The PlayStation 6 and the other next-generation consoles are going to cost a lot, very a lot. As you are beginning to know, the greed of data centers dedicated to AI in terms of memory chips is making these components rare and, in fact, increasingly expensive. And the first to be hit by this structural inflation are naturally manufacturers of consumer electronics, especially game console makers.
Component inflation, the new market norm
We are thus seeing an unprecedented situation. Whereas console prices have always tended to fall over the course of their lifespan thanks to economies of scale, the opposite is happening today. And the trend should not reverse for the next generation of machines. The famous "leaker" KeplerL2 tells us via the NeoGaf forum that the memory components alone (RAM and storage) of the PlayStation 6 will cost Sony more than $680, already more expensive than a complete PS5 Pro console.
PlayStation 6 at more than 1,000 dollars?
He adds that these elements were much cheaper at the time when Sony had finalized the machine's specifications. $680, a huge sum which, let us remember, does not even take into account the core of the system (the APU processor), the cooling system, the chassis or the power supply. Knowing that the Japanese firm no longer intends to sell its PlayStations at a loss, the final price could easily exceed the psychological threshold of $1,000... It remains to be seen how the company (and its direct competitors) will manage to make the pill easier to swallow for consumers. The only thing we know is that wallets are going to suffer, at the risk of seeing consumers shun next-gen.
PlayStation 6 availability still unknown.
Indicative price still unknown (even if rumors now suggest a potential price above 1,000 dollars).
Reminder of the PlayStation 6 key features (rumors):
• Memory: RAM (GDDR7 rumored) and SSD storage (NAND)
• Estimated production cost of memory alone: > $680
• Estimated raw computing power: 40 teraflops
• Processor and graphics chip (APU): under development (AMD technology)
• Positioning: 10th-generation home console