The Famitsu data includes several days before the unwelcome announcement. Even so, buyers are already shying away from PlayStation consoles that are straining wallets . The PS5 with optical drive moved 558 units, down from 2,801 sold the week before. Not faring any better, adoption of the Pro went from 4,662 to 840.
Part of a much larger trend of companies finding out that there is a limit to consumer spending, and most consumers are already beyond it.
I don’t think Sony is discovering anything. They’ve said the focus this year isn’t on console sales but rather the bigger monetization of the existing userbase. They probably thought that since they’re not planning on selling a lot of units anyway they might as well ask extra from anyone determined to get one.
Given wealth inequality growing in every country, expect this trend to continue.
Higher prices for everything as more and more products become luxury only goods, and everything else is for the peasantry.
That’s why I got an Atari 2600 and not an original NES.
Maybe. I find that to be a really weird business strategy. But, maybe their analysts are very confident that console gaming is rapidly dying. If not… shrug.