Sony Says It Won't Sell The PS6 At A Big Loss As $1,000 Price Fears Grow

Amid a rumor from prominent leaker Kepler_L2 that the PlayStation 6's bill of materials (BoM) alone has exceeded $960 USD, Sony Interactive Entertainment President & CEO Hideaki Nishino has confirmed that the company does not plan to sell hardware at "substantial losses." Considering the fact that the BoM doesn't account for any other part of the equation, including shipping and assembly labor, fans are now expecting the price of the PlayStation 6 to exceed $1,000 USD.


It's unfortunate news, but sadly to be fully-expected at this point. Even PC gaming giant Valve, owners of the Steam platform that generates billions in revenue every year, claims it could not afford to subsidize its Steam Machine living room PC. While the wider launch of SteamOS and that high pricing has led to a surge in efforts to meet the Steam Machine form factor or defeat its price-to-performance ratio, it still reflects how expensive it is to launch new gaming hardware post-RAMmageddon.


Sony is of course aware of this paradigm, though. In its own statements, it points to the continued success of the streaming-only PS Portal handheld, and notes that its lax memory requirements make it particularly well-suited to the current environment. Who knows: perhaps PS Portal functionality could even be extended to include PlayStation 6 Remote Play and game streaming when the next generation starts. Since PS Portal is already usable without owning your own PlayStation 5, it'd make for a killer price point for entry into the PlayStation ecosystem.

Additionally, Sony also had a rather interesting answer to a question regarding how it plans to bring back PlayStation players from PC. In its own words, its solution "includes not only technological advancements but also an expansion of usage styles, enabling a seamless experience that can be enjoyed naturally beyond the living room."

In reference to next-generation hardware, that's as close as an official confirmation of a true standalone PS6 handheld that we've ever gotten. This, too, would serve as a compelling way to make entry into the next generation cheaper and more appealing to an audience of both PC players and existing PS5/PS5 Pro players.

While Kepler's words on Resetera are still technically rumors, Sony's release of these statements from its June 5 Q&A (PDF) do add credibility to his words. While it is undeniably sad that Sony won't greatly subsidize PS6 hardware and may even compromise memory specs to lower its price barrier, the possible hint of an inbound PS6 handheld does bode well for next-gen pricing.