How much will the PS5 cost? Sony developer hints at price of next-gen console

Calum Patterson

On April 16, Sony revealed the first details of their next-gen console in a Wired interview, detailing some tantalizing upgrades from the current-gen systems, but there were no details on pricing. Lead system designer Mark Cerny has since dropped a small clue though.

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In the big reveal article, Cerny boasted about the PS5’s (not an official name yet) big jumps in performance, with a better CPU, GPU, ray tracing, 3D audio, an SSD (rather than a hard drive) which cut loading times by a power of 15, and much more.

All of this sounds great, but it will be a challenge for Sony to fit all this power into a compact console, and have it sold for a price that console gamers have come to expect.

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SonyThe PS4 Pro launched at $399.

Sony says PS5 price will be “appealing”

If one were to build a PC capable of running 4K resolution at a stable 60 FPS (on high settings), you’d be expecting to drop roughly $500 or more on the graphics card alone. So how can Sony squeeze so much performance into a price bracket that is ‘reasonable’ for console purchasers?

Although Cerny didn’t give any exact figures, which will likely not come until the console is fully unveiled, he reassuringly stated that the price of the PS5 will be “appealing to gamers in light of its advanced feature set”.

Wired writer Peter Rubin shared this exchange on Twitter, although it did not feature in the main article.

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This sounds like it might be slightly more expensive than the PS4 or PS4 Pro when first released, but that the improvement in performance will (hopefully) justify it.

Rubin pushed Cerny on this, but he was predictably tight-lipped.

PlayStation buyers predict cost of PS5

Commenters mainly predicted a price of around $500 when the system launches, which would be around $100 more than the cost of the PS4 Pro when it first launched.

Retailers will typically sell new consoles as bundles with a game or three as well, which should help ease the initial hit of purchasing the system, but $500 for a console may still be too steep for some more casual, infrequent console players.

It’s possible that two models of the PS5 could be released, perhaps one with a smaller SSD, say 500GB or 1TB, and maybe without the 3D audio features, which would be sold at a lower price point, then a more pricey version too.

What we do know, is that we won’t be seeing the console released in 2019, so that gives you plenty of time to save up.

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About The Author

Calum is Dexerto's Managing Editor, based in Scotland. Joining Dexerto in 2017, Calum has years of experience covering esports, gaming and online entertainment, and now leads the team to deliver the best coverage in these areas. An expert on all things Twitch and gaming influencers, he's also an expert in popular shooters like Apex Legends, CS2 and Call of Duty. You can contact Calum at calum.patterson@dexerto.com.