Sony Lifts PS5 Price in Europe by 25% Ahead of a Likely US Hike

bloomberg.com

7 points·austinallegro··6 comments

Presumably these aren’t made in the USA so why the price hike in Europe?

Good question.

The answer in the end is because they can.

For most things you never really pay a real or fair price. We have been told in school and by TV/media we live in free market economies but this is not really true anymore.

In so called developed/rich countries nobody really cared since around 2000 because "globalization" and China made everything very cheap.

But now (since covid in fact) when Sony raise their margin on the PS you are seeing it and it hurts.

So why do they jack-up the price in Europe? because they can and MS is gonna do the same.

And most important Europe doesn't have any local competitor...

There's probably some of that, but Sony may also try to recover some of the (now lost) projected profits in the US market, by hiking prices elsewhere. These tariffs were very sudden and probably messes with their planning.

Yes we agree.

The Playstation is already more expensive in the EU than the US (including VAT)

It is deeply unfair for the citizen of Greece, Cyprus or Portugal who are quite "poor" relative to the US.

So now Greek people have to subsidize even more the Playstation for Americans?

It is absurd and it is even more disturbing because we can't even blame politicians for this, it is solely a decision of Sony.

It feels absurd for me to defend Sony, but this situation could have been a big problem for any company which has budgeted and maybe loaned money based on projected quarterly earnings. They may be reacting almost in panic to the new reality.

https://archive.is/RZAEZ

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