The price of Sony’s next PlayStation has become a hotly debated topic, as analysts compete with each other to predict the exact figure. Numbers have ranged quite considerably, with some being as low as US$399 and others hitting closer to US$1,000. A recent PS5 price placeholder for a Swedish retailer made the news because it implied a cost of 9,999 krona (~US$1,054) for the device.
The well-known website CHIP.de has offered its German-speaking audience the opportunity to state what would be the most money they would be willing to cough up for a PlayStation 5. At the time of writing, CHIP’s survey had over 5,800 participants, with the €600 figure apparently being the magic number. It appears some hopeful types have voted for €100, whereas the more realistic PS5 price observers seem to have plumped for between €400 and €600 (~US$448 and US$672).
Taking the result of the survey into account, if Sony prices its PlayStation 5 below €600 then it should encourage healthy sales, as many gamers will be pleased that the console hasn’t exceeded their maximum spending limit. There is a very sharp decline visible in the survey graph from €600 to €700, which suggests a price for the PS5 in this region or higher would not be a prudent decision for Sony’s executives to make.
However, it is important to consider the general status of the people taking part in the survey. Having custom-made Ryzen and Navi components from AMD and a super-fast SSD justify quite a high launch price for the PlayStation 5, but to maximize sales Sony has to factor in variables such as the competition and each particular market. Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) state that household net adjusted disposable incomes for the USA and Germany are very high, at US$45,284 and US$34,294, respectively. But gamers in Brazil (US$12,701) and South Africa (US$11,592) are less likely to be willing to pay as much.
Source(s)
Chip.de (in German)