Supposedly, Sony is having trouble agreeing on a price for the PS5 (PlayStation 5). The manufacturing of smartphones seems to play a role in this.
What is the problem? Allegedly, the manufacturing costs per console of the PlayStation 5 are already around 450 dollars per unit. This causes difficulties in determining a sale price to compete with Microsoft’s Xbox Series X. Both consoles are set to be released for the Christmas season and will compete against each other. This is reported by Bloomberg.com, referencing insider information.
Actually, Sony would normally set a price back in February of the release year and would then start mass production in spring. With the PS5, they are reportedly waiting for now.
What does this mean for the price of the PS5? Bloomberg compared the prices with the PS4. It was sold in stores for 399 US dollars and had estimated manufacturing costs of 381 US dollars. If the same applies to the PS5, the price would have to be around 470 US dollars.
It is not unusual for consoles to be sold at or near a loss. Subscription services and game prices would make up for this.
However, sources report that Sony is not yet sure about selling the PS5 at a loss to possibly compete with the Xbox Series X.
What causes the price problems? It appears that the reason for the issues is a shortage of DRAM and NAND flash memory components. This is reported by Bloomberg. Both are also used in the latest smartphones.
The new 5G models are equipped with much more memory. The newly announced Galaxy S20 is said to utilize at least 12GB of RAM. Due to this high demand, the prices of these components could rise.
Most components of the PS5 are already secured, it is said. This includes the cooling system, which unusually costs a few dollars per piece. Normally, one would pay less than a dollar per piece here, but Sony seems to want to play it “safe” and ensure that the heat from the processors does not become a problem.
