Why hasn’t the PS5 price and PS5 release date been announced yet? We’ve been talking about the same topic for the best part of the year now, and we’re still none the wiser really. Sony had an excellent PlayStation 5 unveiling, but outside of some minor driblets of information, it’s failed to really follow up on the event. And with Microsoft pulling back the curtain on its next-gen plans, the platform holder once again finds itself under intense scrutiny from the rest of the industry. So, just what is going on?

Firstly, it’s important to remember we’ve been here before. Earlier in the year, the Japanese giant was getting lambasted left and right from critics who felt that its next-gen console was about to crash and burn. Depending on the strength of your memory, you may recall Mark Cerny hosting a dreadfully drab GDC panel, which was watched by millions and told us very little about the realities of the hardware it was about to release. Meanwhile, Microsoft was out making moves, announcing games and promising monthly information.

The momentum has clearly swung out of Sony’s favour once more these past few days, but it can easily come back the other way. PS5 is almost certainly going to be more expensive than the Xbox Series S, that console is considerably less powerful and the PlayStation maker simply doesn’t have an answer to it – that much we know. However, there’s really no reason to believe that the console can’t be competitively priced; boss Jim Ryan has said that he intends to transition fans at record pace, and the company recently doubled its production capacity.

Horizon Forbidden West PS5 PlayStation 5 1

This is all during coronavirus, of course, which can’t be ignored. We believe both Sony and Microsoft have been unbelievably busy behind-the-scenes, but the pandemic has definitely made them more cautious than ever before. The manufacturer will know internally what dates and prices it’s targeting, but there are many pieces that need to be aligned before that information can be locked down – especially when it comes to a worldwide launch.

We reckon there’s another factor worth keeping in mind, though: the platform holder wants to put on a show when it dates and prices the PS5. Here’s the thing: we still haven’t seen tentpole next-gen titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demon’s Souls in action yet – the former of which is already confirmed to be a launch title. We’ve also been hearing mumblings of timed exclusives for months, and unannounced Uncharted games for years.

In other words: we’re anticipating a bit more spectacle to accompany the PS5’s price and date announcements. Obviously, there’s been some pretty good news coming out of the Xbox camp these past few days – even an ardent PlayStation fan would admit that. But there’s been a notable gap in its accompanying software selection, and that’s an area where we know Sony excels. We’re expecting another big game blowout, and then the all-important price and date announcements.

Marvel's Spider-Man PS5 PlayStation 5 2

When that will come, we just don’t know. The platform holder plays by its own rules – it has for years now – but it generally gets things right in the end. The exciting thing for PlayStation is that it still, clearly, has so much to show. It’s hammered the DualSense controller down our throats, but we know next to nothing about the user interface or the kind of functionality that features like the Create button will bring to the table.

In that regard, we should be excited. There’s always a worry that things are on fire behind-the-scenes; that the console is a disaster and that it’s about to be delayed. While we won’t rule anything out in this pandemic-stricken climate, we’re just going to have to be patient a little bit longer. The PS5 is, presumably, around two months away, so there’s not much longer it can leave things now. All should be revealed soon…

Why do you think the PS5 price and release date is yet to be revealed? Are you expecting another big blowout in the coming weeks? Show us your hand in the comments section below.