We have been tracking down every company that’s been facing an impact due to the Coronavirus outbreak and while there is no one unaffected by it, some are more affected than the others. Talking about the more affected companies, Sony and Microsoft come to mind. Because of the fact that they will both be launching their next-gen gaming consoles namely the PS5 and the Xbox Series X later this year. While it is still said that Sony and Microsoft are on track to launch their devices later this year, we have some bad news for people looking to buy the Sony PS5.
While the specs of both the Xbox Series X and Sony PS5 are great, that is also bad news for many. As we all know that great specifications don’t come for cheap and both the companies are looking to load their gaming consoles with the fastest RAM, SSD and processors possible. So Bloomberg reports that Sony is already expecting the demand for its PlayStation 5 to be lower for the first year because of the higher price tag. It is reported that Sony’s PS5 will be sold at $500-$550 per unit which is much higher than the PS4 series.
Due to that reason, Sony is looking to produce fewer units of the gaming console in the first year than it had planned earlier. However, it is mentioned that COVID-19 has not affected the production capacity of the company and they can still make a large number of units if needed. Reportedly, Sony has told its assembly partners to make “5 to 6 million units of the PS5 in the fiscal year ending March 2021”. This is much lower than the 7.5 million units of PS4 devices Sony sold in the first six months after launch seven years ago.
It is also said that part of Sony’s strategy is to cut the price of its PS4 and PS4 Pro once the PS5 launches in limited numbers so as to get as many subscribers to its PlayStation Plus membership program as possible. The company is also looking forward to the recurring revenue rather than one-time hardware sells according to people familiar with the matter. Also, the report says that Sony was “forced to reveal” its DualSense controller for the PS5 in “a hurried fashion”.
The report adds that only a “small circle” of people within Sony are aware of PS5 console’s appearance. Although the console’s design has also been shared with outside developers, they are worried about not being able to control leaks. It is believed that both Sony and Microsoft could see their respective consoles sold at a loss if the price is set at $450 per unit.
