Sony may be waiting for Microsoft to blink before it reveals the price tag for its PS5 console, judging by comments made by a senior company executive.
During the firm’s latest earnings call, which didn’t make the most positive reading for the PlayStation wing amid slowing sales, the company indicated Microsoft’s pricing strategy will play into how much PS5 fanciers will need to fork over.
CFO Hiroki Totoki said: “What is not very clear or visible is because we are competing in the space, so it’s very difficult to discuss anything about the price at this point of time, and depending upon the price level, we may have to determine the promotion that we are going to deploy and how much costs we are prepared to pay.”
Related: Sony PS5 vs Microsoft Xbox Series X
The comments are translated from Japanese (thanks to VGC, via The Next Web) and you never know whether the full gist and context of the comments are fully captured. However, if accurate, we can only assume Tokoti is referring to the Xbox Series X console as “the competition”.
In the last generation, Sony certainly benefitted from the tactic or its rivals jumping first. Micosoft’s Xbox One was the first to show its hand in the current generation and upset gamers by initially pricing the console at $499. That wasn’t the only faux pas, because gamers were also upset about the initial requirement for always-on connectivity, DRM checks, and the lack of choice surrounding the Kinect sensor.
Sony soon swept in and confirmed the PS4 would be $100 cheaper, wouldn’t restrict used games and wouldn’t require gamers to be online unless there was a need or desire. It can be argued that Sony won the generation there and then, when the consoles were announced. Surely Microsoft will be more savvy this time around and not fall for the same old sucker punch?
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
