Analyst predicts PS5 price increase ‘will have minimal impact on sales’
The newly announced PlayStation 5 price increase is likely to have “a minimal impact on sales”, data and analytics firm Ampere Analysis has predicted.
Citing the challenging global economic environment, on Thursday Sony said it had “made the difficult decision” to raise PS5 prices in Europe, Japan and parts of North America, although not the US, effective immediately.
Responding to the news, Piers Harding-Rolls, Ampere’s research director for games, predicted that pent-up demand for Sony’s console meant the company was unlikely to alter its PS5 sales forecast.
“While we believe there will be disappointment for some consumers that have been trying to buy a PS5 without success, or that were saving to buy the console just in time for the price to increase, the high pent up-demand for Sony’s device means that this price increase of around 10% across most markets will have minimal impact on sales of the console,” he wrote. “We expect Sony’s sales forecast for the PS5 to remain unchanged.”
Sony shipped 2.4 million PS5 units during its first financial quarter, which is less than it had expected, but the company said last month that there was no change to its previously announced forecast of 18 million console sales for the fiscal year.
During an earnings call, chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki said the company had been unable to meet consumer demand for PS5 due to parts and components shortages as well as supply chain issues, both of which he expected to improve throughout the year.
At the time he also refused to be drawn on whether Sony had plans to raise the PS5 price.
“Given the facts that the PS5 has been severely supply constrained since launch, with many consumers unable to buy Sony’s latest console, and the fact that
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