PlayStation 5 Could Be Cheaper Than Originally Predicted, According to Analyst
The reveal of Sony’s plans for the tentative PlayStation 5 happened earlier this month and while it wan’t completely without mystery (still no confirmation of the name “PS5”), what was learned seemed nonetheless promising. Features such as Backward Compatibility, advanced Ray Tracing capabilities, as well as a nifty SSD are all inclusions most fans would undoubtedly appreciate, but the console’s success might ultimate hinge on one aspect above all others: the price.
A beefy-seeming console like this would almost certainly fetch for an equally hefty sum, with numbers such as $499 or even $599 USD being easy guesses for the system’s cost at launch. However, according to a new analyst prediction from Pelham Smithers of the Pelham Smithers Associates (via Wired UK), it looks like the actual price could go for considerably less that expected; a full $100-$200 less. Pointing to the console’s teased 3rd-gen AMD Ryzen CPU, Pelham Smithers surmises that the price could potentially land around $399.
For perspective’s sake, this would place the PlayStation 5 among one of the least-costly consoles in Sony’s history, with their previous hardware such as the PS4 and PS3 going for $399 and $499 during their respective launches. The premium PlayStation 4 Pro was also around that same area at $399, a surprise considering the PS5 was said to clock in at about 19 times faster than the current version of the Pro.
While fans would surely love not breaking the bank for a featureful console like the PlayStation 5, a price such as $399 may be a bit of a low-ball. The hardware is going to feature advanced capabilities like ray-tracing, bolstered by a top tier hardware GPU, CPU, as well as the implementation of solid-state storage; and precisely none of these things are cheap. However, if Sony is looking to be competitive, a minimized price could give them the edge in the next-gen console wars, especially as the next Xbox is rumored to have even beefier specs than the PS5.
What do you think? Do you think the PlayStation 5 could ship at $400 price tag, or will it ultimately be $500 like rumors previously suggested? Is a new console just way too much money in general? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day! For more headlines recently featured on DFTG, check out these next few news stories:
Eric Hall2712 Posts
Phone-browsing Wikipedia in one hand and clutching his trusty controller in the other, the legendary Eric Hall spreads his wealth of knowledge as a writer for Don't Feed the Gamers. Be sure to catch his biweekly "Throwback Thursday" segment for a nostalgic look at trivia from the past.
