Rumour: PS5's Price Could Be High After Sony Struggles with Expensive Components

Flash memory in high demand

How much is the PS5 going to cost? That's a question that we simply won't know the answer to until Sony slaps a price point on its next-gen machine, but an interesting new rumour suggests that the console could end up being more expensive than initially planned.

The rumour comes from Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources. According to the article, PlayStation 5 manufacturing costs may be on the rise because of DRAM and NAND flash memory. The components are supposedly in high demand because of next-generation smartphones. In other words, Sony might have to pay more to secure a steady supply of these parts for the PS5.

And with rising manufacturing costs, Sony could be forced into a position where it has to bump up the PS5's retail price. The estimated manufacturing cost of one PS5 is around $450 when taking these components into account. Potentially, this means that the next-gen console's price tag could be creeping closer to the $500 mark depending on how much profit Sony wants to make per unit.

However, Sony won't be looking to profit on console sales alone. Let's not forget that the PlayStation Network is worth an absolute fortune -- it's entirely possible that Sony is willing to sell the PS5 at a loss just so that it can get the system into people's homes and continue to generate huge profit primarily through software sales and subscriptions.

At this point, though, it's probably safe to assume that the PS5 won't be cheap. Even pushing this rumour to one side, we already know that the console is boasting some impressive-sounding selling points -- selling points that are going to require reasonably powerful components.

As always, we're just going to have to wait and see what Sony says. Until that time comes, feel free to bet on the PS5's launch price in the comments section below.

[via bloomberg.com]