I am genuinely curious about that.  I mean on one hand things are expensive, so a price increase makes sense.  On the other, if they take the hit, my lord it is a massive competitive advantage.  $650 versus $450 is quite huge, and the ps6 I suspect will be (at a bare minimum) $700 if not $900.  It would be an aggressive move, but I think it gives them an absurd advantage, especially since the ps5 (based on rumors) will have to compete with Steambox at $700.    

Pokopia's explosive success and PS5's price hike vs Switch 2 somehow maintaining its price ended PS5's chances. This should be one-sided.

I expected PS5 to maintain its price and the Switch 2 to get a considerable price hike this year, but the opposite (so far) happened. Still, I'd be shocked if Switch 2 doesn't follow suit and soon. But even with that, it should comfortably beat PS5 which is just ridiculously expensive for a console in its 6th year.

Eh, the somehow is not so random. The price of the PS5 was set years ago, before all the current crazyness. When Nintendo released the Switch they already knew about the stormy markets and could price with that in mind. Given, things are very volatile and that may not be enough, but the late time Nintendo could decide on a price probably gives them a bit more wiggle room. How long that holds we have yet to see.

Sony did state to investors during their recent financial meeting that PS5 already have a big enough install base, so they probably don't feel the need to eat any cost to just grow that install base from 100M to 120M. Switch 2 on the other hand still needs to grow its install base, so in that regard Sony have it easier right now, Nintendo needs to do more a careful cost/benefits analysis if they need to subsidize Switch 2 price to grow the install base, while Sony can mostly coast on already having sold 100M PS5 consoles for the rest of the gen. Sony will face a ton of challenges next year though trying to launch PS6 in the current conditions and will then have to make the same cost/benefit calculation as Nintendo this year.

Yeah. I was seriously surprised on how many thought it would be PS5. Alone on the fact that PS5 is at the end of it's lifecycle and the Switch at the start would suggest that their trajectory would be in different directions. That is the normal thing. And sure GTA, but I doubted it would reverse the trajectory for more than one or two months. Switch never was without lineup and even if most people dismissed Pokopia and Tomodachi, still they add to the library and overall appeal. And generally more games come. So yeah, even without knowing how big Pokopia turns out to be it always was more likely the Switch.

I think its because some people thought it was a given that PS5 would continue to heavily outsell Switch 2 in Europe all year, which wasn't that realistic. The strong sales of PS5 late 2025 in Europe happened due to the great deals that aren't really possible now anymore due to AI component increases. And it was always obvious that Switch 2 appeal in Europe would increase when bigger Nintendo first party games started to release for the system which happened with Pokopia this year.

Playstation 5 already got a price hike and storage reduction after Switch 2's release. This is the 2nd time it had its price increased since the Switch 2 launched, and the 4th since PS5's own launch in some regions.

Nintendo confirmed around the Switch 2 launch that the final price didn't factor in Trump's high tariffs which they are now suing, let alone factor in the rising NAND and RAM prices which occurred later and were much worse than anyone anticipated (And they affect cartridge prices too, which were already very expensive). What likely enabled Nintendo to keep selling cheap is that they ordered very large quantities of SSD and RAM when the prices were still low.

On the other hand Sony made misleading comments implying they ordered enough RAM quantities to cover the whole fiscal year with no major hardware price hikes needed.

Weren't you the one doom and glooming Nintendo in Europe, and downplaying Mario Kart and Pokopia?

Pretty good assessment.   The only thing to keep in mind is that we are very likely to get a PS5 price cut in November as well. Or a bundle at the current price.   Nintendo is doing what it has to now.  Building up that firewall but I still believe it's not gonna be enough.   In about 30 days the GTA 6 blitz will start so be on the lookout for that. 

Hey there.  I am one of those people who think the PS5 can still outsell the Switch.  My whole reasoning is that GTA is going to be the biggest launch ever and I dont think people really appreciate how big it's gonna be. The main trailer for GTA 6 is the most viewed video game trailer in YouTube history.  GTA is an industry in and of itself.  While the pricecut certainly made it easier for Nintendo to compete, the only reasonable conclusion is the PS5 is still very capable of finishing on top.

Its not because I want the PS5 or Switch 2 to win... quite frankly, we want them both to do well.  Its about the significance of this game and what it means to so many people.  There are multitudes of people out there who will spend ANY amount of money to play it and it doesn't really matter what we think on an individual or hive mind basis.