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Forums - Gaming - Genuine Question: Do Price Hikes Actually Hurt Sales Figures?

Most likely, but in the console space I don't think we have enough evidence. Console price hikes, at least in the USA are pretty new.
Series X/S sales tanked, but part of that is probably also Microsoft not making enough of them. It's been a struggling console since around 2023 and especially 2024 onward. The price hikes didn't start the issues with it.
Switch sales have slowed, but again how much could they have slowed versus the normal long-term prices of Switch SKUs. Switch more or less hit a saturation point around mid 2024. What would have helped Switch hardware sales most is aggressive price cuts that put it closer to impulse buy territory.



Lifetime Sales Predictions 

Switch: 161 million (was 73 million, then 96 million, then 113 million, then 125 million, then 144 million, then 151 million, then 156 million)

PS5: 122 million (was 105 million, then 115 million) Xbox Series X/S: 38 million (was 60 million, then 67 million, then 57 million. then 48 million. then 40 million)

Switch 2: 120 million (was 116 million)

PS4: 120 mil (was 100 then 130 million, then 122 million) Xbox One: 51 mil (was 50 then 55 mil)

3DS: 75.5 mil (was 73, then 77 million)

"Let go your earthly tether, enter the void, empty and become wind." - Guru Laghima

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Last edited by firebush03 - on 27 March 2026

The top 10% buy the majority of hardware and other expensive stuff. If Sony can sell less but price consoles significantly more they will do it. Nvidia does, Apple does; Sony probably thinks why not. What did anyone expect when Xbox no longer provides competition? So, sure, higher prices will inevitably lead to weaker sales but that does not mean the companies why make less money.



Higher prices does place these devices outside of the lower-socio-economic classes/welfare recipients.

Yes $2,000 AUD phones sell. But not to low-income earners/welfare recipients, those individuals buy a $200 AUD phone instead.




www.youtube.com/@Pemalite

Consoles are increasingly bought by the upper class. PS5 should have some 20-30 million extra Xbox refugees buying the system, but instead it is falling behind the PS4 worldwide.

52% of US Video Game Hardware Buyers in Q4 2025 Had a Household Income of $100K+

I don't think your thesis is completely wrong though as price drops rarely seem to give a second wind to a system but rather just dampen the decline. I do think the upcoming price hike is a step too far for many people, but GTA will probably save Sony's ass this time.



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Here in Brazil, the only way I can afford games is on Steam when there's some discounts. Most people around here earns less than 2.000 BRL per month, and a single game, specially those from Nintendo, can cost up to 500 BRL.

I'm waiting for a sale on Resident Evil Requiem, because the game is unaffordable for me as it is.

(It doesn't helps that our president once said that videogames are "garbage that only teaches how to kill each other, and are responsible for more deaths than World War II)



People always seem to find a way to justify things they don't need or can't afford over necessities.

I don't see PS5 sales tanking, but it's hard to believe they won't suffer somewhat. If sales don't change much, then the future of consoles is bleak.



PS1   - ! - We must build a console that can alert our enemies.

PS2  - @- We must build a console that offers online living room gaming.

PS3   - #- We must build a console that’s powerful, social, costs and does everything.

PS4   - $- We must build a console that’s affordable, charges for services, and pumps out exclusives.

PRO  -%-We must build a console that's VR ready, checkerboard upscales, and sells but a fraction of the money printer.

PS5   - ^ -We must build a console that’s a generational cross product, with RT lighting, and price hiking.

PRO  -&- We must build a console that Super Res upscales and continues the cost increases.

It will, especially in the current state of the world economy.



Guess we have an answer after the sales of PS5 dropping off a cliff



Yeah this is concerning… oompfh! Gaming is quickly turning into a upper class exclusive hobby. Should have never started this technological race in the first place, the industry is really taking a major blow.