PlayStation 5 sales are booming in the US, possibly due to a rush of purchases before the price increase.
Analysis by a research firm has revealed a surge in PlayStation 5 sales in the United States during the last week of March 2026. This is believed to be due to consumers deciding to purchase the console before the price increase that will take effect on April 2nd.
Unsurprisingly, US weekly unit and $ sales of PlayStation 5 hardware reached 2026 highs during the week ending April 4th, as price increases loomed.
— Mat Piscatella ( @matpiscatella.bsky.social ) April 14, 2026 21:21
US spending on video game hardware for the week nearly doubled when compared to the same week a year ago.
Source: Circana Retail Tracking Service
PlayStation 5 sees massive sales spike in the US, beating 2026 records so far as eager consumers rush to beat RAM crisis price hikes | Eurogamer.net
https://www.eurogamer.net/ps5-sales-spike-people-rush-to-beat-ai-driven-price-hikes
According to Matt Piscatella, an analyst at research firm Circana, PlayStation 5 sales in the last week of March reached their highest weekly sales figure for 2026, showing explosive growth that nearly doubled compared to the same period last year.
Since a price increase for the PlayStation 5 and its peripherals had been announced on March 27, Mr. Piscatella noted that this increase in sales was 'as expected.'
On the 27th, Sony announced global price increases for the PlayStation 5 series and PlayStation Portal Remote Player, with increases of around 18,000 yen in Japan and up to $150 (approximately 23,800 yen) in the United States. Sony cited 'the prolonged and severe global economic environment' as the reason for the price increase. The price of the Japanese-only edition will remain unchanged.
PS5, PS5 Pro, and PlayStation Portal Remote Player prices increase worldwide; PS5 will also cost around 100,000 yen from April 2nd, sparking outrage among gamers - GIGAZINE
Sony was likely forced to raise prices due to a hardware shortage in the global market caused by the boom in generative AI, and it is also thought that the conflict surrounding Iran is impacting resource distribution in the Middle East.
Iranian attack could halt helium production in Qatar, potentially impacting semiconductor production worldwide - GIGAZINE
Some suggest that the hardware shortage could affect the release of the next-generation console, the PlayStation 6.
'PlayStation 6' release may be delayed until 2028 or later due to memory shortages caused by AI demand - GIGAZINE
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