It’s tipped to launch later this month, but a new report suggests that Sony is battling to keep the Playstation 5 price down.
The report, by Bloomberg, cites ‘people with knowledge of the matter’, and indicates that scarce components have pushed up the manufacturing costs for the console to $450/unit.
It explained: “The PS4, released in 2013 at a retail price of $399, was estimated by IHS Markit to cost $381 to manufacture.
“With the $450 unit cost and a similar gross margin, the PlayStation 5’s retail price would have to be at least $470.
“That would be a hard sell to consumers, considering Sony’s most expensive machine now is the $399.99 PS4 Pro and is often discounted.”
According to Bloomberg, Sony’s biggest struggle is ensuring a reliable supply of DRAM and NAND flash memory, which are both in high demand from smartphone makers.
Sony declined to comment.
The report comes shortly after a report by Business Insider warned that the PS5 could be delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Business Insider points to a note from financial services company Jefferies Group, which indicates that Sony may not hit its goal of a release in Holiday 2020.
The note said: “The video game sector is currently manufacturing, or beginning to, a once-in-several-years' product generation change for the 2020 holiday season.
“If [company] shutdowns exceed a month or so, game schedules will be delayed. New consoles may likewise suffer supply issues from a prolonged disruption, ahead of their Fall 2020 planned launches.”
