Sony recently came out and announced they won’t be showing the PS5 anytime soon and they’re still waiting to decide the price. Part of this is because they want to wait and see what Microsoft prices their new line of Xbox consoles at but there’s a bit more to it than that.
In a report from Bloomberg, Sony’s next-gen console will cost roughly $450 per unit to manufacture. Consoles are usually sold at a very small profit as they make most of their money on services and games so we can probably expect it to be between $450 – $500, depending on what Microsoft prices the Xbox Series X at. Bloomberg has stated that some Sony employees believe that if Microsoft lowballs it, that Sony should sell the PS5 at a loss which isn’t terribly unheard of.
It’s expected Microsoft’s Xbox Series X will have two available units, one that’s more “affordable” and one that’s much more powerful and expensive. If Sony can somehow be in the middle, that’ll put them at an advantageous position. Gamers will see Sony’s console as affordable yet still premium enough to be worthwhile. They might look at Xbox’s affordable option as a lesser upgrade and not as valuable for a next-gen gaming experience.
Sony also has a proven first-party backing with titles like Spider-Man, Uncharted, God of War, and more pushing millions of copies this generation. Even new IP like Horizon have done extraordinarily well, giving them a lot of capital and wiggle room. Sony’s also expecting to do cross-generation launches with many of PS5’s launch titles, meaning the transition won’t be as jarring for gamers or Sony.
It’s also being reported that Sony is having trouble locking down a steady supply of DRAM and NAND flash memory. It’s currently unclear how much of an impact this will have on the production of units this spring and whether it’ll affect how many units are available come holiday season.
No one knows when Sony’s going to spill the deets on the PS5 but given Microsoft likely won’t reveal pricing until E3 in June, Sony has to start talking more so they can be ready to counter. Bloomberg also notes in their report that the Japanese company will release a new PSVR headset sometime after the launch of the new console, something they’ll likely divulge at the reveal event.
PS5 and Xbox Series X are slated to launch holiday 2020. We recently went hands-on with the first official next-gen title, Outriders. You can click here to read our impressions.
