Sony Spurs $1,000 PlayStation 6 Rumors

Rumors of sky-high next-gen consoles have been floating around for about as long as the next-gen consoles have been confirmed as in development, but it seems as though Sony CEO, Hideaki Nishino has all but confirmed $900+ pricing for the PS6 in a recent Q&A session following an official Gaming & Network Services meeting. When asked about the sales strategy for the upcoming console generation, which would be the PS6, Nishino replied that, despite recent price increases on PlayStation hardware, “sales are proceeding as planned, and we do not believe that this has led to a decline in customer demand. As a principle, we do not intend to sell hardware at significant losses. At the same time, we are carefully monitoring the market and continuing to evaluate our approach.” This suggests that the PS6, and its upcoming portable companion, will likely be priced as low as possible without eating into Sony’s bottom line. Instead of chasing a specific price point and using subsidized pricing to reach the lower price, Sony appears to be pricing the PS6 according to what will be competitive and accepted by the consumers at launch.

He went on to say that “it is important for us to make every effort to ensure that customers fully understand the value we provide in relation to pricing,” and explaining that “the value of [PlayStation hardware] lies in the experience, not the hardware itself. As a dedicated gaming device, it provides seamless, immediate access to content—unlike general-purpose devices, which involve multiple layers before gameplay.” Taken together, especially given the recent news about the return of PlayStation exclusives, the launch pricing of the Steam Machine, and the recent price increases and expected price of the Xbox Helix at Microsoft, it seems as though $1,000 as a starting price for the PS6 is becoming more and more likely. Micron recently announced that, while it has projects in place to try and meet demand for DRAM, it does not see the DRAM crisis ending or significantly easing before 2028. An increased BOM cost for consoles with an increased subsidy from Sony may also accelerate the increase of game prices, since consoles are usually sold as loss-leaders, at least initially, with profits being recouped via games sold for the platform.