PS5 DualSense Controller

Overnight, Bloomberg has shared a report which could give us some insight into Sony's plans for the launch of PlayStation 5. Of course, none of this is confirmed nor official, but the website goes into great detail about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the hardware manufacturer's reveal plans and what that means for its release.

According to the report, the Japanese giant will produce far fewer PS5 units for launch compared to the total it had for the PlayStation 4's November 2013 release. This is because the console is expected to come in at a high price, around $499 to $549. That cost is dangerously close to Sony's infamous $599 moment for the PlayStation 3, but the specs that the next-gen console is sporting necessitates it. "The Tokyo-based tech giant is limiting its initial production run in part because it expects the PS5’s ambitious specs to weigh on demand by leading to a high price at launch."

Elsewhere, COVID-19 is having a dramatic impact on how Sony reveals the console. The PS5 DualSense controller's reveal is said to have been rushed, done via a PlayStation Blog post because the design and features had been shared with parties outside of the company. The PS5 console itself isn't in that same position, however. Bloomberg also speculates that Sony may skip hosting a public press conference to reveal the release date and price of the machine due to the coronavirus.

Lastly, the website states that Sony is unlikely to delay the PS5 out of its holiday 2020 launch window, especially so if Microsoft sticks to the same target with its Xbox Series X. Again, none of this information is confirmed to be true, but coming from a place such as Bloomberg, we can put a fair bit of trust into this report. As such, how do you react to all this? It looks like you'll need to be hammering that pre-order button on Amazon as soon as the option becomes available if you want to guarantee yourself a PS5 this year. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[source bloomberg.com]