When Sony introduced the PlayStation 4 in 2013, it sucker punched Microsoft by revealing that the console would cost “only” $400 – $100 less than the Xbox One. Unfortunately for PS fans, it doesn’t look like history is going to repeat itself for the next round of systems, which are just around the corner.
Bloomberg is reporting that Sony is “struggling” with pricing its next-generation PlayStation 5 console due to its expensive hardware. There’s a lack of specifics here in terms of what exact parts are “costly,” but the Japanese giant may not be able to sell the console at anything lower than $450.
“Scarce components have pushed the manufacturing costs for Sony Corp.’s next PlayStation to around $450 per unit, forcing a difficult price-setting decision in its battle with Microsoft Corp., according to people with knowledge of the matter,” said Bloomberg.
We’ve heard quite a lot about the PS5 sporting a custom Ryzen SoC with Radeon graphics, so the additional expense seems plausible. And let’s not forget about the heavily hyped, game-changing SSD, which should cost a pretty penny, too.
There’s also the possibility that this is just fake news meant to force Microsoft into announcing the price of the Xbox Series X first. Other sources with Bloomberg claim that Sony is taking a “wait-and-see” approach, so it’s hard to ascertain what SIE is up to.