The Japanese machine is scheduled for the end of the year, but not all its plans have been uncovered.
One of the great factors to consider when purchasing a new console is the price, not only for the players, but also for the company itself. A bad decision in that regard can damage the future of the product. However, just under a year for the launch of PlayStation 5, Sony has not yet determined the final price of the machine. At least that has hinted Hiroki Totoki, chief financial officer of Sony, during the shareholders meeting in which the results of the third quarter of fiscal year 2019-2020 have been presented.
One of the shareholders has asked about the factors that the company can control, such as production costs or marketing actions. In response to this question, Totoki has mentioned the idea of a smooth transition to the new generation, while also suggesting that the price of the console has not yet been officially set.
“It is very difficult to comment on the price at the moment. Depending on the price range, we must determine the promotion campaign that we are going to carry out and the costs that we are willing to pay, ”says the manager. According to Totoki, "it is a matter of balance" in which they will take into account that the transition is sweet. "We mean that we will definitely choose the optimal approach and try to balance it as best as possible so that it is profitable during the life of the product."
Control and services
The company has emphasized the importance of controlling labor and the cost of personnel. In that sense, Totoki points to the need to control production and sales in order to market the number of units suitable for launch. Services will be a crucial part of the transition, as PlayStation Plus has achieved the highest subscriber peak since its launch. The challenge is to move that community to the new console.
PlayStation 4 has experienced a reduction in the pace of its sales, although it has already exceeded 102 million consoles sold. PS5, meanwhile, is kept secret. Beyond some specific details about its hardware and capabilities (SSD hard drive and controls with haptic functions), the final design is still unknown. Xbox Series X, however, has already presented how it will look when it goes on sale at the end of 2019.
