Gaming consoles are getting ridiculously expensive in South Africa. The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S have all been hit with another price hike seeing console prices soar beyond anything we ever thought possible. The PlayStation VR2 has also gone up by a frightening amount of money.
Starting today, the PS5 will now cost R1700 more than it did back at launch in 2020. The latest price hike is over double that of the increase we saw back in September last year. It has jumped R1200 compared to R500 twelve months ago.
The PS5 Digital Edition has also gone up slightly. While the console increased in 2022 by a lot more in comparison to the Disc Edition, it has now gone up a further R500.
As it stands now, a standard Disc Edition PS5 console costs R13,699. The PS5 Digital Edition costs R11,799.
There’s also bad news for those waiting for a PlayStation VR2 price drop. It has gone up R2,000. The VR hardware was released earlier this year in South Africa at R13,499 and will now cost R15,499.
As for the Xbox Series X, the console has increased by R1,000 from R11,999 up to R12,999. The latest Diablo IV bundle is currently R13,999. The Xbox Series S 500GB has increased from R6,999 to R7,599. The upcoming Xbox Series S 1TB version will hit SA at R8,599.
Here’s a rundown of the current South African prices
PS5 and Xbox Series X/S South African Prices
- PS5
- PS5 Disc Edition – R13,699 (was R12,499 / R11,999 at launch)
- PS4 Digital Edition – R11,799 (was R11,299, R9,999 at launch)
- PlayStation VR2 – R15,499 (was R13,499)
- Xbox Series X/S
- Xbox Series X 1TB – R12,999 (was R11,999)
- Xbox Series S 500GB – R7,599 (was R6,999)
- Xbox Series S 1TB – R8,599 (launch price)
The good news is that South Africans can currently pick up a PS5 for R1500 off until 3 September. Retailers are currently running a promotion at R12,199 for a standalone console. After that promo ends, you’ll then need to fork out the new price.
The latest price increase is sad but also expected. The current exchange rate hasn’t boded well for most of our imported goods. Shipping costs more than ever before. We can only hope this is the last price hike for a while.
