Despite price hikes, PS5s "are more affordable" than high-end gaming PCs, says Sony's CFO

Published Jul 31, 2026, 7:47 PM EDT Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Sign in to your XDA account Summary PS5 remains more affordable than high-end gaming PCs despite recent price hikes, says Sony. Sony will scale back disc production from early 2028, worrying preservationists and resale markets. PCs still offer deep discounts, freebies and indie deals, so long-term cost advantage isn't guaranteed. As RAM prices cause gaming hardware businesses to rethink their prices, gamers are left wondering how much their hobbies are going to cost them moving forward. While the PS5 had a price increase earlier this year, Sony's CFO isn't too phased, claiming that their consoles are still a lot cheaper than buying a high-end gaming PC. PS5s are cheaper "compared to high-end gaming PCs," says Sony It's one of the major strengths Sony claims it has over the PC market X user Genki_JPN recently published a post translating an interview with Sony's CFO, Lin Tao. The main focus of the interview was the recent announcement that Sony would scale back physical disc production starting in early 2028, which caused a big stir among gamers who value preservation. People can keep discs around for years to come, but digital media that requires talking to an online server is far less resilient to services shutting down. Tao claimed that "We don't feel that the disc is the factor to differentiate from the PC" before bringing up this interesting nugget: "Our strength is the curated content. That's one of our strengths. The game environment being stable. That's another strength. And compared to high-end gaming PCs, our products are more affordable." So, how affordable is "affordable"? Well, after the price hikes hit, the regular PS5 with a disc tray weighs in at $649.99, while the PS5 Pro is sold for $899.99. Said price increases also did damage to the PC gaming market, with RAM and GPU prices going up due to the demand from AI. As such, the $899.99 that Sony asks for the PS5, compared to the thousands that a high-end gaming PC usually costs these days, is a pretty solid claim. And while Sony going digital-only will severely hamper second-hand sales, the PC also hasn't had a strong physical secondary market for years now. However, PC gamers do have access to powerful Steam sales, free games via giveaways, and more cheap indie games in general, so it may not be strictly cheaper to grab a PS5 in the long term.