US spending on video game hardware was almost double that of the same week a year ago. According to Circana's Mat Piscatella, weekly unit and dollar sales of PlayStation 5 hardware reached 2026 highs during the week ending April 4. This occurred as shoppers moved quickly ahead of Sony's announced global price increases that took effect on April 2.

The hikes raised the base and digital PS5 models by $100 each, with the PS5 Pro increasing by $150. Sony attributed the changes to continued pressures in the global economic landscape. A Sony Interactive Entertainment vice president noted that the step was necessary to continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences worldwide. Earlier financial results for the nine months ended December 31, 2025, showed PS5 unit sales had already declined 15.7 percent year-over-year alongside a drop in hardware revenue.

This pre-hike rush produced a temporary spike. Community discussions on forums such as ResetEra and Reddit's r/PS5 suggest many expect sales to soften in subsequent weeks once the new pricing settles in. In the meantime, the data serves as a mild data point in an otherwise steady march of increasing costs across the industry. Anyway.