I was lucky, upgraded my PS5 internal storage just before the price hike. I did not need it at the time but bought several games in November and December making the extra storage needed.

This generation saw one of the first times where consoles became more expensive later compared to the release price. And so far I see no indication that production will catch up to demand anytime soon. The price is still increasing.

I'm feeling this in my search for an SSD for work.

Gaming wise, I just don't use expanded storage. I only play 2-3 games at a time on any system, so can comfortably just delete stuff when I'm done with it.

I have never had trouble with space with any Playstation, so I can't really relate here. I play one game at a time and I don't like games that are forever ongoing, so that helps. And I don't have to share storage space with family members, I can see how that becomes a problem real fast.
But yeah, it sucks that everything is so expensive now.

This is the PlayStation Direct website. Just a week ago the 2TB option was retailing for about $349. Now it is listed at $699 and unavailable. Insanity.

Do you all think microSD Express will go up by more than a few bucks?
I paid about $70 for a 128 GB microSD for Switch back in late 2017. That was on sale by the way. And only about 3 years later I probably could've gotten it for $50 or less not on sale.
Is it smart for me to get a 256 GB Express for Switch 2 now? I've still got over 100 GB of useable storage on Switch 2.

It will definitely go up.
microSD Express uses the same kind of NAND as an SSD.

So anything that uses solids state storage (That includes MicroSD) will increase in price as A.I/Data Centers gobble up all available supply.

If you can "weather the storm" of 2026 with what you have, that's probably the best approach... People tend to suffer from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and buying stuff they don't actually need.

Supply and prices will improve, just not this year.

If you can, buy physical carts (Not e-waste Game Key Cards) and sidestep the storage space issues entirely.

Honestly I wouldn't be against the hardware makers posing a 150-175GB Limit on file sizes. I just don't see any reason for current gen games to go above that. 

https://tech4gamers.com/people-stealing-ram-gpu-at-cotsco/?fbclid=IwdGRjcAPpEMxjbGNrA-kQwmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHkMiKwwoPbS-OEcLRJuoU_iJfs6bbtIHDVD7dEAXVhlWqS004UIsJ5uK6wx1_aem_k9nuYaczftA51kLXYTDLaQ

Apparently things are so bad now that people are stealing RAM and GPU components from PC unit displays at Costco. Costco are removing them from stores in response. 

Crazy!

Even 2.5" ssd prices are nuts. A Samsung 870 EVO for example is a rip off.