PlayStation fans have a big reason to be concerned regarding the potential price of the PS6, considering the recent price hikes from Nintendo and Microsoft.
In my lifetime of gaming, I have never before known a generation where the consoles keep getting more expensive. Typically, the price would gradually drop, with most gamers unwilling to cough up full RRP with the next-gen ever nearing.
According to tech experts Digital Foundry, the Nintendo Switch 2 is roughly the same power as the PlayStation 4, a console originally released in November 2013 and when you say that out loud, it doesn't sound much of a generational leap, especially for a console with an RRP of £395.99.
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However, perhaps out of most video game consoles, Nintendo has always been the system where you’re paying to play its exclusives, such as Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon and more.
In that respect, the console price isn't much of an issue, especially when its manufacturing costs are reportedly not much less than the RRP, which is cutting it close with Nintendo’s profit margin. That being said, I still won't be picking one up at launch for multiple reasons.
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What I do have an issue with is the price of its games such as Mario Kart World having an RRP of £74.99, which is an increase of £15 compared to original Switch games.
This in turn has seemingly kickstarted the mindset of “Well, if Nintendo is doing it, so shall we,” with Microsoft also increasing the price of its consoles and games - and now there’s even talk of the Nintendo Switch 2 increasing its price again.
What’s more, as reported by Polygon, despite recently increasing its prices, Sony is considering upping the price of the PlayStation 5 and its accessories a second time, with games also possibly due to be affected.
It seems that Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are all using the same excuse of the “current economic climate” and President Donald Trump’s egregious import tariffs.
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Don’t get me wrong, those tariffs suck, especially for those that live in the US, but why is the rest of the world footing the bill for that?
All this comes while the likes of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are making billions in profit each year. This reminds me of how supermarket retailers and gas companies used the COVID-19 pandemic to increase their prices, and during that time, record profits were being made. It just doesn't fly with me.
As such, gamers are rightly concerned with how much next-gen consoles could cost; after all, at the time of writing, the PlayStation 5 Pro has an RRP of £699.99. So, how much will a PS6 cost at launch?
“At a minimum, I won't get a new console until the PS6 Pro comes out, because, let's be real, there will definitely be one,” said Redditor nk2k1.
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“PS6 Pro, $1,000,” predicted spoonard.
“The Tariffs in the USA mean a weaker dollar compared to the Euro. There are no new Tariffs in the EU. But we get a price hike for both consoles? It seems the EU is subsidising consoles in the US,” exclaimed No_Zombie2021.
“Do you remember when it was a pricey launch model, then the slim model would be cheaper?” asked MobiusOne_FoxTwo.
I’m dreading the price of the next-gen consoles to be honest, but on the plus side, at least it looks like our gaming piles of shame are going to get a lot of attention over the next few years.
Topics: PlayStation, Sony, Tech, PlayStation 5