While prospective PS5 owners might be crossing their fingers and are awaiting a price drop for Sony’s latest piece of gaming hardware, the reality of the situation may soon be the opposite. The market is talking at the moment with Meta recently increasing the retail price of their Meta Quest 2 headset by $100 USD, while scuttlebutt suggests that other tech companies are also re-assessing their pricing models. This is all a result of the semi-conductor shortages worldwide as well as other factors such as manufacturing and distribution prices increasing. Within the gaming space, all eyes are on the platform holders to see how they will act. Sony in particular has extra focus upon them due to the impending launch of their PS VR2 peripheral for the PS5.
Due it’s most recent earnings call, Sony executives were pressed on the pricing point of the PS5, and while a price increase was not announced, it also wasn’t shut down either. Executive deputy president and chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki stated when asked about the possibility of an increase in the price-point of the PS5, “About a potential price increase for the PS5, at this point in time there is nothing specific I can share with you about prices”
Demand for the necessary parts remains high, not just for the PS5, but for other platforms and non-gaming related technologies as well, meanwhile, world issues like the Russia-Ukraine war have placed further strain on supply, while the skyrocketing price of energy in turn elevates the price of manufacturing – a price that eventually must be passed on to the consumer.
PlayStation’s next hardware launch will be the PS VR2, which the company recently revealed further detail about via the PlayStation Blog last week, including comments on the UI, the headset’s broadcasting features, the platform’s see-through feature, and much more. The PS VR2 doesn’t have a release date yet.
