PS5 Price to be a Sh*t Sandwich?

[Deleted member 25128]

I was watching Eurogamers review of the Sony event, and it was pretty good anyway they were suggesting that it was strange that Sony didn't mention price and that if its going to be high, which is expected, why not put it at the end of a good event.

Totally agree with this sentiment, and this is what Sony did on the PS4 with PS+,... as we say in the UK you have a Sh*t sandwich, you put bad news in-between good news. So I was thinking what are the possible options here, no way you can announce a high price on its own, so either they hope to be as cheap as possible ($399/$449) on the digital version or they'll have to try and reduce the high cost effect. The only thing at this time that I think would mitigate any high cost would be full backwards compatibility.

So that's what I'm going for, but what are your thoughts on the subject? Done a little poll, be interesting to see where people fall on this.

 

[Heromanz]

They're just waiting for Microsoft to announce it so they know if they need to undercut

 

[Martylepiaf]

I think neither Sony or Microsoft want to be the first one to announce their price

 

[Deleted member 21709]

It's going to be an enthusiast device for a few years.

 

[EinBear]

I agree that they probably should have just gotten it out if the way early, as part of a positive event.

At this point, the fact they're not saying anything seems to suggest that the price announcement won't be 'good news' when it does arrive. Feels like the longer they leave it the worse it will be.

 

[GetDigitized]

Can't believe you almost said shit in the title.

They're waiting until Microsoft reveal price, if they can avoid selling at a loss or reduced profit they are going to.

 

[Dphex]

It will be much higher than people think and despite that the first shipment will sell out in record time.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

I'm gonna sell my Pro so it's whatever.

 

[Slaythe]

It will be 449 no disc 499 disc.

They have not mentioned price because they know MS wants to undercut them so they're trying to let them go first.

Gauge what the public thinks of both consoles after July i take it.

They also havent talked about their upscaling solutions and backwards compatibility.

 

[Unkindled]

They can drop it anytime they want but they will be smart and wait it out.

 

[Max|Payne]

They'll actually be the first F2P consoles.

 

[LetalisAmare]

Microsoft and Sony are playing chicken. One should just come out and announce the price at the lowest they're willing to sell.

 

[Deleted member 198]

If they had a $399 product between the two SKUs we would have already seen the price.

So $499 is probably a minimum.

 

[Plinkerton]

This applies to both Microsoft and Sony but I've been wondering lately if we might all end up pleasantly surprised by the cost of these machines. We've all seen the articles about the cost of the parts or whatever, but in 2020 both companies can afford to take bigger losses up front than ever before. They know that a decent chunk of people who buy the systems, especially early adopters, will sign up for PS+, Xbox Live, Gamepass etc. for the whole 7 years of the generation or however long it ends up being, so maybe they're thinking they can take the hit now and recouped it down the line?

 

[pswii60]

I agree that they probably should have just gotten it out if the way early, as part of a positive event.

At this point, the fact they're not saying anything seems to suggest that the price announcement won't be 'good news' when it does arrive. Feels like the longer they leave it the worse it will be.

Click to shrink...

And yet last year Ryan was saying that he expects the PS4 to PS5 transition to be the fastest yet, which wouldn't suggest a high price.

I don't know what to think.

 

[ekim]

MS will probably announce the price in July at the first party stream.
Sony will try to undercut it afterwards.

 

[TheRealBigRich]

If they had a $399 product between the two SKUs we would have already seen the price.

So $499 is probably a minimum.

Click to shrink...

This. Not sure why people still think they are able to do 399.

 

[PintSizedSlasher]

If the price for the disc version is going to be somewhere in the 550-600 range , I can see them throwing in a 12 month PSNow sub or something, but I still don't think the prices are going to be that high.

399 digital , 499 disc is my prediction.

 

[foxbeldin]

I still believe it's gonna be $499 and that's perfectly fine. There's no shock to reduce.

If the price for the disc version is going to be somewhere in the 550-600 range , I can see them throwing in a 12 month PSNow sub or something, but I still don't think the prices are going to be that high.

399 digital , 499 disc is my prediction.

Click to shrink...

No way a simple optical drive makes it cost $100 less. At best it's a $50 difference.

 

[Deleted member 25128]

I agree that it seems no one wants to be first, but they both cant wait until release :D someone has to say something, so at some point you have to believe your price point. Relying just on your competitor saying something and trying to match or undercut doesn't sound like a sensible plan?

 

[Powerwing]

With the global economy crysis post covid-19, price is more than ever a crucial point. Ms and Sony will try to keep from revealing the price till the last moment.
I'm a bit pessimistic about it, from what i've seen ( SSD tech is expensive given the specs data), unless they're ready to take a hit on revenues.
With full backward compat and game pass, Ms has some cards to play, because oh boy, Launch console + launch game will not make your bank account happy

 

[Amnixia]

Honestly, with the show being generally well received (I also liked it) the price not being revealed is probably a good thing.

Talks about costs would dominate online.

 

[skeezx]

it's a recession so i don't think there's any "sweetening the deal", either you're willing to bite into the shit sandwich or not

 

[Eeyore]

400 digital edition
500 disc edition

Yes a UHD disc drive now is like 20 bucks but Sony makes way more money on digital games than disc ones, I feel like they'll bite the bullet. Could be wrong.

 

[Soviet]

They're just waiting for Microsoft to announce it so they know if they need to undercut

Click to shrink...

And Microsoft is waiting for Sony, so we will never know the price, even when buying it!

 

[Atheerios]

399 digital , 499 disc is my prediction

Click to shrink...

Yup, this is a good price prediction. Sony will probably be willing to sell the digital version at a loss in the beginning.

 

[Deleted member 25128]

400 digital edition
500 disc edition

Yes a UHD disc drive now is like 20 bucks but Sony makes way more money on digital games than disc ones, I feel like they'll bite the bullet. Could be wrong.

Click to shrink...

Does that not then make the disk version seem less price competitive? or should I say more of a rip off to consumers. Its an interesting point and one thats going to be difficult to tell users, hey pay $100 more for a $20 disk drive. Unless it can play other media, such as PS3/PS2 games.

 

[Ewaan]

I think Sony will go aggressive with the digital console because of what it means for buying software from them directly.

$349 PS5DE
$499 PS5

 

[Xando]

I mean there is no sugarcoating they (and MS) are launching expensive pieces of hardware during a recession.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

I agree that it seems no one wants to be first, but they both cant wait until release :D someone has to say something, so at some point you have to believe your price point. Relying just on your competitor saying something and trying to match or undercut doesn't sound like a sensible plan?

Click to shrink...

Don't forget, Sony is the company that pulled these price/marketing stunts:





You don't have to be sensible to be successful. These were both after competitor announcements too. This ain't their first rodeo in the price wars.

 

[JusDoIt]

400 digital edition
500 disc edition

Yes a UHD disc drive now is like 20 bucks but Sony makes way more money on digital games than disc ones, I feel like they'll bite the bullet. Could be wrong.

Click to shrink...

I hope this is the strategy, but I think that's only the case if the Series X is $450.

 

[BoxManLocke]

I was watching Eurogamers review of the Sony event, and it was pretty good anyway they were suggesting that it was strange that Sony didn't mention price

Click to shrink...

It wasn't though.

The price belongs in a presentation showing off the OS features and a deep dive into the hardware, not after what was shown on Thursday.

$449 Digital and $499 Standard is pretty much a given now.

 

[Eeyore]

Does that not then make the disk version seem less price competitive? or should I say more of a rip off to consumers. Its an interesting point and one thats going to be difficult to tell users, hey pay $100 more for a $20 disk drive.

Click to shrink...

It's a good point and not one which I can adequately make a counterpoint. I'd also say, less moving parts in a machine will mean less parts to fail.

 

[jroc74]

Can't believe you almost said shit in the title.

They're waiting until Microsoft reveal price, if they can avoid selling at a loss or reduced profit they are going to.

Click to shrink...

This.

I think both companies are thinking the exact same thing. Sadly, one of them needs to go first for the other to react.

 

[Deleted member 25128]

Don't forget, Sony is the company that pulled these price/marketing stunts:

You don't have to be sensible to be successful. These were both after competitor announcements too. This ain't their first rodeo in the price wars.

Click to shrink...

Appreciate thats what they did last gen, but now MS are aware of that strategy, and now neither want to announce price... LOL :D

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

400 digital edition
500 disc edition

Yes a UHD disc drive now is like 20 bucks but Sony makes way more money on digital games than disc ones, I feel like they'll bite the bullet. Could be wrong.

Click to shrink...

There's no way the digital releases with less than 1.5 TB SSD, and that will balloon the price significantly.

 

[Nooblet]

I still believe it's gonna be $499 and that's perfectly fine. There's no shock to reduce.


No way a simple optical drive makes it cost $100 less. At best it's a $50 difference.

Click to shrink...

There's no point making 2 different SKUs priced so similarly, while it makes the disc ver look more appealing it also negates (to some extent) the time and effort put into making a disc less SKU. They'll more than likely eat the cost on the digital ver and make money from digital sales as they make more from it by way of bigger cut and also fewer discounts/price cuts.

 

[JediTimeBoy]

e. none of the above.

 

[Eeyore]

There's no way the digital releases with less than 1.5 TB SSD, and that will balloon the price significantly.

Click to shrink...

Someone can correct me but I'm pretty sure Jim Ryan confirmed they both have the same size SSD which is 825 gb.

 

[BlueManifest]

They're just waiting for Microsoft to announce it so they know if they need to undercut

Click to shrink...

So if Microsoft says 400$ Sony will sell ps5 for 350?

 

[Yuntu]

Its a game of Chicken.

 

[Sander VF]

So you're telling me that I can buy a PS5 for a shit sandwich?

Brb, gotta take some bread to the latrine

 

[Xando]

No way a simple optical drive makes it cost $100 less. At best it's a $50 difference.

Click to shrink...

They can be way more agressive on pricing of the digital version because they make way more money with it.

 

[Zultima]

I think smart move is price digital at $400 and disc $500 (maybe even $550,). They'll lose money on digital edition but enthusiasts who want disc drive will pay the surcharge and they can make up some ground there. Plus they definitely want to push digital cause they make more $ that way versus physical I imagine.

 

[JasoNsider]

I don't think it really has to do with Microsoft. It's just a generally bad idea to reveal your price early unless your price is so good that it's a bulletpoint feature. With most premium products the price is certainly not one of the best features about it. Wait until later, so the discussion can actually be about what this thing is and the quality of the lineup.

 

[Sprat]

if its going to be high, which is expected, why not put it at the end of a good event.

Click to shrink...

Because they'll have a better 'launch games'. Event that is more focused on what you can do day 1 with details of the os/BC & price

 

[jroc74]

Someone can correct me but I'm pretty sure Jim Ryan confirmed they both have the same size SSD which is 825 gb.

Click to shrink...

He did, its in a recent interview. Only difference is the disc drive.

 

[PintSizedSlasher]

If they had a $399 product between the two SKUs we would have already seen the price.

So $499 is probably a minimum.

Click to shrink...

Not necessarily. If Microsoft is coming out with 2 SKUs as well, Sony needs to be competitive with the cheaper version also.

 

[Deleted member 25128]

It's a good point and not one which I can adequately make a counterpoint. I'd also say, less moving parts in a machine will mean less parts to fail.

Click to shrink...

I edited my post while you were replying on a potential thought, but the only thing that would make up for a $50-$100 price difference would be the ability to play Ps1-P3 disks... I cant see how they could justify a bigger than $50 price cut on a digital only device. As people have said its better for Sony cost wise to get people to buy digital as they make more money but anything over $50 would seem like a rip off... I am so conflicted on this haha :)

 

[don't answer that]

Well, if you're about to get the console at launch, then it shouldn't matter if it's 399,- or 599,-. Who cares about the 200,- if you're going to keep it for the next 5-7 years?