Inflation Bites: Sony Raises PlayStation 5 Prices In Europe, Japan

Sony Group Corp SONY on Thursday raised the price of its PlayStation 5 games console in Europe and Japan following economic pressures, including high inflation.

What Happened: The Japanese tech giant said that it was hiking the price of the disk drive-equipped version of the console by 50 euros ($50) to 549.99 euros ($549.99) in Europe with a similar hike in Japan.

The price hikes are effective immediately except in Japan, where they will begin on Sept. 15.

See Also: Kim Jong-Un Orders Lockdown As North Korea Sees Suspected COVID-19 Cases Week After Declaring 'Shining Victory'

"The global economic environment is a challenge that many of you around the world are no doubt experiencing," Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan wrote in a blog post.

"We're seeing high global inflation rates, as well as adverse currency trends, impacting consumers and creating pressure on many industries," he said.

While the price hike "is a necessity given the current global economic environment and its impact on SIE's business, our top priority continues to be improving the PS5 supply situation," he added.

The company said there would be no price increase in the U.S., where the company is competing with Microsoft Corp's MSFT Xbox.

Price Action: Sony shares gained 0.17% 1% to $84.16 on Wednesday, data from Benzinga Pro showed.

Check out more of Benzinga's Europe and Asia coverage by following this link.