PS5 sales got a lift in the U.S. before Sony’s price hike kicked in
Circana's Mat Piscatella said U.S. PS5 unit and dollar sales reached their highest levels of 2026 during the week ending April 4, 2026.
U.S. buyers clearly moved before Sony’s latest PS5 price increase took hold. According to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella in a Bluesky post, PS5 hardware posted its strongest week of 2026 so far during the week ending April 4, 2026.
Unsurprisingly, US weekly unit and $ sales of PlayStation 5 hardware reached 2026 highs during the week ending April 4th, as price increases loomed.US spending on video game hardware for the week nearly doubled when compared to the same week a year ago.Source: Circana Retail Tracking Service
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-04-14T12:21:16.462Z
Piscatella said the console hit year-to-date highs in both unit sales and dollar sales, and that U.S. spending on video game hardware for the week nearly doubled compared with the same week a year earlier.
The timing lines up with Sony’s price change. The company announced the increase on March 27, 2026, and it took effect on April 2, 2026, giving shoppers a short window to buy before the new pricing landed.
That surge looks like a temporary bump rather than a long-term trend. As January’s U.S. PS5 sales data already showed, Sony’s machine has been leaning on specific moments to stay ahead, and this latest spike fits the same pattern.
The entry-level PS5 Digital Edition now costs $599.99, which is $200 more than it did at launch. Sony has pointed to broader economic pressure, including higher memory costs, as part of the reason for the increase.
That gives the PS5 a tougher road for the rest of 2026, especially outside major release windows and sales events. If GTA 6 does not arrive to give the console a lift later this year, keeping pace with the PS4’s sales momentum will be a much steeper climb.
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