Console prices are insane now

All prices in this post are adjusted for inflation.

In 2000, Sony launched the PS2 for $561. By 2006, they had a $209 model that was thinner, but had all the power and features of the original model. This was how the world went: consoles launch, and then get cheaper over time, often with hardware revisions that make the device more efficient.

In 2020, Sony launched the PS5 for $501. Today, Sony announced that they were bumping PS5 to a starting price of $600.

See my recent post about reasons why game consoles don't have the long tail of unit sales like they used to, but I don't think the price is helping.

Oh, and the PS5 Pro was bumped from $750 to $900. It seems like it might actually be reasonable to expect a $1,000 console by the end of 2026. See also my 2026 is going to be a very painful year in tech.