'It Is Not Realistic for Us to Absorb All Component Cost Increases' — Sony Says It Won't Sell Hardware at a 'Significant' Loss as Concern Grows Over PS6 Price
· IGN
Sony has insisted it has no plans to sell hardware at a “significant” loss, with concern growing over the potential price of the PlayStation 6 amid the ongoing RAMpocalypse.
Current generation consoles have gone up in price, with Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo struggling to cope with the component shortage fueled by the AI boom. Sony raised the price of PS5 consoles in April, bringing the cost of a standard PS5 to $649.99, the PS5 Digital Edition to $599.99, and the PS5 Pro to $899.99. It blamed the move on “continued pressures in the global economic landscape.”
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Just last week, Microsoft announced significant Xbox price rises of its own, which kick in this August. They come less than a year after the last Xbox price rises in October 2025. “We hoped another price increase would not be necessary, and we have spent the last several months working with suppliers on options,” Microsoft explained. “Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027. The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles. Unlike phones, computers, speakers, and other consumer devices, consoles are typically not sold at a profit, but instead for less than they cost to make.”
There is not only concern that Sony will be forced to raise the price of PS5 yet again, but that the next-generation of consoles — the so far unannounced PS6 and Microsoft’s Project Helix — with cost at least $1,000 unless both companies are willing to take a significant loss on each console sold.
In a recent Q&A with Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO, Hideaki Nishino, published in English by Sony itself, the executive suggested taking a big hit on next-gen consoles isn’t something PlayStation will do.
Nishino was asked:
“Considering consumer behavior, could you update us on your current thinking regarding hardware pricing and profitability? For the next-generation platform, is it reasonable to assume that your pricing will continue to prioritize profitability of the hardware, as it does today?
Here’s Nishino’s response:
“First, we regard hardware as the base for providing the gaming experience, and by offering products such as the PlayStation Portal Remote Player (PS Portal), we aim to provide experiences tailored to users’ play styles beyond the living room, which has traditionally been considered the primary usage environment.
“As for pricing, it is not realistic for us to absorb all component cost increases, and we have already implemented some price increases outside Japan. At present, however, sales are proceeding as planned, and we do not believe this has led to a decline in customer demand.
“As a principle, we do not intend to sell hardware at significant losses. At the same time, we are carefully monitoring the market and continuing to evaluate our approach. We believe it is important for us to make every effort to ensure that customers fully understand the value we provide in relation to pricing.”
There are a few things worth unpacking here. Nishino’s mention of the PlayStation Portal and providing "experiences tailored to users’ play styles beyond the living room," could be taken as yet another hint at the long-rumored PS6 handheld or hybrid console. There’s also an acknowledgement that Sony will pass on some component cost increases to the consumer, and has done so already with those PS5 price rises. In short, gamers are going to have to take the hit here.
Then there’s the suggestion that sales are proceeding as planned despite these price rises. Data from the U.S. perhaps suggests otherwise. As IGN reported last week, May was a catastrophic month for PlayStation and Xbox sales in the U.S., driven by price rises that have clearly had a significant impact on consumer interest in buying a new console. According to new Circana data, PS5 spending fell 43% year-on-year, and unit sales plummeted 58%. In fact, PlayStation hardware unit sales fell to their lowest May total since May 2000, and Xbox hardware unit sales were the lowest ever recorded for a May month in the U.S.
While Sony struggles to deal with the RAMpocalypse, it has said it has yet to decide when to launch the PS6. The near six-year-old PS5 is approaching the 100 million sold mark (93.7 million), although it continues to lag behind the PS4. It's worth remembering that PS4 had seen various price cuts at this point in its lifecycle, making it a compelling casual purchase. This generation, however, has swung the other way, limiting the potential install base. There are even concerns that Sony and Microsoft won’t be able to release enough consoles into the retail channel to meet the demand this Christmas fueled by the guaranteed system seller that is GTA 6. During a financial Q&A in May, Sony boss Hiroki Totoki insisted that Sony had enough materials to see it through the rest of 2026.
It’s also worth noting recent reports that Sony may have to delay the release of the PS6 to 2028 or even 2029 as a result of the AI-fueled chip crisis. In January, an analyst report suggested that Sony may push the launch of the PS6 beyond 2028 and lengthen the PS5 lifecycle. David Gibson, senior analyst at MST international who focuses on game and tech companies, predicted that “rising memory prices will not impact short-term performance thanks to Sony’s existing inventory.” However, he noted that increased memory costs could become an issue for Sony in the next fiscal year (ending in March 2027), saying “Sony might pass future cost increases onto consumers.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].