This console generation has introduced a never-before-seen trend of hardware prices actually going up, instead of down, as the years pass. With Sony’s latest round of price increases officially announced and going live tomorrow, let’s take a look back at the price changes for each console so far, and consider what changes might come next before the next-gen consoles arrive.
Previous generations often saw mid-cycle refreshes that made the consoles cheaper and smaller, but those days seem to be in the past thanks to rising costs of components, supply chain issues, and economic tensions around the globe.
Launch Prices
At the start of the console generation in 2020, the PlayStation 5 launched at the following prices:
The PlayStation 5 Pro launched in November 2024 with the following price:
First Price Increase
In August 2025, Sony announced the first significant price increase for this generation of consoles:
Latest Price Increase (effective April 2, 2026)
The April 2, 2026 price changes adjust the console listings to:
Launch Prices
The Xbox Series generation of consoles launched in 2020 at the following prices:
Latest Price Increase
As of October 2025’s price increase, the Xbox Series consoles have climbed up to the following prices:
The Nintendo Switch 2 launched at $449.99 USD during June 2025. There was a lot of speculation that the console would increase in price, after the U.S. announced a huge change to global tariffs during the same timeframe that the console’s pre-orders were supposed to open.
Although the price of peripherals did get a quick increase, Nintendo opted to keep the console’s price the same. So far, Nintendo has still kept the Switch 2 at retail for its launch price. Given the increase in prices for the competitor’s consoles and the ongoing global economic issues, it does seem possible that a Switch 2 price increase could arrive at some point. So far, that’s just speculation though.
Given that the current generation of consoles are still receiving price increases and the next generation is already in discussions, it will be very interesting to see what sort of price point Project Helix and the PS6 arrive at.
With the PlayStation 5 Pro currently sitting at close to $900, it doesn’t seem impossible that the next generation of consoles could launch with a price tag close to $1,000. That would be a huge ask for consumers and it would be very interesting to see how many early adopters would actually be on board if prices end up being that high when the new consoles arrive a few years down the line.
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