New PlayStation 5 price rumor has the next-gen console approaching US$500

Sources speaking to BNN Bloomberg have indicated that the tricky acquisition of certain parts for the upcoming PlayStation 5 console will cause the device’s final price to be higher than expected. Although US$499 has already been mentioned as a potential price for the PS5, there will be plenty who want Sony to keep the price lower than that. However, manufacturing costs will now apparently be at around US$450 per unit, with Sony slapping on its own margin on top of that.

It seems there is a lot of competition between smartphone OEMs and companies like Sony for getting enough DRAM and NAND memory stock. With the parts becoming rarer, the prices start rising, which is why the PS5 could cost between US$470 and US$500. It’s possible Sony might want to absorb some of the cost upon the release of its next PlayStation console to provide as much competition as possible against the Xbox Series X and encourage gamers to choose the PS5.

The report is based on information from unnamed sources, with Sony still not revealing what the final price of the PS5 will be. It is possible there will be a variety of consoles based on the storage size of the SSD, with a cheaper or more expensive model being made available to customers who either cannot afford a US$500 price tag or are happy to pay an even higher price for a larger SSD.