PlayStation 5: Why PS5's Price Is Taking So Long To Announce
The PlayStation 5 has been promised to release by this year’s holiday season, but with that just a few months away, Sony has still yet to confirm the price of the next-gen console. There are several reasons that may explain why Sony is waiting to reveal the official price of the PS5, and Microsoft’s reluctance to confirm the price of the Xbox Series X may have a lot to do with it.
Previously, it’s been suggested that the delay in revealing the price of the next-gen consoles has to do with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A report by Bloomberg, for instance, specifically claimed that the pandemic was creating manufacturing issues for the PS5. As certain materials have become harder to access amid trade and travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s upped the manufacturing price of the console and thereby the market price.
While the COVID-19 crisis has likely caused unprecedented challenges for the manufacturing of the next-gen console, it may not be the only reason for the delay in PS5's price reveal. Rather, Sony may be strategically waiting in order to not be one-upped by its competitor.
It appears as though both Microsoft and Sony may be waiting to reveal the price of their consoles in hopes that the other will make an announcement first. Their consoles are in direct competition with each other, and for buyers choosing between buying one of the two, the price may be the deciding factor. So, making sure they’re offering the most attractive price will be the key to being successful during the holiday season, and the company that reveals their price last will have a significant advantage.
Daemon Hatfield, host and executive producer of IGN’s Next-Gen Console Watch 2020, recently shared information from an alleged insider source, who claims Sony and Microsoft are engaged in a “game of chicken.” A game of chicken is a concept in conflict theory that occurs when both parties avoid a decision in hopes of negating less-than-ideal outcomes and looking like a chicken or coward. Hatfield explained, "I reached out to a well-connected Microsoft person... and just asked them, based on their experience and what they know and what they hear, is it just this the game of chicken... that it seems to be, of just one [company] not wanting to get one-upped by another? And this person thought, basically, yes."
If it’s true that Microsoft and Sony are engaged in a game of chicken, and are thus waiting for each other to reveal the price first, it could be a while before gamers learn the price of the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Estimates have put the PS5’s price anywhere between $450-500, which is an increase from the PS4’s debut price of $399.999. With the holiday season quickly approaching, both Microsoft and Sony have to prepare to release their prices sooner than later, but the big question remains: which one will cave and share the news first, the Xbox Series X or the PlayStation 5?