Sony Group Corp. priced a faster version of the PlayStation 5 well above its rival Xbox at $699 (R12,530), suggesting the entertainment giant sees a loyal audience willing to pay a premium for top performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Japanese company unveiled the surprisingly high price tag when it announced<\/a> the start of sales on 7 November, which will come just weeks after the latest version<\/a> of Microsoft Corp.\u2019s competing console hits store shelves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Between them, Sony and Microsoft are moving into rarefied air for consoles, with the new Xbox Series X costing $599 and the upgraded PS5 Pro asking $200 more than the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In South Africa, the standard PS5 currently retails for R13,999, 56% higher than its $499 price in the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding only the $200 difference (R3,581) of the US price to the South African pricing would see the PS5 Pro priced from at least R17,580.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the same 56% premium over the US price of the regular console were applied to the Pro model, it could cost R19,570.<\/p>\n\n\n\n South African PlayStation distributor Gamefinity confirmed to MyBroadband that the console will definitely be made available locally, but the timeline for local pre-order and availability dates remain to be confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We are reliant on the supply chain cycle to us as well as various local compliance requirements,” explained Gamefinity CEO Mario Dos Santos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “As soon as we have more clarity on the compliance timeline from local authorities, we will update everyone on the pre-order date.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Four years into their respective life cycles, the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles are moving up the value chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Analysts were divided on whether the pricing would spur sales for Sony, which is trying to expand its entertainment business with original, high-quality content spanning games, anime and film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “This is about Sony skimming the absolute top end of the market, targeting hardcore PlayStation users only,” industry analyst Serkan Toto said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “It\u2019s not a mass-market device. It seems the entire gaming world is puzzled about Sony\u2019s pricing strategy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Others saw the move as an attempt to prop up margins. The pricing decision follows a series of price hikes in Japan, which experts viewed as a response to the growing cost of components such as chips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new, high-end console will allow PlayStation 5 games to be played at higher resolutions and faster frame-rates without the need to toggle between different modes, Mark Cerny, lead architect of the console, said in a video presentation<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the PlayStation 5 Pro will offer 45% faster rendering than the standard PlayStation 5. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe pricing seems extremely challenging, since there has never been a game console whose successor model was substantially more expensive than the original,\u201d Citi analyst Kota Ezawa wrote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe surmise that the components responsible for the improved performance of the PS5 Pro are not all that much more expensive than the components in the original PS5, and thus we expect the higher price of the PS5 Pro to boost the gross margin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sony\u2019s PlayStation 5 has sold more than 59 million units since its release in 2020 but has lagged slightly behind its predecessor, the PlayStation 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The increased cost may limit its audience, in part because it moves the machine closer to the cost of a full gaming PC, perennially the biggest rival to standalone game consoles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many reviewers noted the new device\u2019s higher price tag despite the lack of a disc drive, reflecting an ongoing video-game industry trend that has seen customers switch from physical media to online services. A disc drive will be available for purchase separately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n