True cost
Are Console Prices Going Up?
The price right now
$649.99 — PS5 Disc today — it launched at $499.99 in November 2020
- $499.99 · Nintendo Switch 2 today, after its September 2026 increase
- $899.99 · PS5 Pro today, up from $749.99 at its 2024 launch
Prices as of July 2026. These are manufacturer prices, not retailer markups — Sony and Nintendo published every one of these increases themselves.
Sources: PlayStation.Blog — 2026 price changes for PS5, PS5 Pro and Portal · Nintendo Switch 2 — launched at $449.99, raised to $499.99 in September 2026
What it really costs per year
| Cost item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation 5 — $499.99 → $649.99 | $650 | Two increases: January 2025 to $549.99, then 2 April 2026 to $649.99. Up $150, or 30%, five and a half years into the generation. The Digital edition is $599.99 — more than the flagship cost at launch. PlayStation.Blog — 2026 price changes for PS5, PS5 Pro and Portal · PS5 launch pricing, November 2020 — $499.99 Disc / $399.99 Digital |
| Nintendo Switch 2 — $449.99 → $499.99 | $500 | Raised to $499.99 in September 2026. A $50 increase on a console barely a year old, which makes this a pattern rather than one company's decision. Nintendo Switch 2 — launched at $449.99, raised to $499.99 in September 2026 |
| PS5 Pro — $749.99 → $899.99 | $900 | The same $150 increase as the base PS5, on a much shorter timeline: launched November 2024, raised by April 2026. PlayStation.Blog — 2026 price changes for PS5, PS5 Pro and Portal |
| Games — $70 → $80 | $80 | The $80 game stopped being a rumour: GTA VI Standard is $79.99, announced with pre-orders on 25 June 2026 for a 19 November launch, with a $99.99 Ultimate edition above it. Rockstar Games — GTA VI editions announced 25 June 2026: Standard $79.99, Ultimate $99.99 |
| What's driving it | varies | Industry coverage points at memory-chip supply and tariffs on imported hardware. Neither is something a buyer can wait out, which is the practical point. |
| The figure that matters | $730 | A PS5 Disc at $649.99 plus one $79.99 game. The same entry cost $569.98 in 2020 — 24 hours of median-income work today against 18 and a half then, and 101 hours against 79 at the federal minimum wage. |
The price in hours of your life
The same figure, converted into working time — this purchase costs you:
| Income level | Hourly | Hours of work / year | Work weeks / year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal minimum wage | $7.25 | 101 | ≈ 2.5 |
| Median US full-time income | $30.83 | 24 | ≈ 0.6 |
| Higher incomeexample | $50.00 | 15 | ≈ 0.4 |
Sources: US DOL — federal minimum, unchanged since 2009 · BLS Usual Weekly Earnings, Q1 2026 — median weekly earnings $1,233 ÷ 40h
Prefer to start from your side of the math? Calculate your exact hourly rate first — it's remembered for the session.
The rule that broke
For thirty years console pricing worked one way: hardware got cheaper across a generation, because the profit was in the games. Waiting was always the smart move. That rule is now broken in both directions at once — the PS5 is up $150, the PS5 Pro is up $150, the Switch 2 is up $50 barely a year in, and the $80 game arrived with GTA VI. Getting into this generation costs about five and a half more hours of median-income work than it did in 2020, and at the federal minimum wage the gap is twenty-two hours. Patience used to be free. Now it has a price.
For
- Used consoles and trade-ins are worth more than they used to be, because new prices keep rising underneath them
- The cheaper doors are still open: the Digital PS5 at $599.99 and the Switch 2 at $499.99
- The hardware itself hasn't changed — a 2026 PS5 is the same machine as a 2020 one, so buying second-hand costs you a warranty and nothing else
Against
- Waiting no longer works: the last four price moves across Sony and Nintendo were all upward
- Entering the generation now costs about 24 hours of median-income work, up from 18 and a half in 2020
- The $80 game is real and confirmed, with a $99.99 edition sitting above it
Frequently asked questions
Are console prices going up?
Yes. The PS5 rose twice, from $499.99 at launch to $549.99 in January 2025 and $649.99 in April 2026. The PS5 Pro went from $749.99 to $899.99. The Nintendo Switch 2 rose from $449.99 to $499.99 in September 2026.
Why are consoles getting more expensive?
Industry coverage points at memory-chip supply pressure and tariffs on imported hardware. What matters for a buyer is that these are the manufacturers' own published prices, not retailer markups, so shopping around doesn't undo them.
How much does it cost to get into gaming today?
About $729.98 for a PS5 Disc and one game — 24 hours of median-income work, or 101 hours at the federal minimum wage. The same pair cost $569.98 in 2020.
Are games $80 now?
The top tier is. GTA VI Standard is $79.99 and its Ultimate edition $99.99, both announced in June 2026 ahead of a 19 November launch. $69.99 had been the standard price since the PS5 arrived in 2020.