Costly parts may push Sony’s PlayStation 5 to retail at $470 – nearly $100 more than its predecessor

Costly parts may push Sony’s PlayStation 5 to retail at at least $470 – nearly $100 more than its predecessor

  • The PlayStation 5 may end up costing at least $470 due to expensive parts
  • A report suggest Sony may have to pay $450 to manufacture every unit
  • Expensive and in-demand flash memory will contribute to the cost 

Sony’s next home console may be set for a significant price increase over its best-selling predecessor. 

According to a report from Bloomberg which cites sources familiar with the matter, the PlayStation 5’s use of in-demand flash memory components may increase the cost of manufacturing to $450, meaning the console will likely retail for at least $470.

As noted by Bloomberg, the PlayStation 4 – Sony’s current iteration of game console – first retailed for $399 and reportedly costs the company about $380 to manufacture. 

Sony may have a lot planned for its next-generation console, but the price will be difficult to balance given high power processors and more expensive flash memory

Just how high Sony will be able to push its price for the PlayStation 5 will be contingent on its direct competitor, Microsoft, which is planning to release its next generation Xbox around the same time.

Xbox is calling its next generation the ‘Series X’ and claims it it will be the most powerful console ever released. There’s no current pricing but the company says it will be released this year.

Behind the PlayStation5’s price increase, according to Bloomberg, is an increased demand for DRAM and NAND flash memory which are being used with greater regularity int the smart phone market.

The console will also use a more expensive cooling system to help mitigate the heat generated by higher-powered processors and according to Bloomberg, those systems will cost a few dollars for each unit.

Bloomberg notes that cooling systems typically cost less than a dollar per unit. 

Maintaining a reasonable price for the console will work directly against newly promised features that promise to make the PlayStation 5 better than its predecessors.

During a presentation by Sony Interactive Entertainment last year an executive showed off the PlayStation 5’s super fast load times, which are enable by an all new solid state drive built into the device.

The PlayStation 5’s advanced graphics card and processors also allow the device to support 8K graphics, in addition to 3D audio according to prior reports. 

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