Rumors about sky-high next-gen consoles have been circulating for about as long as next-gen consoles have been confirmed to be in development, but it looks like Sony CEO Hideaki Nishino all but confirmed a $900-and-up price for the PS6 in a recent Q&A session after the Gaming & Network Services official meeting. When asked about the sales strategy for the upcoming generation of consoles, which will be the PS6, Nishino said that despite the recent increase in prices for PlayStation hardware, “sales are on track and we do not believe that this has led to a drop in customer demand. In principle, we do not intend to sell equipment at significant losses. At the same time, we are closely monitoring the market and continuing to evaluate our approach.” This suggests that the PS6 and its upcoming handheld companion will likely be priced as cheaply as possible without impacting Sony’s profits. Instead of chasing a specific price and using subsidized prices to achieve a lower price, Sony appears to be pricing the PS6 according to what will be competitive and acceptable to consumers at launch.
He went on to say that “it’s important to us that we make every effort to ensure that customers fully understand the value we provide in terms of pricing” and explained that “the value (of PlayStation hardware) is in the experience, not the hardware itself. As a dedicated gaming device, it provides seamless and immediate access to content – unlike general purpose devices that include multiple layers before gameplay.” Taken together, especially given the recent news of the return of PlayStation exclusives, the launch price of the Steam Machine, as well as the recent price increase and the expected price of the Xbox Helix at Microsoft, it seems like $1,000 as the starting price for the PS6 is becoming more and more likely. Micron recently announced that while it has projects aimed at meeting DRAM demand, it does not expect the DRAM crisis to end or significantly ease until 2028. Increasing BOM costs for consoles with an increased subsidy from Sony could also accelerate game price increases, as consoles are typically sold as loss-makers, at least initially, and profits are recouped through games sold for the platform.
