PS5 price news may have leaked early, with details on how much the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition will cost allegedly being revealed. Earlier this month Sony held their major PS5 reveal event – where the PS4 successor’s radical design was showcased. But arguably the biggest announcement was the news that Sony had not one, but two PlayStation 5 consoles up their sleeves.
Besides the regular PS5 unit Sony will also release the PS5 Digital Edition later this year during the holiday season.
One reason this news was so exciting was that it was speculated this disc-less PS5 could come with a cheaper price tag than its sibling.
And if the latest rumours are to be believed the PS5 Digital Edition could be significantly cheaper than the SKU that’s fitted with a 4K Blu-ray disc drive.
As highlighted in a post by tweeter Idle Sloth, details on the pricing for the PS5 consoles as well as games and accessories have allegedly leaked.
And it adds the PS5 will first launch in Japan on November 14 with a global launch on November 20.
This would be a reversal of what happened with the PS4, with the PlayStation 4 first launching in America, then Europe and then in Japan.
It remains to be seen whether this leak is accurate, but if the pricing is correct then it’s great news for PS4 fans thinking of upgrading – and for their wallets.
However, some may point to a £100 price difference between the two models as a sign the ‘leak’ isn’t true.
Taking the disc drive out of the PS5 isn’t likely to save Sony £100, with estimates saying it would likely save the PlayStation makers around £50.
But the rest of this money could be made up through sales on the PlayStation Store.
Anyone who buys a Digital Edition of the PS5 will be tied entirely to the cost of games on the PS Store.
They won’t be able to shop around for cheap deals from rival retailers, like those that pick up the console with a disc drive will be able to.
Nor will they be able to tap into the used game market, which those who purchase the regular PS5 will be able to.
So the release of the PS5 Digital Edition could be a very savvy move by Sony, and could put huge pressure on Microsoft.
The Xbox makers are rumoured to have a cheaper Xbox in the works, which is codenamed Lockhart.
But this console is rumoured to be significantly down on power compared to the Series X.
We all know the Series X is capable of 12 teraflops of power, but in comparison Lockhart is rumoured to be capable of just 4TFs.
Whereas Sony’s PS5 boasts 10.28 teraflops as well as a super fast SSD that is twice as fast as the Series X’s hard drive.
Rumours have claimed Lockhart could be priced as low as $200, but even so – if the PS5 Digital Edition is that competitively priced it might give Microsoft a real headache.
Would gamers be willing to sacrifice power and next-gen performance for that price when, if they pushed their budget a bit, they could get a PS5 that doesn’t scrimp on specs?
This all remains to be seen, but it will be fascinating to see how much these consoles do end up launching at – and what the specs are of Lockhart console.