PlayStation ending physical PS5 discs may keep PS6 price under $1000, argues analyst

Critics of PlayStation’s shift away from physical games claim it’s about maximizing profits. Still, industry analyst Piers Harding-Rolls suggests abandoning PS5 discs may benefit affordability. The company could use the added income to subsidize its next console and keep the PS6 price reasonable.

GamesRadar+ reported on a paywalled interview with Harding-Rolls at Edge Magazine. The Head of Games Research at Ampere Analysis believes that Sony prioritizing the PlayStation Store was inevitable:

Sales of physical games are pushing more revenue out of the ecosystem of Sony and its publishing partners, and they're the ones that are bearing the cost.

The gaming giant and publishers can avoid the expense of printing and shipping PS5 discs. Yet with digital games, the PlayStation Store earns a commission instead of brick-and-mortar stores taking a cut.

Looking ahead to the PS6 release date, the console could be exclusively digital. The manufacturer can support backward compatibility and physical-game collectors with an optical-drive add-on. Even so, lacking next-gen titles on Blu-rays, a disc-less system would dominate hardware sales. With over 80% of Sony’s game sales now digital, the PS5 follow-up is positioned to capitalize on that split.

It’s debatable how PlayStation might allocate any extra income. One option is to enhance the specs of its next gaming machine. That said, the storage and memory shortage already threaten to inflate the PS6 price. Harding-Rolls argues that if it debuts at $1000+, “you are starting to limit your audience quite significantly.”

Making the PS6 accessible

According to the analyst, executives face the dilemma of launching the system at a “reasonable price point.” Bypassing a disc drive would only modestly reduce its MSRP. Sony may need to subsidize the console even more than its predecessor.

When the PS5 emerged in 2020, its maker admitted that it was taking losses on the hardware. The company sought to compensate through software sales and subscription services like PlayStation Plus. In recent years, revenue from these sectors has steadily grown. The rise of digital games promises to boost profits further.

The alternative is for Sony to simply pocket the gains. It could then market the PS6 to enthusiasts or delay its release date while prolonging the PS5 generation.