THE CRUNCH
GameStop has raised the price of refurbished PS5 Pro consoles from $800 to $1,399.99, putting used units about 56% above the $899.99 list price of a brand-new console, according to Tom's Hardware. A leaked memo, posted by a self-identified GameStop employee and vetted by a subreddit moderator, reportedly tells staff the premium over new units is intentional, and the prices now appear on the retailer's website.
Finding a new unit is little help. Sony, GameStop and Target all list the console at $899.99 but are out of stock, while Best Buy and Walmart have stock priced at $1,496.01 and $1,554.99 respectively. Sealed units on eBay and Facebook Marketplace go for around $1,300 or more, though second-hand marketplaces lack the protections of a retailer with physical stores.
Many people blame the shortage on the AI-driven memory chip crisis, as data centres' appetite for high-bandwidth memory has pushed DRAM makers to serve that market first, contributing to a 500% rise in RAM prices over the past 12 months. The squeeze has spilled into smartphones and car manufacturing, and the anticipated November launch of GTA VI may be compounding demand for Sony's most powerful console.
There are cheaper ways into PlayStation for now. The PS5 Digital (Slim) and Disc (Slim) editions remain at or close to MSRP, and anyone buying purely for GTA VI could also consider an Xbox Series X, which is cheaper than a PS5 Pro at MSRP while outperforming the base PS5.