US PS5 Hardware Sales Hit a 2026 High Prior to Huge Price Increase

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As expected, many US shoppers bought PlayStation 5 consoles before the price went up earlier this month.

According to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, the PlayStation 5 had its best sales week of 2026 up to that point, ending on April 4th.

The price of the system increased on April 2nd, but customers were informed about the change a few days beforehand, on March 27th, so they had time to prepare.

According to Piscatella, sales figures for both units and dollar amounts reached their highest point of the year. He also noted that spending on video game hardware in the US almost doubled compared to the same week last year.

While we expect a small increase now, it will likely be followed by a drop in sales. We don’t anticipate strong performance from the PlayStation system for the rest of the year unless Sony releases major new games or runs special promotions.

Just a heads-up, the most affordable PS5 Digital Edition is currently priced at $599.99 – that’s a significant $200 increase from its original price nearly six years ago.

Sony says rising costs – particularly for materials like memory – are the main reason prices have gone up.

If GTA 6 doesn’t have an unexpectedly strong launch later this year, it will likely be hard for it to sell as well as the PlayStation 4 did – especially considering the PS4 was available for as low as $299.99 at a similar point in its sales cycle.

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2026-04-15 03:06