A buyer's guide: PlayStation 5 price hike and impact of tariffs on Switch 2

Both consoles have been affected by the recent global market changes

Sony has announced price increases for some of its PlayStation 5 models. Getty Images

Sony Interactive Entertainment, maker of the PlayStation 5, has announced that the console’s price will increase on some of its models from Monday. The move comes because of what Sony says is a “challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates".

Nintendo has also had its own reaction to the global market as it delayed US and Canadian orders on its next console, the Switch 2, from the initial date of April 9 to a later date. Nintendo said the delay was due to “the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions".

Here, we look at the price changes and what it could mean for potential buyers.

PlayStation 5 price increases

The prices of the PlayStation 5 are going up for its digital model, which does not have a disc drive, in Europe, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and the Middle East. In Europe, the digital-only PS5 will now cost €499.99 ($569.66), an increase from €449 ($511). There is no change on the price of the standard PS5, which still costs €499.99 ($569.66).

In the UK, the price has gone up from £389.99 ($515) to £429.99 ($567) for the digital version, with the standard version remaining the same. In Australia, the digital version has been increased to AUD $749.95 ($473.85) from AUD $649.95 ($411), while the standard PS5 has increased to AUD $829.95 ($524) from AUD $799.95 ($506).

In New Zealand, the digital version will cost NZD $859.95 ($505.05) – an increase from NZD $769.96 ($452) – with the standard version going up to NZD $949.95 ($558) from NZD $899.95 ($529). In the Middle East, the price of the standard PS5 is Dh2,099.00 ($571.47) and Dh1,689.00. It remains to be seen which region the prices in the Middle East will equal.

Sony has also announced that the price of its updated PS5 model, the PS5 Pro, will not increase. The same applies to the price of the disc drives, which can be purchased and added to a digital model.

Nintendo Switch 2

On April 2, Nintendo announced details about the release of the Switch 2, its newest console. It will be available worldwide on June 5.

Orders of the Switch 2 were supposed to begin in the US and Canada on April 9, so that consumers could book their console to pick up on release day. This was halted by Nintendo on April 4 due to President Trump’s global tariffs announcement.

Nintendo has said that the June 5 release date will not change, but has yet to set a new date for pre-orders to commence in the US and Canada. Consumers in the UK, on the other hand, have already begun pre-ordering the Switch 2 for a price of £395 ($517.83).

The price of the Switch 2 in the US is currently $449.99, but could see an increase due to the tariffs imposed on imports by the US government. In the Middle East, certified sellers have already taken pre-orders on the console, with it it at Dh1,960.

There has been no indication from Nintendo that the price of the console would change anywhere outside of the US and Canada at the moment.