Sony has admitted that it was forced to learn hard lessons regarding the pricing of the PlayStation 3, and it will put those into practice with its impending next generation console. Chatting with EDGE magazine, Worldwide Studios vice president Michael Denny revealed that the platform holder is aiming to appeal to “gamers in the broadest sense” with the PlayStation 4, suggesting that it won’t price the console out of reach.
“We listen and learn and take the judgement from every console launch we ever have, and we have to be informed by what the strengths of our PlayStation 3 system have been, but also the challenges of that,” he explained. “We want a system that can reach as broad a gaming audience as possible, but whilst being a system that’s deep, connected, rich, and immersive, and is going to give a very focused and differentiated experience than anything else that’s out there.”
Denny added that there’s still plenty of time to communicate cost before the system’s launch, but he hinted that a favourable price point may be on the cards. “We have created a console absolutely focused on gamers – and we want that to be gamers in the broadest sense as well,” he added. “I think to some extent I can ask you to draw your own conclusions.”
Rumours prior to the system’s announcement suggested that Sony is targeting a £300 RRP in the UK, with the company hoping that the manageable price point will “lure millions of customers” into buying its new machine. Given the console’s use of off-the-shelf components, the platform holder should be able to drive costs down. However, it’s a pretty powerful device – we wouldn’t get your hopes up too high just yet.
Based on what you’ve seen so far, what do you think would be a reasonable price for the PS4? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source edge-online.com, via vg247.com]
Comments 31
No more than $450.
Well, my plan is to have around £600.00 to spend for the PS4 launch, that's soley based on what I paid for my launch PS3 (only £450.00, but that was packed with a couple of games and spare sixaxis).
So, I'm prepared to lay down £450.00 on the console itself, so that allows me enough (I think) for a couple of games and possibly a subscription for something akin to PS Plus at launch.
If it launches at £300.00, more's the better, I'll still have £300.00 to throw at games and possibly another controller. Win.
Id be extremely happy with a £300 tag. Ive been preparing for £400 and anything less than that will be spent on games and hardware. Sony definitely seem to be entering the next gen console war with all guns blazing. Could this be the rebirth off the glory days of Sony.
I don't think it's going to be £300, but I do think that it'll be cheaper than people expect. If you think back, people were really surprised with the Vita's price tag at the time, too. Of course, the memory cards and 3DS price drop eventually soured that.
Microsoft's expected to sell its console on a subscription, though, so it may not matter how "cheap" the PS4 is.
@get2sammyb
There will apparently be two flavours of nextbox. One full price, and one based on some sort of subscription model as you mention, which sounds more like some kind of shady long term hire-purchase 'deal' if you ask me.
As I say, anything up to or below PS3 launch price is fine by me, there's a whole bunch of great components in the PS4, enough to worth a £450.00 gaming PC, albeit with a better GPU thrown in too.
if it was £300 i would get it day one still anywhere between £300 and £400 would be fine
400-450 sounds resonalble in my opinion.
With such a powerful device, I wonder what the compromise will be. Less expensive system, pay for online?
@ztpayne7 I think there will be a heavy emphasis on a subscription service. I'd expect given the proposed wealth of features we'll be looking at something much closer to xbox live.
@ztpayne7 Yeah, I agree with @KALofKRYPTON. I've said it a few times around this site, but I suppose there's no harm in reiterating. I personally feel that a lot of the 'Share' functionality that Sony showed off at the PlayStation Meeting will be locked behind a pay-wall (be it PlayStation Plus or something new).
I really foresee that as being one of the first big 'backlash' moments, actually.
400-450 sounds reasonable to me, anything higher will just scare most people off. If they really have been listening to the fans, then I doubt they would make you pay for online, since that was what made a lot of people decide to buy a PS3 rather than a 360.
I also doubt that uploading videos/screenshots will be something you have to pay for, if we do then I wouldn't have a problem with it. Hopefully we get some more answers at E3.
more interested in what games will be available than the price itself
@TheRealBatman I can see it being screenshots/30 second clips are free, then longer videos you have to pay for. There's no way that live streaming will be free.
@get2sammyb They could go with a timed freebie subscription with every console perhaps? A month of fully featured stuff for free then you have to stump up?
@get2sammyb It will most likely be a feature you get when you subscribe for Plus.
$598
That "learned from" phrase kinda touches a nerve at the moment as thats what Nintendo kept saying about their 3DS launch for the WiiU. The 3DS was too expensive and not enough games. So what did they do? They released a console that was too expensive and didn't - and still doesn't - have enough games. So basically the only thing they learned was how to replicate their mistake.
I do think Sony will go lower, and I've been saying all along they could go lower b/c the PS3 is already a beast w/ 500GB HDD and blu-ray, so all they needed to do was up the stats, but then they added an EyeKinect in every box, and that can't be too cheap. And I've also been on the "subscription" bandwagon. I don't see how they can avoid it w/ all that social media real-time streaming going on. Though they won't announce $ it until MS does. Still, PS+ is already a good deal, might as well run with it.
my guess would be it will cost around $450-$500, with the specs that they showed, I'ld be shocked if it's cheaper.
@rjejr Why do you insist on insulting the PS Eye by comparing it to the Kinect?
@TheRealBatman @rjejr
That's not really fair Bats, it's a far, far superior piece of kit. I said way back when it came out that an amalgamation of the Eye/Move and Kinect would be the best way to go, and that's pretty much what we'll have, a better camera.
If only Sony would invest some time in to a vocabulary database so I can talk to it!
Personally I would be happy with $500 AUD or less which is roughly equivalent to USD. But as Sony launched the PS3 for $1000 in Aus (now selling from $269-$369) and Vita is still 50% more expensive than the US, nothing would surprise me from Sony. My price expectations are low (well high actually).
Yeah, I agree with a lot of what's been said. A few of the PS4's features are going to probably come with PS+. Since the service has been a pretty huge hit over the last couple of years, I can definitely see Sony expanding on it.
@KALofKRYPTON - I'm sure MS will be using it's years old Kinect technology w/ the new Xbox. NOT. Hard to compare the unknown.
@TheRealBatman - I know, it's like comparing apples to apples. 4 out of 5 dentists probably couldn't correctly tell then apart even with labeling.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ps4+eye+vs+kinect&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=dlltUbi7IsXj0QGC_YCQDQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1440&bih=813
400USD is the magic number for me. If they can go lower than that's even better.
I hope it's not higher than $450. $400 would be the really sweet price though. You need to cough up more than the console sum too. The game you get adds another $60 to the price.
I hope the PS4 cost no more than $399.99 or otherwise I'm not buying it at launch.
@rjejr I know how the camera looks, but that's no reason to compare it to an inferior device.
If the PS4 is around $400-450, then that's no problem. If it's $500-550, hopefully it's a bundle that comes with a game, and the camera. Pretty much as long as it's not $600, like when the PS3 launched, I'm good for it.
Why does he have 2 boxarts of Buzz on that wall?
I'm guessing that there will be a version for $399 with the bare minimum and a relatively small HDD. $400 would be great for selling to a wide audience, but I'm afraid that I'll want to spring for a (assumed) more expensive model. I assume there will be a $500 model which would include a larger HDD and either a game or a year subscription to plus.
$360 to poke fun...
Seriously though, I can see $399. It's just a dollar, but seeing it start with 3 anything, would be amazing.
Just wait for it, "SEVEN HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE US DOLLARS." Kidding. Hoping it's in the $300-$400 range.
Tap here to load 31 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...