Sony's popular gaming console, PlayStation, will see another price hike of $100, marking the second increase for the product in less than a year. The Japanese company cited "ongoing pressures in the global economic environment" as the reason, announcing that starting next Thursday, the PS5 price in the U.S. market will be adjusted to $649.99. The digital edition will also increase by $100, reaching $599.99, while the PS5 Pro will rise by $150, priced at $899.99. Sony has simultaneously raised prices for related products in other regions, including the UK, Europe, and Japan. The U.S. imposition of tariffs on all trading partners has disrupted global trade order, and just last August, Sony had already increased PlayStation prices by $50. The ongoing conflict involving Iran, now in its fourth week, has created severe bottlenecks in energy and manufacturing supply chains, further exacerbating price pressures for various daily goods, including electronics. By the end of next week, the price of Sony's PlayStation will have increased by approximately 30% compared to the same period last year. Sony stated in an official blog post, "We understand that price adjustments impact our user community. After careful evaluation, we believe this step is necessary to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide." Although Sony did not explicitly mention it, last week's attack by Iran on Qatar's natural gas export facilities, which forced a shutdown, has threatened the supply of helium, a critical raw material for computer chip production. According to U.S. Geological Survey data, Qatar supplies one-third of the world's helium.
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