Sony to hike PS5 prices by $100 as AI and Iran war push up memory chip costs

Updated prices of PlayStation 5 consoles to go into effect on 2 April as electronics makers face rising cost pressures Sony is raising global prices of its PlayStation 5 consoles, including a $100 increase in the US, marking its second hike in less than a year as the entertainment giant grapples with rising costs of key components such as memory chips. The tech industry’s race to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure has pushed memory makers to favor higher-margin datacenter chips, tightening supply for consumer devices like the ones Sony sells. The updated US prices, effective 2 April, will put the standard PS5 at $649.99, up from $549.99. The digital edition will now cost $599.99, while the high-end PS5 Pro will cost $899.99. Prices of the PlayStation Portal remote player will also climb to $249.99 from $199.99. Similar increases will take effect across Europe and Japan, after what the company described as a “careful evaluation” of rising cost pressures in global supply chains. Iran’s attack last week on Qatar’s natural gas export facility forced it to shut down, threatening supplies of helium, a key ingredient used to produce computer chips. Qatar supplies a third of