After so much speculation about console launch windows, price points, and shipment numbers, Sony has shed more light on their PlayStation 5 consoles price points. Finally, the console wars have officially kicked off for the ninth generation of systems. Marking the 4th generational gap in a row for both Microsoft and Sony’s competition. While Microsoft had previously revealed the price earlier this month, Sony has announced the details for their upcoming systems. Today, at the special showcase hosted by Sony, they revealed and outlined the costs of the upcoming successor, the PS5.
Coming in two different models, one with a disc drive and one without, the PlayStation 5 will start at $399 for the all-digital version. For a Blu-ray capable disc drive model, however, Sony is kicking the price up another hundred for those who want the backwards compatibility with PS4 games. This does however price them at the same amount as Microsoft’s recently announced Xbox Series X & S. While these models also have two versions, with no disc drive or 4k capability, the cheapest next-generation machine is only $300. That’s a generous price for those looking to play what’s new and released. Of course, the disk drive 4K ready Xbox Series X is retailing for the same price as the PS5 standard at $500.
This new information compounds on the existing specifications list for both of the new consoles. The Xbox Series X is proving to be the beefier option to push more mileage out of next-gen titles, with a lower-powered model available. The PS5 is shaping itself to fit in between the range Microsoft has set. While this might hurt Sony with less capable hardware, the value an all-digital model provides is undeniably useful to those looking to upgrade but still be on legacy HD hardware. Fans can get their hands on the illustrious pre-orders starting tomorrow. What remains to be seen is how these consoles will perform at launch. The PS5 is set to release on November 12 in select countries, available worldwide a few days later on the 19th.
