Gaming industry faces rising console prices and scalping issues

The gaming industry faces significant shifts regarding hardware availability and pricing. Scalping remains a persistent issue where resellers exploit high demand and limited supply to sell products like consoles and graphics cards at substantial markups on secondary markets.

Looking ahead, the next generation of gaming consoles, including the PlayStation 6 and Microsoft’s next Xbox (codenamed Project Helix), may see prices exceeding 1,000 euros. This potential price hike is attributed to manufacturers' reluctance to absorb losses on hardware sales and a significant increase in the costs of components such as RAM and storage. While Microsoft’s upcoming platform is expected to offer higher performance, there are concerns that these rising costs may alienate the core demographic of younger gamers with limited disposable income.