Here’s how the PS5 Digital Edition price could in theory be $50 cheaper
Report examines how Sony could pass on savings to consumers
A new report has explained how the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition could in theory be $50 cheaper than the alternative version of the console.
Sony announced a second digital-only PS5 console this month, which sacrifices an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive, likely for a lower price point.
VGC network partner Digital Foundry reports that the bill of materials for the PS5 Digital Edition is thought to be $20 cheaper than it is for the PS5 with a disc drive.
And according to the site’s sources, Sony will receive around $8 for each digital PS5 game purchased.
Assuming each PS5 Digital Edition owner bought four games, and factoring in savings from the removal of the disc drive, Sony could in theory offer the console for $50 cheaper.
Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has said the company is aiming to offer the “the best possible value proposition” with PS5, adding that this doesn’t “necessarily mean lowest price”.
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And asked recently about the motivation behind PS5 Digital Edition, Ryan would not commit to a difference in cost between the two upcoming consoles.
“You’re not going to hear anything on price today,” he told the BBC. “But many of our consumers are purchasing solely digitally these days. We thought that we would do what we typically try and do, and just offer choice.”
According to a Bloomberg report in mid-April, Sony plans to produce “far fewer” PlayStation 5 launch units compared to PS4, due to an expected hit on demand caused by the console’s high price.
The publication had previously claimed Sony was struggling to determine the PlayStation 5 price due to a shortage of components which have resulted in increased manufacturing costs.
Earlier this month retailer Amazon claimed that a PlayStation 5 listing with a £599 price point was “an error.”
An unverified image claiming to show a PlayStation 5 console in a factory setting recently appeared online.
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