Sony’s PlayStation 5 is still a monster brand, but the hardware numbers are starting to look rough.
In its latest fourth fiscal quarter, Sony sold 1.5 million PS5 consoles, a sharp 46% drop year over year. That slowdown lands after Sony increased PS5 pricing twice over the past year, with the standard PS5 moving from $499.99 to $649.99.
That is a serious jump, especially for players in markets like Malaysia where console gaming already comes with a big upfront cost. Even when US pricing does not map perfectly to local retail, global price pressure usually has a way of reaching our side of the world through weaker discounts, pricier bundles, fewer attractive promos, or slower restocks.
Sony said earlier this year that the price hikes were linked to “continued pressures in the global economic landscape.” The wider picture includes an ongoing memory supply crunch and pressure connected to the war in Iran. Basically, the PS5 is getting hit by the same problem affecting plenty of hardware right now: parts are more expensive, supply is trickier, and companies are less willing to eat the cost.
The memory issue is not just background noise either. Sony now expects annual gaming revenue to fall by 6%, and it has made clear that PS5 hardware plans for FY26 will depend on how much memory it can secure at reasonable prices. In Sony’s own framing, the company wants PS5 hardware profitability to stay roughly in line with FY25, meaning it is not simply chasing console volume at any cost.
Back in February, Sony said it had secured the minimum quantity necessary of memory for the year-end shopping season and was still working with suppliers to make sure it could meet customer demand. Across the full 2025 financial year, Sony sold 16 million PS5 units, down from 18.5 million the year before.
For Malaysian and SEA gamers, the takeaway is pretty straightforward: do not expect this console generation to suddenly become cheap. If memory prices remain painful, Sony may prioritise healthier margins over aggressive price cuts. That could mean fewer “finally bro, affordable already” moments during major sale seasons.
It is not only Sony feeling the hardware squeeze. Microsoft recently reported that Xbox hardware revenue dropped 33% year over year, while Xbox content and services also slipped 5%. Nintendo is also raising Switch 2 prices by $50 on September 1st and expects sales to decline over the next year.
So yes, this is bigger than just one console. The whole games hardware market is entering a more expensive, more cautious phase. That matters in SEA, where many players already stretch budgets between PC upgrades, mobile gaming, handhelds, subscriptions, and the occasional big console purchase.
Sony also disclosed a $765 million impairment cost tied to Bungie, the studio behind Destiny 2 and Marathon. Sony bought Bungie in a $3.6 billion deal announced in 2022, shortly after Microsoft announced its Activision Blizzard acquisition. Since joining PlayStation, Bungie has faced hundreds of layoffs, delayed Marathon after weak alpha test feedback, and dealt with an artist accusation over alleged unauthorised use of work in Marathon, which was later resolved.
The PS5 is not suddenly dead lah — far from it. But the era of easy console growth looks over. For players, the smart move now is to watch pricing carefully, compare bundles properly, and avoid panic-buying unless the deal is genuinely solid.
Source: The Verge Gaming