Pre-orders for PlayStation 5 Pro in Russia exceeded retailers’ expectations by 3.2 times, despite an almost double markup. The cost of a gaming console on the Russian market reached 130 thousand rubles, which significantly exceeds its recommended price – $700 in the USA and 800 euros in Europe. Despite this, the entire batch was sold out within a week and a half from the start of pre-orders on September 26.
Image Source: Sony
Sergey Mezin, head of the Games and Gaming Community Development department of the M.Video-Eldorado group, noted that the popularity of the PlayStation 5 in Russia continues to grow. Moreover, the base model PS5 in the first half of 2024 occupied 73% of the entire console market in the country. Mezin emphasized that the opportunity to receive the console in November was an important factor contributing to the high demand for the PlayStation 5 Pro.
According to a representative of M.Game, the increase in the price of the PlayStation 5 Pro in Russia is due to the need to pay 20% VAT and 10% duties on the official import of products, which further increases the price. Previously, the PlayStation representative office in Russia ensured stable prices through direct contracts with Sony and promotional support, which made it possible to minimize differences with world prices. But now consoles are supplied through parallel import channels, which only affects the price in the direction of increasing it.
Yandex.Market reported that 80% of all PlayStation sales in 2024 came from the PS5 Slim, and the remaining 20% from the standard version. At the same time, demand for PS5 Slim continues to grow: in the third quarter, sales of these models increased by 10% quarterly. Sony is expected to soon discontinue the base version of the PS5, leaving only the Slim and Pro on the market.
It is expected that the PlayStation 5 Pro will go on sale on Russian marketplaces on the 20th of November, and its price will start at 80 thousand rubles, depending on the seller. Experts believe that the current rush is largely supported by distributors and resellers who intend to use the supply shortage to raise prices. A similar situation was already observed in 2021 with the launch of the basic version of PS5.
Since October 7, pre-orders for PlayStation 5 on Wildberries have increased 8.7 times, which was the result of the ongoing sale. Wildberries representative Dmitry Borshchevsky emphasized that the shortage of PS5 Pro could limit further growth in sales of this model, since supply will not keep up with demand.
Anton Gorelkin, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, believes that the success of PlayStation in Russia is largely due to exclusive games. Also important is the fact of mass registration of Russian users under Turkish, Polish and Indian accounts, which makes it possible to bypass regional restrictions. Perhaps Sony records such facts, but does not take any action to suppress them, unlike Microsoft, which periodically monitors DNS queries of users.
Gaming expert Oleg Dobroshtan noted that the main audience of the PS5 Pro in Russia are people over 35 years old with high purchasing power. Comparing demand for the PS5 Pro with the launch of the iPhone 16, Dobroshtan emphasizes that buyers are eager to purchase the latest devices “here and now,” even despite inflated prices. At the same time, many Russian gamers continue to use PS4 and do not plan to update it.
The technical capabilities of the new PlayStation 5 Pro have already been reflected in games such as The Last of Us: Part II Remastered and God of War: Ragnarok. The differences between the base PS5 and Pro are expected to become increasingly noticeable in the coming years, especially in games like GTA VI, which is scheduled for release in 2025 and is considered one of the most anticipated games of the decade.
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Source: 3dnews.ru
