Analyst says rising console prices could push gaming toward a Netflix-style future

Console prices keep climbing, and the outlook is not exactly soothing

Rising production costs are putting more pressure on game hardware, with AI-related demand, RAM shortages and other factors helping push prices higher. Microsoft raised the cost of Xbox Series X|S consoles in 2025, and Sony recently said PlayStation 5 prices would also go up.

The next generation does not look much calmer. Industry expectations suggest a base PlayStation 6 could cost 50% more than the previous model, while some versions may reach as high as $1,000. That would leave a lot of players staring at the next console cycle and deciding, with understandable restraint, to sit it out.

Pachter says the answer is not cheaper hardware

In a YouTube video about the AI RAM shortage crisis and its potential effect on gaming hardware, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter argued that prices are unlikely to fall back down, even if supply problems eventually ease.

“What I’ve learned in 40 years of studying economics is that prices almost never come down,”

he said.

Pachter’s view is that companies eventually find the price point consumers will tolerate, and then keep moving from there.

“What sellers of goods discover is that there’s a price at which consumers will just bear the pain and buy the goods that you’re selling.”

He said console prices are likely to keep rising as long as demand for components keeps increasing for other reasons, especially AI.

“I think that console prices are going to keep going up as long as demand for the components goes up for other reasons - so AI,”

Pachter added that the long-term fix is not to keep making pricier boxes under the TV.

“I think the solution to that is to get rid of consoles and go to streaming games on TVs.”

He also said this is not a new thought for him.

“I’ve been predicting the end of the console life cycle for more than 10 years. Each one is going to be smaller than the one before; one of the drivers for that is higher prices.”

Streaming is already here, just not in the cleanest form

Both Microsoft and Sony have already invested in cloud-based play. Xbox Cloud Gaming and the PlayStation Portal let players access games without using a traditional console in the usual way.

The catch, because of course there is one, is that these services still come with drawbacks. Lag remains an issue, and the available game libraries are limited.

Pachter’s argument is that those half-steps are not enough. What he sees as the real answer is a Netflix-style streaming service for games, where titles run directly on TVs without the need for dedicated hardware. In that model, the console disappears entirely, which would neatly sidestep the problem of ever more expensive machines. Convenient, if not especially comforting for anyone who enjoys owning the thing that runs the game.