How Much Money Will The PS5 Cost?
Sony's next-generation console has yet to receive an official announcement via a gaming convention, a teaser trailer, or even a press conference. Instead, the team behind its development did an interview with Wired Magazine back in April 2019, in which they gave a few details about the system but were otherwise very tight-lipped about what to expect. Judging by past iterations, it would only make sense to call this console the PlayStation 5 (which is why we're doing that). Unfortunately, one of the details left out of that Wired interview was exactly how much the PS5 would cost.
Luckily, looking at past trends can give us a pretty solid guess at an answer to this question.
The new PlayStation 5 promises to add some lucrative upgrades to your gaming experience that will make it well worth every penny you'll have to spend. With a custom 3D audio unit, a ridiculously fast SSD, and an 8-core AMD CPU, this machine will be fast, efficient, and sleek. It will also be backwards compatible with all PS4 titles; something that was a bit of a sore spot at the launch of the PS4. Because the PS2 was backwards compatible and some versions of the PS3 were also, many fans assumed the PS4 would share this same feature. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case, and it seems that Sony is making amends for that oversight with its new model.
How much will all of these amazing perks set you back?
The PlayStation 4 was originally priced at $399.99 at launch. While this price point did change a bit when the PS4 Slim was introduced at $299.99 and the PS4 Pro debuted at $399.99, these numbers give us a good starting point for what to expect from the PS5. When taking inflation and new technology into account, we can pretty safely say that the PS5 will be more expensive than its predecessors. With the console being packed with new features and new technology, it only makes sense that it wouldn't be released at $399.99.
Bearing this in mind, though, Sony will also want to ensure that its sales look good right out of the gate. This means that if they price their console too high, fewer people will buy it, and its release numbers will look underwhelming to the public. Trying to maintain realistic expectations from both the consumer and Sony themselves, it's likely that the PS5 will be about $499.99 when it's released. And while there are possibilities for special bundles that include VR for a much higher price, the base price will likely stay a bit more reasonable.
So there you have it: our best guess for how much money the PS5 will cost at launch. Look for a next-gen system from Sony coming in at $499.99, making it both premium yet still affordable. If the console comes in either lower or higher, however, we'll be sure to let you know.