Sony announces PS5 price hikes in some regions

Japan's Sony said it has hiked the price of some PlayStation 5 consoles in select markets, but not the United States, because of "challenging" global economic conditions.

The price of the PS5 digital edition, which has no disk drive, will rise by more than 10 percent in Europe, Britain and Australia, the company told AFP on Monday.

The company said on Sunday in a blog post the "tough decision" had been taken "with a backdrop of a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates".

It comes after US President Donald Trump's sweeping, on-and-off tariffs have roiled global markets and sparked a tit-for-tat trade war with China, raising fears of a wider economic slowdown.

New Zealand customers will see the PS5 digital edition's price go up, the blog post said.

The price of a standard PS5 with a Blu-ray drive will also rise in Australia and New Zealand, it added.

The company said there would be some price rises in the Middle East and Africa region, without giving details.

However, it said the recommended price for the PS5 disk drive on its own would decrease.

All the price tweaks are effective from Monday, Sony said, adding that the cost would not change of the higher-priced, higher-spec PS5 Pro console, which hit shelves in November.

With the PlayStation 5 having been released in 2020, the Pro version integrated improvements that allow games to run faster and with better graphics.

In Europe, the PS5 digital edition will now cost 499.99 euros ($570.04), PlayStation said, while in Britain its price will be 429.99 pounds ($566.53).