March 27 (Reuters) - Sony Group is raising global prices of its PlayStation 5 consoles, including a $100 increase in the U.S., marking its second hike in less than a year as the Japanese firm grapples with rising costs of key components such as memory chips.
The tech industry's race to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure has pushed memory makers to favor higher-margin data-center chips, tightening supply for consumer devices.
The updated U.S. prices, effective April 2, will put the standard PS5 at $649.99, up from $549.99. The Digital Edition will now cost $599.99 while the high‑end PS5 Pro will cost $899.99.
Prices of the PlayStation Portal remote player will also climb to $249.99 from $199.99.
Similar increases will take effect across Europe and Japan, following what the company described as a "careful evaluation" of rising cost pressures in global supply chains.
Analysts have said the console price hikes are likely to dampen growth in the video-game market this year. "Fortnite" maker Epic Games also cited sluggish console sales among the reasons for the cut of 1,000 jobs it announced earlier this week.
In the key October-December holiday quarter, sales of Sony's PlayStation 5 fell 16% from a year earlier to 8 million units. The console has been on the market for around six years.
Sony last raised PS5 prices by around $50 in the U.S. in August last year. Microsoft also raised prices of its console, the Xbox, last year.
(Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
