The PlayStation 5 isn’t going to be unveiled anytime soon, yet we keep seeing an increased number of reports detailing its features. Sony already confirmed some of them, including backwards compatibility and ultra-fast SSD storage, while AMD went on record to say it’s making the new chips that will power the PS5.
While we’ll have to wait a while longer for an official announcement, a new report already offers predictions about the console’s price and launch date.
Ace Research Institute analyst Hideki Yasuda said the console will cost $499 when it launches in November 2020, according to WinFuture. That certainly sounds in line with what we’d expect from Sony. The PlayStation 4 launched in mid-November 2013 in North America, with an initial price tag of $399. The PS4 was discounted in the years that followed, with the PS4 Pro, which launched in November three years after the PS4, getting the same $399 price at launch.
The PS5 is expected to deliver several significant upgrades over the PS4 and PS4 Pro, which would explain the higher cost. The November launch, meanwhile, makes a lot of sense, given that Sony will be targeting the holiday season.
The analyst expects Sony to sell some six million units in the first fiscal year ending in March 2021, and an additional 15 million units in the following year. Yasuda sees the Xbox Two as the new PlayStation’s main competitor. The recently announced Google Stadia streaming platform apparently isn’t a serious competitor to traditional consoles like the PS5, according to the same analyst.
That said, Yasuda’s comments should be taken with the appropriate dose of salt. While the November 2020 launch window does sound plausible, there’s no way to verify the console’s price at this time. And Sony won’t be sharing details in the near future, as it doesn’t plan to unveil the console at E3 2019.
