PS5 Could Cost Up to $549
A Bloomberg article, with unnamed sources, claims that Sony is expecting the hefty price of the console to affect the PS5's sales. And the price range is expected to be anywhere from $499 to $549 dollars, making it at least 100 dollars more than the base model PS4 released in 2013. The PS4 sold an impressive 7.5 million units in its first five months on the market. But Sony is telling its partners they expect to sell between only five and six million PS5’s in the same time frame.
No one knows for sure how much the Covid-19 pandemic will affect the release date. Like most of the world, Sony has asked its employees to work from home. Making what would already be a stressful time for the company that more difficult.
The current plan is for assemblers to produce PS5’s starting in June. Some parts necessary are already arriving despite the pandemic. The article claims that if Microsoft can launch at the expected time frame of — holiday 2020 — then Sony will too. This could end up being a staring contest between the two companies, each waiting for the other to make a move before making anything official.
If the possibility of being forced to pay $549 for the next-gen console has you looking for spare change under the couch, there may be good news. Damian Thong, a Macquarie Capital analyst, thinks it’s possible for the price drop to $450 due to both companies wanting to gain the upper hand early on.
