Playstation 5 Price Speculation Thread

[Biggzy (Hassan)]

@Colbert

I think the sleepless nights start after the decision if all plays out as planned. Btw regardless of how they decide. Too much loss risks financial plans and the company as a whole vs. less loss but also worse market preposition which could cut into the prognosed sales plan. Regardless what you do, you have to take a beating.

Yeah. In one sense Sony is in an enviable position as the market leader etc, but on the other hand Microsoft appears to be squeezing Sony from both ends on price and either option for Sony comes with caveats.

It goes back to that quote by Albert Panello about for one company the price of the console is a major decision and the other it is a rounding error, I am paraphrasing of course.

[Colbert]

@Biggzy

Yeah. In one sense Sony is in an enviable position as the market leader etc, but on the other hand Microsoft appears to be squeezing Sony from both ends on price and either option for Sony comes with caveats.

It goes back to that quote by Albert Panelo about for one company the price of the console is a major decision and the other it is a rounding error, I am paraphrasing of course.

The name is Albert Penello

[Biggzy (Hassan)]

@Colbert

The name is Albert Penello

Already corrected .

[Shpeshal_Nick]

@Biggzy

I think it was more Microsoft wanted the most powerful console for marketing purposes but knew that would make them more expensive, so engineered another console to capture the more budget oriented from the start. Let’s consider that usually console manufactures capture this end of the market a couple of years into the generation, as they are able to cut costs. Microsoft has essentially skipped this part and gone after it from the start.

What if I told you they could be 399 and still have fucked up lol

They’re just gonna take the hit. Plain and simple.

[Biggzy (Hassan)]

@Shpeshal_Nick

What if I told you they could be 399 and still have fucked up lol

They’re just gonna take the hit. Plain and simple.

In what way lol? That Sony would still be $100 more expensive?

I totally agree that Sony has to take the hit in the end. I don’t care how strong the PlayStation brand is, a $150-$200 difference compared to the Series S is just too much to take on.

[Aetain (Beck)]

@Biggzy

In what way lol? That Sony would still be $100 more expensive?

I totally agree that Sony has to take the hit in the end. I don’t care how strong the PlayStation brand is, a $150-$200 difference compared to the Series S is just too much to take on.

Piggybacking off this to add that while hardcore PS fans are guaranteed income for Sony since they’re gonna buy a PS5 no matter what, they aren’t the only consumers Sony have to consider. For example, parents who want to get a console based off budget and not brand loyalty for their kids and will call it “the Nintendo” no matter which console it is. The people who aren’t “hardcore gamers” entrenched in Camp PlayStation or Camp Xbox are the consumers who will probably turn the tide. Price will play a huge aspect in what they choose to buy and power or looks won’t be a deciding factor, price will.

As for my estimations, I think about US$599 for the PS5, but I honestly have no clue on the digital PS5. I think it’ll be US$350+, but I couldn’t name an exact number.

[zhus (DrZee)]

@Colbert

Playstation pricing left the roam of Sony Interactive Entertainment because the decision to be made is now topic for CEO/CFO of Sony. Taking a huge loss is a risk for Sony in total, so that decision will be analysed from every angle now due to the fact that Playstation is one if two major pillars of income. And even they go down to $399 there is still that effing console that is a) $100 less b) no drive too and much much better looking and smaller. Hard decisions, I can tell.

This is why this is now interesting to me. Navi 10 was the GPU developed for Sony. N7 was available, Zen 1 was available, so Sony could have gone to production is 2019 and it would have been next gen even at 9TF. So what happened, what was their thinking that delayed to advertise a 10TF peak perf? Was the SSD not ready?

[Resist]

I now firmly believe that PS5 has no mesh shaders or vrs, simply because Microsoft mentions it every chance they get, while Sony has yes to mention it. Also the PS5 will definitely cost more than the series x.

[The_Xboxer (Adam)]

@zhus

This is why this is now interesting to me. Navi 10 was the GPU developed for Sony. N7 was available, Zen 1 was available, so Sony could have gone to production is 2019 and it would have been next gen even at 9TF. So what happened, what was their thinking that delayed to advertise a 10TF peak perf? Was the SSD not ready?

They didn’t think MS was able to reach their 12tf target

Sony’s PS5 is indeed 7nm no more, no less

[zhus (DrZee)]

@The_Xboxer

They didn’t think MS was able to reach their 12tf target

Sony’s PS5 is indeed 7nm no more, no less

But this does not answer, why would Sony care if XBOX was 12TF, they would have known that Microsoft would not be able to release in 2019, so they would get a one year advantage.

[The_Xboxer (Adam)]

1st Sony wanted to move their installbase as fast as possible then they might had an issue with BC delaying their plans. Why did they care then at the start of the gen by screaming power and when they released PS4 Pro? Mindshare.

[Biggzy (Hassan)]

@The_Xboxer

They didn’t think MS was able to reach their 12tf target

Sony’s PS5 is indeed 7nm no more, no less

Genuine question here : Both Sony and AMD state the PS5 is based on RDNA2, but RDNA 2 will use the 7nm+ fabrication process, but PS5 is fabricated on 7nm. Isn’t RDNA2 entwined with the fabrication process, therefore doesn’t Sony need to use 7nm+ to technically use RDNA2?

I am no expert in this, so if someone is able to add anything it would be welcome.

[ajcruz14]

Hope they price the Digital Edition pretty competitively. Thinking of getting a PS5 as a secondary console. Funnily enough this would be my first PS console since the PS2.

Although tbh I kinda hate the size and form factor of the PS5. Really hope it isn’t as big assize estimates floating around online.

[Colbert]

@zhus

This is why this is now interesting to me. Navi 10 was the GPU developed for Sony. N7 was available, Zen 1 was available, so Sony could have gone to production is 2019 and it would have been next gen even at 9TF. So what happened, what was their thinking that delayed to advertise a 10TF peak perf? Was the SSD not ready?

I suggest to forget that RDNA 2 and and RDNA 1,x comparison. In the end the console silicon for both consoles is completely custom and if you use one single building block of the RDNA 2 architecture you can call it RDNA 2 based in marketing which Sony and MS do in their marketing.

More important are the actual capabilities that went into hardware. For example RT, we know, that RT benefits from ALU and memory throughput, so it should be clear that this is already an advantage for the SX. Now combine that with VRS and you can get back let’s say 20% of performance you just lost by using RT. Then you can use ML that can claim back another 30% of performance you lost with RT.

We don’t know yet if Sony has the latter two capabilities in their silicon too but if not you will see a massive difference in performance if developers leverage the capabilities combines as described above on Xbox Series consoles.

---

Why Sony did not release in 2019? My best guess is that it was a mix of 2 things. I already mentioned that over a year ago on another forum. BC and Backend service technology was not ready for launch. The lost time was used to upgrade the silicon. But Sony is cuffed to a certain number of CUs due to their HW BC architecture that is not based on a hardware abstraction layer and instead is based on the metal (so to say).

Regarding pricing, as mentioned, that is a completely political decision Sony has to make. Sony has one thing they can count on: Very loyal and very very vocal fans

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On a side note: My advice for those developers that are already stating concerns about the Series S: “Embrace the challenge”.

[Biggzy (Hassan)]

@Colbert

…er 30% of performance you lost with RT. We don’t know yet if Sony has the latter two capabilities in their silicon too but if not you will see a massive difference in performance if developers leverage the capabilities combines as described above on Xbox Series consoles. My advice to developers that are already stating some concerns about the Series S: “Embrace the challenge”. Why Sony did not release in 2019? My best guess is that it was a mix of 2 things. I already mentioned that over a year ago on another forum. BC and Backend service technology was not ready for launch. The lost time was used to upgrade the silicon. But Sony is cuffed to a certain number of CUs due to their HW BC architecture that is not based on a hardware abstraction layer and instead is based on the metal (so to say).

I had to laugh when Cerny explained that they went with a comparatively low CU but high clocks because its better to be small and nimble. Nothing against Cerny, he is clearly very smart and helped design some impressive tech, but that explanation was complete horse wash lol. They went with 36 CU because of how they do BC. If Sony could have, I am pretty sure they would have went MS route.

@ajcruz14

Hope they price the Digital Edition pretty competitively. Thinking of getting a PS5 as a secondary console. Funnily enough this would be my first PS console since the PS2.

Although tbh I kinda hate the size and form factor of the PS5. Really hope it isn’t as big assize estimates floating around online.

It will be. It should come in cheaper than the Series X, so if you are happy with that, you will be happy with the DE.

For me, I was going to wait for the revision but when Sony unveiled the console I am definitely waiting for the revision lol. The thing is enormous and I want to wait for reports about its thermals because Sony doesn’t have a great track record and that GPU is definitely on the edge of the power curve.

[TechnicPuppet]

Don’t really understand why Sony are still stalling on price. Unless there’s some intense discussions going on and they can’t agree on what to do.

They definitely have to get more info out before the 22nd September. I also wouldn’t be surprised if MS go lower again if they feel they need to.

[The_Xboxer (Adam)]

@Biggzy

Genuine question here : Both Sony and AMD state the PS5 is based on RDNA2, but RDNA 2 will use the 7nm+ fabrication process, but PS5 is fabricated on 7nm. Isn’t RDNA2 entwined with the fabrication process, therefore doesn’t Sony need to use 7nm+ to technically use RDNA2?

I am no expert in this, so if someone is able to add anything it would be welcome.

Excellent question, you put the finger on something interesting isn’t it? How can Sony claim RDNA 2 if it is on 7nm…

[The_Xboxer (Adam)]

@TechnicPuppet

Don’t really understand why Sony are still stalling on price. Unless there’s some intense discussions going on and they can’t agree on what to do.

They definitely have to get more info out before the 22nd September. I also wouldn’t be surprised if MS go lower again if they feel they need to.

If they cut by 50 more they would be even more competitive they still can because preorders not open yet they can readjust and it puts jog pressure on Sony.

[Biggzy (Hassan)]

@The_Xboxer

Excellent question, you put the finger on something interesting isn’t it? How can Sony claim RDNA 2 if it is on 7nm…

I think it is lol. The fact AMD and Sony says it is RDNA2 must mean it at least has commonality - it does have ray tracing after all - but still interesting nevertheless.

[ajcruz14]

@Biggzy

It will be. It should come in cheaper than the Series X, so if you are happy with that, you will be happy with the DE.

For me, I was going to wait for the revision but when Sony unveiled the console I am definitely waiting for the revision lol. The thing is enormous and I want to wait for reports about its thermals because Sony doesn’t have a great track record and that GPU is definitely on the edge of the power curve.

Yeah, that’s one option that i’m considering. Tbh i’m not in a rush to get one anyway. So maybe waiting for the revision is the most ideal option right now. Also, it’ll probably have a solid catalog of games already by the time the revisions comes out.