Valve did not subsidize the Steam Machine’s price either, and Sony may offer only minimal support for PlayStation 6 pricing as well.
The launch of the PlayStation 6 could arrive during one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, periods for consumer technology. Rising component prices, especially for RAM and SSDs, are making it extremely hard for manufacturers to keep costs under control.
With the bill of materials now approaching $1,000, there is a very good chance that the console will cost considerably more than most people expected. Sony has added fuel to that speculation, strongly implying during a recent investor Q&A that it will not heavily subsidize the system’s price.
“We regard hardware as the foundation for delivering a gaming experience, and by offering products such as the PlayStation Portal Remote Player, or PS Portal, we aim to provide experiences tailored to users’ playing styles beyond the living room, which has traditionally been viewed as the primary environment for use.
As for pricing, it is not realistic for us to absorb all increases in component costs ourselves, which is why we have already implemented several price increases outside Japan. At present, however, sales are proceeding according to plan, and we do not believe this has reduced customer demand.
As a principle, we do not intend to sell hardware at a significant loss. At the same time, we are carefully monitoring the market and continually evaluating our strategy. We believe it is important to do everything we can to ensure that customers fully understand the value we provide in relation to pricing.” a Sony representative replied to a question about hardware pricing and profitability.
While it is unsurprising that Sony does not intend to sell hardware at a major loss, many have wondered whether the company would go one step further to ensure that the PlayStation 6 stays below the $1,000 threshold. Such a price would exclude a substantial part of the typical console-buying audience.
The mention of PlayStation Portal is nevertheless interesting, because it may suggest that instead of heavily subsidizing the PlayStation 6, the Japanese manufacturer is searching for other ways to bring players into the next generation without forcing consumers to accept the enormous prices created by the AI boom.
The rumored PlayStation 6 handheld could be a solid entry point into the next generation, although rising component costs will certainly affect its own price. A newer, more advanced version of PlayStation Portal and better cloud gaming support could also offer solutions to the current market conditions, which do not appear likely to improve anytime soon.
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