- Blockchain is a digital ledger that records every transaction on a public network.
- Once a transaction is recorded, it cannot be changed or deleted.
- It is the foundation of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and thousands of other cryptocurrencies.
The same chip shortage driving the AI buildout is now hitting your living room.
Sony announced Friday that all PS5 models will get more expensive on April 2:
The standard PS5 with a disc drive goes from $549.99 to $649.99. The Digital Edition rises from $499.99 to $599.99. The PS5 Pro jumps $150 to $899.99. The PlayStation Portal remote player goes from $200 to $250.
Sony cited "continued pressures in the global economic landscape" without being more specific. But analysts have a clearer explanation.
Memory chips — a key component in gaming consoles — are in short supply. AI data centers are buying them up faster than manufacturers can produce them, leaving companies like Sony competing for limited supply at elevated prices.
Piers Harding-Rolls at Ampere Analysis told CNBC that Sony likely had price-protection deals on components that have now expired, "leaving the company exposed to rising costs." He added that a "new wave of inflation" from the Iran war could compound the problem further.
This is the second PS5 price hike in less than a year. Sony raised prices by $50 across the board in August 2025. Combined, the PS5 has now become 30% more expensive than it was at launch.
Xbox raised the Series X to $649.99 last year. Nintendo is under pressure to avoid hiking the Switch 2 so early in its lifecycle, but faces the same memory cost environment.
The era of gaming hardware getting cheaper as it ages appears to be over — at least for now. A PS5 Digital Edition that cost $399.99 at launch will soon cost $599.99, and there's no clear timeline for when component costs might ease.
GTA 6 is still coming. How many people will pay $600 for a console to play it is the question Sony's betting on.
