Sony raised the price of Playstation 5 in all countries except the U.S.

Japanese corporation Sony Group has decided to raise the cost of its flagship game console Playstation 5 worldwide, except in the U.S.. That’s according to a statement posted on the company’s website Thursday.

“The global economic environment is a challenge that many of you are certainly facing. Based on these changing economic realities, we have made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for the PS5 in markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Canada,” the statement said. It is emphasized that the increase in price of the console, which takes effect from today, will not be made in the United States.

According to Sony, the new recommended price for the disc version of the PS5, for example, in the UK, increased by £ 30, to £ 480, and in Europe – by € 50, to € 550. About the same level of price increase occurred for consoles without a disc drive.

Official sales of gaming consoles started on November 12, 2020. Nevertheless, many customers due to shortages are still unable to buy PlayStation 5 in stores at the advertised price and are forced, in particular, to buy it at an inflated cost from resellers. This is the first time in its history that Sony is carrying out such a massive price increase for its console – the price of Playstation 4, for example, was reduced about two years after its release to the market.