According to a certain source, Sony Interactive Entertainment is planning to build a limited number of PlayStation 5 units only for the first year.
PlayStation 5 will only have limited numbers
Sony is planning to produce only fewer units for next year because of the unit’s ambitious specs, which is quite demanding. They want the console to have a high price at launch. COVID-19 has also affected the promotional plans for the upcoming console system. They clarified production capacity has not been deterred by the pandemic, but the reason was entirely different.
The gaming company just told its assembly partners that it would only produce 5 to 6 million units of the console system in the fiscal year that ends on March 2021. For comparison, PS4 last November 2013 sold 7.5 million units in its first two quarters.
The reason why it is rumored that the PS5 will be more expensive than initially thought is because of its expensive components and Sony needs to balance it all out when it comes to expenses. Some game developers think that the unit will cost $499 to $549.
According to the sources who are familiar with Sony’s upcoming plans stated that the company’s strategy is to depend first on the recent PS4 units and make it as a bridge to get new users. These users would then try out the PlayStation’s network services. PS5, on the other hand, will continue to be of limited supply in the meantime.
There could be plans for cutting the current price of the PS4 when the PS5 units are distributed and sold worldwide even if it is with limited supply. This would entice new users to subscribe for the PlayStation Plus membership program and PlayStation Now. Chief executive officer Kenichiro Yoshida did state previously that they would want to focus more on recurring revenue rather than one-time hardware purchases.
This could all change though depending on the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. Sony has asked its employees to work from home in order to stop the spread of the virus, which is why they were unable to meet to approve business plans for this fiscal year. It could be pushed back. Everything could change, we will just have to wait and see what happens.
Source: Bloomberg
