Sony Hints at PS6 Portable; Says It’s “Not Realistic” for Them to Absorb “All Component Cost Increases” When It Comes to Price
With the Steam Machine costing an ungodly amount, and Microsoft raising the Xbox Series X|S price point, some might be wondering what Sony has planned for its next-gen console, which we presume will be called the PS6.
While the company can’t comment on the price point, what they shared was a bit worrying and echoes the high component cost felt around the world today.
Even if Sony isn’t ready to talk about the PS6 just yet, the company did hint that the rumors about the next-gen console being portable might be true.
Don’t Expect Sony to Lose Money on the PS6
In past console generations, it was standard practice for console manufacturers like Sony to lose money on each console sold. They would then make up the loss with software sales, since, y’know, people needed to buy games to play on their machines.
That won’t be the case for the PS6. In a Q&A held at a meeting based around Sony’s Game & Network Services division, the electronics giant was asked about their current thinking regarding hardware pricing and profitability.
Q: Considering consumer behavior, could you update us on your current thinking regarding hardware pricing and profitability? For the next-generation platform, is it reasonable to assume that your pricing will continue to prioritize profitability of the hardware, as it does today?
Sony’s answer didn’t paint a picture of an affordable next-gen hardware, as the company said, “As for pricing, it is not realistic for us to absorb all component cost increases, and we have already implemented some price increases outside Japan. At present, however, sales are proceeding as planned, and we do not believe 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. We believe it is important for us to make every effort to ensure that customers fully understand the value we provide in relation to pricing.”
PS6 Portable Teased by Sony
In that same answer, Sony also hinted at the PS6 being portable, stating, “we regard hardware as the base for providing the gaming experience, and by offering products such as the PlayStation Portal Remote Player (PS Portal), we aim to provide experiences tailored to users’ play styles beyond the living room, which has traditionally been considered the primary usage environment.”
While the PS6 has no release frame yet, most educated guesses peg it as being planned for release sometime in 2027. However, given the high cost of components, no one is expecting it to be cheap. This could translate to a longer PS5 generation, since a lot of gamers might to be so willing to spend $1,000 or more on a console.
In other PS6 news, Sony has yet to decided on a final price and release date for the next-gen console.
As added reading, our own findings unearthed info on the PS6’s cloud streaming, machine learning and even a horror game in development.
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