One notable piece of information missing from the Playstation 5 event was the price of the console. We know what it looks like, the specs, the games, but we don’t know how hard our wallets are going to be hit. Recently, Play-Asia posted a listing for $699 for the Playstation 5. This was likely a placeholder, and it is very unlikely the console will cost $699; the prices have since been removed.
Speaking to the BBC, CEO Jim Ryan stated that he values quality over price. This is a tough one to translate. Is he more focused on giving players quality games rather than being focused on making huge profits on the sale of the console, therefore making it more affordable? Or is he focused on the quality of the games to justify the cost of the console, should it be somewhere around $599-699?
In the interview, Jim stated;
“Conventional wisdom and history show that our business is one of the more recession-proof businesses. But I think this will sharpen our need to ensure that we focus on getting the value equation right. And I emphasize value as opposed to price.”
“We must be more attentive than ever before to ensure that the overall value proposition in terms of the console and the games – the range of games, the quality of games, the quantity of games – makes this something that our community aspires towards.”
Later on in the interview, Jim was asked about the digital-only console and the price difference between the two. He went on to say;
“You’re not going to hear anything on price today. But many of our many of our consumers are purchasing solely digitally these days. We thought that we would do what we typically try and do, and just offer choice.”
It is worth noting that the Playstation 3 launched for $599, resulting in a poor launch and putting it out of reach to the general mainstream market. Sony learnt from this mistake and launched the Playstation 4 for $399, resulting in a much stronger launch and the early traction needed, which has resulted in the console becoming one of the best selling consoles of all time, 2nd to the Playstation 2.
The manufacturing cost of the PS5 is rumored to be $450. Quite often, console manufacturers take a loss on each console sold in the early period of the console’s life cycle, and then make it up in software sales. So Sony could be looking to do this again and launch the PS5 at $399. But it seems likely that the “full” version could launch for $499, giving Sony a slight profit, and then the digital-only version would launch for $399 or even $349, which would make it more affordable for the mainstream market.
Until we get an official price, it is all speculation. But with the current pandemic and millions of people out of work, a $599 or even $699 console launch would very likely result in a poor performing launch with low console sales. Then, if Microsoft decided to take the loss at launch and sell lower, this could very easily turn the tides in the console wars.
What do you think the Playstation 5 price will be? Let us know in the comments.
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