PS5 DualSense Controllers Quietly Hit With Price Increase by Sony
The DualSense just became a bit pricier.
Sony seems to have quietly increased the price of the PlayStation 5's DualSense controllers. Since the release of the PS5 back in 2020, DualSense controllers have largely retailed for $69.99. This price has been tied to standard versions of the controller while occasional "Special Edition" models have been a bit more costly and have gone for $74.99. Now, without any warning whatsoever, Sony seems to have bumped up the price of both DualSense tiers by just a small amount.
Spotted by @Wario64 on social media, new increases of $5 to all DualSense controllers have started to take effect at retailers. Best Buy was one of the first storefronts to be seen increasing the DualSense to $74.99 and $79.99 amounts and was soon after followed by GameStop, Target, and Sony itself with its PlayStation Direct marketplace. Currently, these price hikes don't seem to have taken hold at every storefront as Amazon is notably still using the previous pricing structure. There's a good chance that this won't hold true for much longer, though.
Currently, Sony hasn't provided an official statement on this matter to explain why it chose to increase the price of the DualSense. In all likelihood, though, it has to do with inflation and the larger global economy. Mere days ago, Sony revealed that it would be spiking the cost of the PS5 in Japan by a substantial amount. While this same price increase was said to not be hitting any other territories, clearly, Sony chose not to do the same with some of the PS5's accessories. Whether or not similar increases will be coming to the DualSense charging stand, Pulse wireless headset, or PlayStation Portal have yet to be seen.
Elsewhere on the hardware front, Sony announced this morning that it will be holding a new presentation in the coming day that should result in the reveal of the PlayStation 5 Pro. After having been reported about for over a year, the PS5 Pro is set to be a more powerful version of the PS5 that will allow games to run at better frame rates and a higher fidelity. Details on its release and price have yet to be provided, but more info on this front should come about tomorrow.
