Memory and storage component shortages that began affecting PC hardware late last year have now spread widely across consumer electronics. Products have faced discontinuations, stock outages, delays, or repeated price adjustments as a result.
Sony has confirmed another round of PlayStation 5 price increases in the United States, coming just eight months after the previous hike. The Digital Edition without an optical drive will rise from $500 to $600. The standard PS5 with a disc drive increases from $550 to $650. The PS5 Pro model jumps from $750 to $900.
At the start of 2025, these consoles were priced at $450, $500, and $700 respectively. Throughout that year, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all announced one or more price increases for various consoles, primarily driven by tariffs on imported goods imposed by the Trump administration rather than component scarcity.
Price reductions for game consoles had already grown less frequent over the 2010s. This trend makes the over-five-year-old PS5 historically expensive compared to older consoles at similar points in their lifecycles.
RAM and flash memory chips are currently in short supply mainly due to demand from AI data centers. Memory manufacturers have redirected more production toward the types of memory used in AI accelerators like Nvidia’s H200, reducing availability for consumer markets.
The situation is not expected to improve soon without a significant shift in AI industry demand. Manufacturers such as Kioxia have reported that their production capacity is already fully booked through the end of 2026.
Chipmaking complexity means expanding manufacturing capacity takes months or years. Chipmakers often hesitate to ramp up production quickly to avoid ending up with excess unsold memory if market conditions change.
In the short to medium term, these elevated prices are likely to persist for an extended period.
