Without any prior warning, Sony has increased the price of the PS5's DualSense controller in a number of key regions, including the US, Europe, and Australia. To begin with, keen-eyed onlookers noticed that American retailers such as Best Buy and Target had updated the price points for various pads, bumping them up by $5 pretty much across the board.
Then, a few hours later, Sony's own PlayStation Direct store did the same. Again, this seems to be a flat $5 increase regardless of the controller's design. So, for example, the standard white DualSense has gone from being $70 to $75, while some of the more colourful editions have crept up from $75 to $80.
And now, we've got confirmation that the same is happening here in the UK — a straight increase of £5 — and across other European countries.
There's no getting around it: this is a pricey console generation. Sony in particular has been pressing on the upper limits of what people would consider expensive for years now, and just about everything that's tied to the PS5 comes equipped with a premium price tag. From first-party games to accessories like the DualSense, being a PlayStation fan certainly ain't cheap. It's also worth mentioning that the company recently cranked up the PS5's price in Japan.
And of course, with the PS5 Pro heavily rumoured to be launching this year, all eyes will be on the cost. If Sony's happy to ship its DualSense Edge controller for $200 / £210 — a device aimed squarely at the hardcore — then you can probably bet on the firm going big with the Pro's price tag.