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Sony is apparently limiting the production of the PlayStation 5 since its components will drive its launch price higher than that of the PlayStation 4 (via Bloomberg).
The source states that Sony informed assembly partners that five to six million units of the new console will be made in the fiscal year ending March 2021. Comparatively, 7.5 million units of the PlayStation 4 were sold in the first two quarters of the fiscal year ending March 2014. The company’s choice has been spurred on by the console’s formidable specifications—Sony has previously struggled to determine a price for the PlayStation 5 due to its expensive (and scarce) components.
As a result, demand will be higher for the PlayStation 5 than the PlayStation 4, and the launch price will be a lot higher for the next generation of hardware than the current generation of hardware. Apparently, the price tag is hovering around $499 to $549, in order that the company recovers expenses for those pricey parts inside the console. Also, Sony is clear that the pandemic is only affecting the promotional plans for the PlayStation 5, and not its production.
Nevertheless, the report claims that Sony will be propping up the launch of the PlayStation 5 with the PlayStation 4. These units will act as a “bridge” to transfer new players onto the PlayStation Network while they wait for their PlayStation 5. It is expected that Sony will slash the price of the PlayStation 4 and its Pro upgrade to get people onto PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. Moreover, CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said that the priority will be to “increase recurring revenue rather than one-time hardware purchases.”
Finally, sources have asserted that Sony wasn’t quite ready to unveil the DualSense, the PlayStation 5’s controller. The promotional plans for the new console have gone astray, and the company may not hold a public press conference to announce the release date and price owing to the pandemic. However, it is unlikely that the PlayStation 5 will be delayed out of its launch window, as it attempts to match Microsoft’s moves. “Some analysts believe the close contest for attention between the PlayStation and Xbox, especially in the U.S., may force both companies to sell their new consoles at a loss,” stated the report.
The PlayStation 5 is set to launch later this year.
