"I came to look at a PlayStation 5 as a Children's Day gift, but the price has gone up, making me hesitant to buy it."
On the third floor of I'Park Mall in Yongsan, Seoul, on Saturday, the official PlayStation store "PlayShop" and the Nintendo store "Daewonshop" stand side by side. With the upcoming holiday weekend and Family Month, the area was bustling with shoppers searching for gifts. However, the contrast between the two stores was stark. At the PlayStation store, which raised prices significantly as of May 1, there were browsers but few actual buyers. Over nearly an hour of observation, people fiddled with the devices, checked the price tags, and then walked away or postponed their purchases.
Sony raised its official Korean prices starting May 1, citing supply chain instability stemming from the Middle East and "chipflation," a surge in memory prices driven by the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI). The standard PS5 model was raised 27% to 948,000 won from 748,000 won, while the Digital Edition, which excludes the disc drive, jumped 43% to 858,000 won from 598,000 won. The PS5 Pro was raised 16% to 1.298 million won from 1.118 million won. The Portal Remote Player, which allows remote gameplay on the PS5, also rose 31% to 378,000 won from 288,000 won.
Sony's price hikes began last month in major markets including the United States, Europe, and Japan, with Korea following a month later. As rumors spread that Korean prices would also rise following increases in major markets, shortages of PlayStation and Portal devices swept through online and offline stores last month. Whenever products arrived, they sold out quickly, and some stores limited purchases to one unit per person. With last-minute demand surging before the price hikes, some online retailers were already selling products at significantly higher prices a month in advance.
A, who visited PlayShop for a Children's Day gift that day, said, "The Digital Edition, which was the cheapest PS5 model, saw the largest price increase, so I'm recommending other gifts to my child." A added, "With the growing cost burden, it's not easy to buy one right away." PlayShop was running a 5-10% Family Month discount, but it did not translate into meaningful sales. Only the PS5 Pro, which saw a relatively smaller price increase, sold intermittently, as the discount helped minimize the impact of the hike. Even so, with a price tag exceeding 1 million won, purchases were mostly made by adult gamers rather than parents shopping for Children's Day gifts.
In contrast, the Nintendo store across the way was packed. Daewonshop had ample stock of the Nintendo Switch 2, and the hit title "Pokemon Pokopia," which had recently caused Switch 2 shortages, was also available. With devices and titles that had previously been difficult to purchase even with open runs now readily in stock, shoppers lined up one after another. The crowds were so large that customers had to wait about 20 minutes to check out. Some people queued up out of concern that products would sell out. B, who was standing in the checkout line with children, said, "Fortunately, the Nintendo Switch 2 price hasn't gone up, and I had been delaying the purchase because products were unavailable. I came today after hearing that stock had been released." B added, "The Switch 2 price is admittedly burdensome, but compared to the soaring prices of PlayStation and IT products like laptops, the Switch 2 price actually looks reasonable. With the Switch 2 also likely to see a price increase soon, I decided to buy it as a Children's Day gift."
Rumors of a Switch 2 price hike have persisted since early this year. With the recent release of a popular title, scenes of open runs to purchase the device have become common, reminiscent of when "Animal Crossing" was released during the COVID-19 era. In some online communities, users have been sharing open-run reviews alongside updates on store inventory. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said at the company's earnings announcement in February that Nintendo plans to focus on securing a stable supply chain rather than raising prices, but suggested that measures could be taken if price surges continue. The Switch 2 currently has an official retail price of 648,000 won, but with RAM module prices surging more than 40% recently, industry observers say a price hike is inevitable for Nintendo as well to defend profitability.
