’s all you’re going to get.
Ah the old “In these trying times” once again!
Nintendo has a “premium” price so we can too.
Nintendo is doing it and no one can afford new PC graphics cards, so let’s bleed 'em like stuck pigs.
Well at least Nintendo is releasing new hardware, don’t know the fuck Sony is smoking
GPUs aren’t expensive though. Consumers just believe they need a brand new 5090tellytubby edition overclocked 128gb to run basic games. When a super cheap 3070ti would do just fine, or even a $300~ 3060 or AMD equivalent for cheaper.
When I build a new computer sometime in the next year or so, I’ll probably end up buying the second-best AMD card available at the time, because that’s where there tends to be the best bang for my buck. But in reality, I’ll be using the full power of that card for only a handful of games over the lifetime of that machine, and I’ll spend most of my time playing a 2D game that came out in 2012. Yeah, you can absolutely get away with cheaper cards and have a great time.
Good luck getting one, hardware has been practically non-existent lately. At least for anything other than scalper prices. I hope that this trend doesn’t continue too much longer.
I built my last PC in 2021 just accepting that graphics card prices would never come down anytime soon, and I paid about $1400 for one. They did come down, not long after. I can wait more patiently this time.
I got a used 2080 Ti about a year ago and pretty much everything runs great in 1440p, not on top graphics but I don’t really need that. Don’t even see a reason to upgrade with all these crazy prices.
That card might even be better than my 3060. Which is both sad and funny at the same time
50 eur, second increase in its lifespan. 1st increase was 50 eur as well.
Man, they’re pushing people to PC gaming. GG Sony.
Wasn’t going to buy one anyway
PS6 when that comes is going to launch at price that will make people rage
I expect I’ll be using the money that would have gone to a PS6 to invest in a decent gaming PC when the time comes.
I have a PC that I mainly use for video/RAW photo processing. 7950x, 7600xt, Linux. I still game on it more than on my PS5 or Switch. Really hard to buy games on the PS5 or Switch when they’re so much cheaper on PC. Plus how much years of paying for PS+ adds up to. 7 years of PS+ Extra is a gaming PC
I prefer gaming on a TV and the simplicity of putting a game in and it just works on console, which is why I’ve always mainly been a console peasant. I’ve always also gamed on PC, but as more of a side thing. These prices, though…gaming is rapidly becoming too expensive for the average person to keep up with playing the newest stuff. PCs are a higher up front cost, but the open nature of the platform means you have a lot more flexibility with how you can obtain games.
Is this because of collusion between the two Japanese console makers?
They are trying to find the breaking point in fleecing gamers, and I sincerely hope they find it in the most painful (for them) way imaginable.
In reality they probably won’t, because it seems the younger gamer generations enjoy being fleeced, but one can dream…
I guess I don’t get to play either of their exclusive games.
ROFL That’s a stupid choice, but Sony is free to make it. I hope they don’t sell any units at an increased price!
