Key Takeaways
1. The rise of AI has led to significant price increases for Nvidia’s gaming GPUs, prompting gamers to shift to AMD’s Radeon 9060 and 9070 series.
2. In Japan, the prices of Radeon 9060 and 9070 cards saw a 45% increase in January 2026 compared to December 2025, following GeForce shortages.
3. Despite previous price hikes, GPU prices have recently declined by up to 15% from their January peaks, though they remain above MSRP.
4. The price drop is more pronounced in the lower-tier Radeon 9060 XT, which has decreased around 20% from its peak.
5. Future GPU pricing may be affected by rising DRAM prices, and pricing trends can vary significantly across different geographical markets.
With the rise of the AI hype train, the prices of gaming GPUs, particularly Nvidia’s GeForce series, have seen some pretty ugly increases. This situation has led many gamers to switch over to AMD’s latest RDNA 4-based Radeon 9060 and 9070 series.
Price Changes in Japan
Typically, price increases in gaming hardware happen due to high demand and limited supply, but Japan has shown a different trend. According to GAZ:log, after the GeForce card shortages in late 2025, the prices for Radeon 9060 and 9070 cards jumped up significantly, reaching a staggering 45% increase in January 2026 when compared to December 2025 prices for the top-tier Radeon 9070 XT gaming GPU.
Recent Trends in GPU Pricing
However, gamers have apparently stopped purchasing these GPUs at such outrageous prices, which has led to a considerable decline in prices over the past few weeks. Reports show that prices have fallen by as much as 15% from their January peaks, although they still remain higher than the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). The decrease in the lower-tier Radeon 9060 XT GPU’s price seems even steeper, dropping around 20% from its peak last month.
Future Implications on GPU Prices
That being said, GAZ:log rightly highlights that the prevailing market conditions, particularly the soaring prices of DRAM, are likely to impact future GPU pricing. The Radeon 9070 XT (currently priced at $800 on Amazon) and the 9060 XT gaming GPUs both come with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, and any further rises in memory costs, which are anticipated this year, will definitely have a negative effect.
Additionally, it’s important to recognize that pricing differences are very likely to vary across different geographical markets, meaning that Japan’s situation may not fully reflect the state of the global market.
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