PS5 Event Scheduled for Next Week
- Paul Thurrott
- Sep 12, 2020
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11
Sony has announced a PlayStation 5 virtual showcase for next Wednesday. Will the firm finally announce its new console pricing?
“Before PlayStation 5 launches this holiday, we wanted to give you one more look at some of the great games coming to PS5 at launch (and beyond!),” the brief Sony announcement notes. “Our next digital showcase will weigh in at around 40 minutes, and feature updates on the latest titles from Worldwide Studios and our world-class development partners.”
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It’s not clear why gamers would even want to see more game demos at this point. But with Microsoft finally unveiling the pricing for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S—$499 and $299, respectively—this past week, the pressure is on Sony to reveal pricing as well. And while there’s no way it can match the $299 price point, one assumes that the Series X’s price point has influenced where the PS5 will land. That is, it can’t cost more than $499.
Of course, Sony’s strategy for this new generation of consoles is different from Microsoft’s. Where the new Xbox consoles will come in at two different performance levels—1440p at 60 fps for the Series S and 4K/UHD at 60 fps for the Series X—the two PS5 consoles, the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition, will be identical except for the absence of a Blu-Ray drive on the latter.
One approach Sony could take is to price the more expensive version at $499, but price the Digital Edition at $399. That’s $100 more than the Series S, but it has the same internals as the higher-end console, making it quite a deal for that type of performance.
Well, we’ll. If you’re interested in watching live—or, more likely, planning to tune in with about 5 minutes left to see if they unveil the price—the PS5 Showcase will be live on Twitch and YouTube on Wednesday, September 16 at 1 pm PDT/4 pm EDT.