Pushing Buttons: Sony's PS5 price hike shows play does have limits

I am back from a week of running around Gamescom at a convention centre in Cologne, drinking German beer out of deceptively tiny-looking glasses, only to discover that Sony is – in this economy! The cost will remain the same in the US but everywhere else it will rise by up to 20%; in the UK, it will increase 6%, from £449.99 to £479.99 (or £359.99 to £389.99 for the cheaper model that has no disc drive). The hike is steepest (21%) in Sony's heartland of Japan. Given that middle earners are trimming costs and lower earners are facing heartbreaking choices between, for instance, food and heating when energy prices double this winter, this news has put me into a stage of late-stage-capitalism rage. Many are striking because people can't afford to live any more.