“PS5” Becomes the Only Console to Raise Its Price — Whose Ambition Are Players Paying For?

From secretly watching people play “The Legend of Sword and Fairy” in my primary school computer room, to taking turns guarding that one old machine in the internet café that could run “Xuan-Yuan Sword,” I’m one of those who grew up watching domestic games stumble their way forward. Back then, consoles were like another city beyond the jianghu: an outside world, expensive like an initiation tribute to a prestigious sect, something we could only look at from afar while Sony set up its stage and sang on the other side. Only in recent years, as Chinese single-player games slowly started to rise, did I genuinely begin to take the console platform seriously and start thinking: if the stage is big enough, maybe wuxia and xianxia really can carve out a path of their own. Coming back to the topic, though, the protagonist this time isn’t some new game, but Sony’s current flagship console — the PS5.

A chart that’s been circulating in overseas communities recently puts the launch prices of every generation of PlayStation consoles side by side with their prices six years after release, and the comparison feels like a sudden, unexpected strike at an opening. That table shows clearly that the PS5 has become the only console in the series’ history whose price has gone up instead of down six years after launch. That single fact has completely shattered Sony’s long-standing industry routine of “time brings discounts.” Previous consoles were like polishing your martial arts: after a few years they would always lower themselves a bit to offer you a more approachable entry threshold. This generation, however, is more like a sect leader who has achieved enlightenment — the further along, the higher the status and price. Beyond nostalgia, this trend is no longer just a matter of “is it expensive,” but a challenge to players’ understanding of the value curve of an entire console generation.

Naturally, player complaints are everywhere. Social media is full of teasing and helpless comments, like wandering swordsmen gathered at the teahouse door staring at the price list, cursing with a smile while feeling a chill inside. Some comments suggest that if we’re going to compare prices, we might as well line up the number of games available six years after launch for each console generation, so everyone can see whether the content still justifies this “price hike against the wind.” Others extend this trend forward and joke, “PS6 launches at 999 USD, six years later it’s 1499 USD.” Everyone knows it’s a joke, but it feels a bit like when we first heard that “The Legend of Sword and Fairy” was going to be adapted into some heavily butchered TV drama — funny on the surface, but a little chilling if you think about it. Price can be a blade, but it can’t always be the one pressed against the player’s neck.

If we see consoles as the mountain gate of a sect, then the launch price is the entry fee, and later price cuts are the posture of “welcoming disciples broadly.” The PS5 is essentially walking this road in reverse. We used to be accustomed to price cuts after a few years to clear stock, letting more people hop on board late. Now, we’re facing a hardware platform that’s looking more and more like a “luxury item.” For domestic wuxia and xianxia games, this isn’t just some idle gossip, but a very real environmental shift: the higher the console’s entry barrier, the fewer players are willing to try small- to mid-scale Chinese titles on it, and the harder it becomes for new IPs to break out. In recent years, domestic games have only just started to build a reputation of “quality worthy of the console platform.” If the platform holder then turns around and slams the door shut again with pricing, this kind of self-sabotaging internal friction really makes you anxious for this jianghu that’s only just begun to show signs of life.

But looking at it calmly, the PS5 price hike leads to a very simple piece of purchasing advice for ordinary players: if you just want to experience a few must-play exclusives and don’t care about getting the console at launch, then the best cost-effective window for this generation has already passed. You might as well watch exchange rates, deals, and the second-hand market before deciding. If you’re a console devotee and heavy user who relies heavily on visuals and the exclusive ecosystem, then this time you really have to weigh carefully whether you’re willing to keep paying for this system of “hardware price hikes + content lock-in.” For a supporter of domestic games like me, the more pragmatic expectations actually lie elsewhere: I hope Chinese developers don’t let this trend skew their mindset, don’t learn to only raise prices without raising their skills; and I also hope that one day in the future, when we see a truly Sword-and-Fairy-at-its-peak–style Chinese wuxia game on the PS6, the discussion will no longer be about whether the console is too expensive, but about whether — that game might actually be worth paying even more for.