Bloomberg is reporting that Sony is struggling with the decision in-regards to pricing the PlayStation 5 due to scarce components inevitably pushing the price up.
Sony typically finalises the cost of a new console price in February, but Sony is apparently taking a wait and see approach this time around, opting to see how Microsoft prices their console.
The PS4 cost $399 USD at launch, whilst costing about $381 USD to manufacture. Currently, the PS5 is estimated to cost $450 USD ($669 AUD) to manufacture which puts its retail price at roughly 499 USD ($742 AUD).
Industry Analyst ZhugeEX has said that this information is true (but can obviously change) and that Xbox Series X will likely cost more to manufacture but expects them to be priced similarly. It’s no secret at this point that both Microsoft and Sony realise how important pricing will be at launch, with Sony opting to undercut Microsoft at the PS4/Xbox One launch.
Here are the basics.
Series X build cost likely higher than PS5 (as of now), but not significantly so.
Pricing will likely be similar to or higher than build cost for both devices.
However, both manufacturers could be willing to take a loss day one to price more competitively.— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) February 14, 2020
It’s also been reported that a new PlayStation VR headset would launch after the PS5, and that many of the PS5 games at launch will also be available on PS4.
Sony is apparently having the biggest trouble with DRAM and NAND flash memory, which are both in high demand currently due to smartphone makers. For instance, Samsung’s newly announced Galaxy 20 line has a minimum of 12GB of ram in each device. The cooler inside the PS5 is also more expensive than usual, with Sony wanting to make sure that the powerful components inside its console would not overheat.
With Microsoft likely to wait until E3 to give more information on the Series X, it’s becoming unclear how long we’ll have to wait to get our first glimpse at the PS5 and with this new information, it seems unlikely that we’ll get a price once this does happen. It’s even murkier with Sony revealing that they won’t be at E3 for a second consecutive year. The PlayStation 4 price was revealed in June, before a November release, so Sony still have quite a few months to reveal how much gamers will be paying on day one for the console.
