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PS5 Pro at $700: ‘Lack of Competition’ Made It an ‘Easier Decision’ for Sony to Run With Higher Price

Senua

Gold Member


Perhaps the biggest talking point from Sony’s PS5 Pro reveal is its price. At $700 and without a disc drive or stand, the PS5 Pro has sparked vociferous debate online about whether Sony is justified in setting such a high price for the mid-gen upgrade. IGN readers have already had their say on the PS5 Pro's $700 cost, but what’s enabled Sony to be so bold with its pricing?



According to one prominent analyst, there are a number of factors that have contributed to Sony going for $700 (and, relatively, even higher in Europe and Japan). Piers Harding-Rolls, games industry analyst at Ampere, said the PS5 Pro pricing reflects Sony’s adjusted strategy to protect its margin (that is, it is unwilling to sell consoles at a loss), supply chain inflation, and, crucially, “a lack of direct competitor to its mid-cycle upgrade compared to last generation (where Microsoft was preparing the Xbox One X).”

“The lack of competition means it is an easier decision for Sony to run with a higher price point to protect its existing margins,” Harding-Rolls added. “For most prospective PS5 consumers, the standard edition will represent the value sweet spot."

Ah yes. Your thoughts?


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Euler007

Member
It's not lack of competition, it's purchasing power of the clientele allowed them to increase the cost of the bill of material and aim higher. I thought it would be 1TB and I would add 2TB in there, turns out I probably won't need to do that. I'll just move my 1TB expansion from my original to my pro, because you know the Kijiji crowd would expect me to throw that in for 20$ or less when I sell my launch unit.
 
Since Xbox 360 all Xbox had to do with make good games
3 generations in and now their strategy is to buy everything and release on other platforms since they basically gave up.
For the last 5 years Phil said the games are coming but when the games actually came now they are also releasing slowly but surely on ps.
Microsoft gaming division should be taught in business schools on how not to do business.
This is the reason Sony is arrogant enough to charge us 700 for a mid gen refresh because their competition is brain dead
 

Portugeezer

Member
Remember the magical competition in which MS also increased the X Series prices like Sony did the PS5? Why didn't MS "compete" with a lower price?

Even the richest company in the world couldn't justify subsidising ridiculous amounts per console...

The difference/value to the base PS5 price is what matters.
 

HeisenbergFX4

Gold Member
So many people here celebrating when Xbox would fail over the years, but the reality is that this is the result we get when Sony has no competition.
Many knew this would happen, many warned people we needed Xbox to keep Sony pricing in check and a lot of people continued to cheer Xbox demise and want them out of the hardware business yet here we are now people want to complain about the pricing of the pro
 

Spitfire098

Member
The same competition that also raised game prices to 70/game, raised subscription prices, raised console prices, etc.

The competition is doing the exact same thing albeit at a slower pace sometimes
 

ProtoByte

Weeb Underling
I think Microsoft pushing a 600 dollar Series X, low selling as it is already, indicates that this is less about a lack of competition and more about manufacturing cost.

Many knew this would happen, many warned people we needed Xbox to keep Sony pricing in check and a lot of people continued to cheer Xbox demise and want them out of the hardware business yet here we are now people want to complain about the pricing of the pro
I continue to cheer it. Xbox's demise is entirely of their own doing. They've been making poor decisions and fucking over their consoles for over a decade. They attempted to buy out huge chunks of the industry and leverage their megalithic vertical to change the baseline dynamics of the business to the detriment of the actual quality of games.

Higher performance = higher prices, and it's a far better alternative to an industry ran by subscription fiat.

All you can hope for is that Nintendo, a company actually somewhat interested and skilled in making games, starts to bite into Sony's lunch a little more with the Switch 2.
 

Taycan77

Neophyte
Well, no shit.

But as a PS5 early adopter I am ready for a new machine and willing to pay a premium. For those that aren’t there’s still the base PS5.

Without a PS5 Pro I’d be looking at the PC market even though it’s not ideal for my needs. I’m happy to trade in my PS5 and put £400 towards a PS5 Pro. It will get at least 4 years use which I see as good value.

I also expect many Xbox Series X early adopters to jump on the PS5 Pro. They’re attracted by the tech and likewise will be ready to upgrade.
Many knew this would happen, many warned people we needed Xbox to keep Sony pricing in check and a lot of people continued to cheer Xbox demise and want them out of the hardware business yet here we are now people want to complain about the pricing of the pro
As a consumer it’s cheaper for me to play Xbox titles on PS5 rather than investing in two pieces of hardware and ecosystems.
 
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Ovech-King

Member
If you look at it the way that it’s half the price of an equivalent pc, proprietary super sampling + access to PlayStation exclusives , it’s a fairly good deal actually . Don’t look at it from a previous console price point of view but actual current value 🤙
 
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Jaybe

Gold Member
Sony saved gamers money by beating Microsoft into submission and getting them to put their games on PlayStation. Now they only need one console. 😆
 
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Seiryu21

Neo Member
I don't think Xbox having a pro would make much difference. They could under cut the pro in price but they would just end up losing money and it would be pointless for them ultimately.
 

Sephimoth

Member
True, its nothing people haven't been saying before though. Lack of competition is bad.

The most annoying part of this is that MS has just gotten to a place where they can (if they had sense) really compete- they have all these top studios. But what did they decide to do with this power?

Turn into cucks and start releasing their games on the competing platform as well
 
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Ebrietas

Member
Yes, because MS has historically driven down the cost of gaming hardware and services.

Oh wait, no that never happened.

A hypothetical xbox series pro would also cost $700 or even more.

The reality despite all these stupid "woe is me why is there no competition for Sony!" articles is that MS did compete. For 20 years. They made a shitty console and trash games and a bogus rental service that nobody but the diehard fanboys wanted. This is the result. This is exactly how competition works. Nobody owes them their hard earned money.

If MS isn't good enough to compete in this business and if Sony is apparently offering such a terrible deal and ripping consumers off, then someone else has a golden opportunity to jump in.
 
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